Writing Rockstars Blog 

It's almost summer! Are you excited?

For many of us, summer means tons of play time outdoors, a break from the books, and a chance to take time off and catch your breath.

But if you’re a conscientious parent — and I know you are — you’re concerned about summer slide.

That’s when the kids forget what they’ve learned over a long summer break.

Brick and mortar school teachers spend up to the first month of the school year re-teaching kids what they’ve forgotten over the summer.

Do you want to spend the entire first month of your homeschool academic year doing that?

I think not!

All you have to do is work some skills practice into you summer plans, and that practice can take any shape you want.

Solving one math word problem a week, writing in a journal every few days, or joining a summer book club — these are all activities that practice essential skills! You know what skills your kids worked so hard to learn over the past year. Make sure they don’t forget them over the summer.

You can make a big dent in your summer planning with these three steps:

1) Focus on a key skill or two that needs improvement or that they’ve newly learned. Examples of key or essential skills areas include math, reading, writing, and critical thinking.

If your kids love a particular subject, let them pick a course or camp that builds their knowledge in that area. Essential skills practice is almost always incorporated in some way. One content study unit and one form of skills practice is an excellent combination for summer.

2) Decide on your timing. You don’t have to practice every day the entire summer. A little skills practice every week or so is fine, but don’t let things go too long.

3) Choose a content delivery method that works with kids' preferences and your family’s vacation plans. For example, do they prefer a group class or camp, or is independent work better? Do you want them to do this while you're traveling? If you are traveling, will the kids need to have an internet connection?