DIY Homeschooler

Now that you have your children taken care of, what type of things can the homeschool mom do this summer? Here are 9 ideas:

1. Take a break!

Use the summer to enjoy your family! Forget about homeschooling for a while and just be Mom. After a few weeks, you’ll be rested and ready to gear back up again.

2. Study nature.

If you haven’t found time to explore outdoors during the year, you can easily make up for it during the summer. You and your family can spend time in the national parks, the local park, or your own backyard.

Start a garden, study bugs (lots of THOSE in the summer…), sketch, or grow herbs.

Here are 10 ideas for nature study to get you started.

3. Read.

Pick out a stack of favorite books to read together as a family. On nice days, you can read outdoors. On too-hot or cloudy days, you can cuddle up on the couch with the family and a good book!

4. Work through a unit study.

Summertime is a great time to pursue your interests as a family. There are many different types of unit studies available (you’ll find hundreds to choose from free online), one of which is sure to spark an interest.

Or better yet, use your current family interest to build your own unit.

5. Become inspired!

How-to, encouragement, motivating tips, and ideas — all available in books written by other homeschool moms.

By investing time now in preparation, you’ll be ready to jump into another year. Check out our favorite motivating books!

6. Work on a new approach.

Was something missing from your studies this past year? Was the spark gone?

Spend time reading about the various methods. Make a note of those approaches that sound interesting and give them a short test drive this summer.

7. Brainstorm.

Did you have problems motivating a child this past year? Maybe look into learning styles.

Could you use some suggestions for simplifying? Try incorporating living books.

Would you like to add some innovative ideas to your educational mix? Have you heard about notebooking?

Need more inspiring ideas? Try our How-To section.

8. Establish a new schedule.

Once you have been inspired, worked on new approaches and ideas for next year, and have your plans generally laid out, summer is a great time to revamp your schedule or develop an entirely new one.

It doesn’t have to be a minute-by-minute plan, but an overall guide will keep your homeschool running smoothly next year.

Read our ideas on Smart Scheduling.

9. Develop spiritually.

We cannot give what we do not have. You might find one of these Bible study tools helpful.