Summer Adventures
How we homeschool during the summer
Summer has officially hit Arizona, with splash pads, our community pool FINALLY open for fun, and a nasty summer cold for Mama. We finished our official school year a while ago, and I'm letting the kids have a very lazy couple of weeks because our summer is blissfully full. I also needed a lazy couple weeks before we gear up for fun. It took me years to get used to the Arizona summers, which boast of heat that gets up to 120⁰ some days. The nights do not cool off too much, and our house air conditioner is set to a cool 74⁰ for months 24/7. So it took me some time to figure out how to live in this weather with a bunch of kids who still need vitamin D but not sunburns.
I wanted to share a couple of ways we tackle the summer months here so we can enjoy the weather and not lose all of the skills we worked so hard to master this previous school year. My caveat is that I have general goals for the summer, but we play fast and loose with the schedule. Mainly because our schedule is more rigid and packed during the school year, and we need it that way to thrive. But summer is for fun! Letting go of the reins a little bit, staying up later than usual, watching Star Wars, and having ice cream sundaes take precedence over a set bedtime, which is how we do it around here.
Vacation Bible School is where it's at. Our parish had an amazing one, and I've signed my kids up every year since they were old enough to go. Our parish is right down the street, and they go to Mass every day that week to start their days. Singing, praying, games, snacking, and doing activities fill their morning time. They even feed them lunch! It's miraculous and worth every penny. We also have them at a VBS at another Catholic church near us. So they will be very busy for 2 weeks in June.
Our community pool is our home away from home over the summer. We sign them up for swim lessons every year and then stay for open swim hours a couple of times a week. Is it exhausting? Yes, a little. The heat takes it out of me, and I spend a lot of time chasing them with their water bottles and washing bathing suits and towels. However, there are tons of lifeguards at the various pools, a tall water slide, and a beach entrance pool for the little ones. I absolutely love it, and so do our kids, who have been asking about the pool for months now.
Camping trips have become a summer tradition for our family. We take a long weekend, or two, and head to Northern Arizona, which is not only GORGEOUS but also significantly cooler. We are camping near the Grand Canyon this summer to celebrate our daughter's 6th birthday in July, and I'd like to sneak another camping trip in before school starts in August. One time, when all the kids were too young to go camping, my husband set up a tent in the backyard and camped out there while Mama and baby stayed inside. That was amazing too.
We also take about 30-40 minutes a day to work on math and writing throughout the summer. These two skills are the ones I'm most diligent about with our boys, ages 7 and 9. If we leave all that behind, the beginning of school will be much more difficult for them. So, doing a little work daily helps them continue improving their skills and keep up the daily work habit. We have a lovely tutor coming once a week to help with catechism, which felt especially important because our oldest son just received his First Holy Communion this month, and our next oldest will receive his next May. A friend of mine will also be providing a science and art workshop for anyone who wants to join at her house a couple of times a week later this summer, and our boys will be a part of that as well.
The younger kids, ages 4 and 5, will spend most of their time playing with water in our backyard on their trampoline or with bubbles. We often have some sort of inflatable with water in our backyard or unlimited access to sprinklers for the kids. Is our backyard a disaster? Yes. Is it worth it to keep the little ones occupied? Also, yes. Lots of visits to the library, movies, and board games are on the docket.
This list sounds like a lot, but we also have a lot of downtime. We have daily quiet time where I read to them, or they hide away in their rooms reading or listening to audiobooks. We watch a lot of TV, and they play Super Mario Bros. on the weekends. We stay up late and encourage sleeping in. We will hit up $1 movie days at our local theater, and go on many park adventures. Our summers can seem very full, but it's all fun, so I love it. This is just how we do summers, but it wasn't always this way. Some days we don't leave the house, but I have a friend who has committed to one thing a day because she does not like being home all day. I get that too. To each their own! Happy summer, y'all!
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Summer Talk
How do you spend your summers?
Do you have any annual summer traditions?
If you live in the gorgeous Midwest, what do you do to enjoy your beautiful weather during the summer?