Another school year is almost complete, and I can’t believe it! This year really did go by SO fast! We really enjoyed our year learning together, but I’m definitely ready for a nice break this summer!
We follow a traditional school schedule and take off the summer months of June and July. We usually start up again for our new school year mid-August and are finished by the end of May. We definitely use our summer as a BREAK from all our main core work, but I usually have a fun unit study planned for those days where we are bored, or it is just too hot to do anything outside.
Today I’m sharing with you a few things I have planned for us this summer, how we keep up with math and reading, and lots of other ideas you could use for fun unit studies. At the end of this post, you can also find my blog posts of what we did in past summers.
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Reading
We do a TON of reading during the summer months! We take frequent trips to the library and still continue our required reading/rest time every day. Every afternoon my kids are required to read for a certain amount of time (typically around 30 minutes for their current ages.) This is especially great after a full late morning of swimming or playing outside. I have a running TBR list for each of my older kids of books I think they would enjoy, and they will continue to read through some of their favorite book series. My daughter (age 10) is currently loving all the Nancy Drew and Babysitter Club books, and my son (age 8) is loving Dragon Masters and Stick Dog. My 5 year old spends this time reading a few books to me.
I also love using Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt for book recommendations. This is a giant booklist of wholesome quality books for children of all ages. I will also be sharing my summer chapter book list (for ages 5-12) on my blog in May!
I decided not to do any reading logs or charts this summer, as we usually forget about them haha, or it becomes an unhealthy competition between my avid readers vs slower readers. Instead, every few weeks we have a special ice cream book date where we go out for ice cream with our current books and tell each other what they are about, what we enjoyed, etc.
Math
Every summer we LOVE to play board games to keep up with math facts and concepts. I usually require the kids to play one math game every other day, which doesn’t get much push back! You can find some of our favorite math games HERE.
My Kindergartener recently finished his Level K Math curriculum early this school year, so we decided to try something new instead of jumping into the next level. I signed him up for Beast Academy and he LOVES it! We just do the online program (no workbooks), and he thinks it is so fun, he always wants to keep doing more!
Beast Academy is a math curriculum for elementary students that uses comic-based storylines and interactive games and puzzles to teach/master math concepts. It can also be used as a great math supplement for additional practice. Having seen him so excited about it and watching what he has been doing, my other kids now want to try it too. I thought summer would be a great time to try it out and get some extra math practice in.
There are printable placement tests available to see where your child should start. I’m going to have my kids start at their current grade level to continue to practice the same concepts over the summer that they have been learning this past school year. It will seem “easier,” so they don’t have to learn all new concepts, but are still getting lots of extra practice and mastery before we start their new math levels in the fall. (We will still be using The Good and the Beautiful Math, but this might be a great supplement to use for extra practice and fun throughout the school year.)
Unit Studies
Summer is my favorite time to dive into my children’s interests! Let them explore, be creative, and have fun.
My daughter has been obsessed with ballet since she was 2 years old, so she is beyond excited to use this Classical Ballet Unit Study by Faith Heritage Learning this summer. She will be learning all the parts of a ballet, ballet history, famous composers, famous choreographers, popular ballets, and famous ballerinas.
It includes a book list, handicrafts, recipes, and more. The book spine of the curriculum is A Child’s Introduction to Ballet by Laura Lee, a book we already love! We are headed to the ballet to see Romeo and Juliet in a few weeks and that will be the perfect start to our study! *This unit study is currently on sale!!
For my boys, who are very into engineering and building, we are using this Kid Engineer Set of books, the “Working With…” series. The set includes Working with Computers and Robotics, Working with Buildings and Structures, Working with Machines, Working with Energy, Working with Materials, Working with Transport. (*Each of the books are sold separately, but the bundle with all of them saves you money.)
Each book shares different engineering fields, skills, and how things work in our world. For each section there is also simple step-by-step activities for kids to design and build their own demonstrations from what they learned.
My plan is to read a section with my boys together, but then let them take over to build and design their own projects from the examples in the book. Most of the supplies are simple household items that we already have on hand. They will build bridges, make toy cars, build a water wheel, solar oven, coding, pulley systems, and so much more. I think they will really enjoy this, and it will be a great way to keep them busy!
I also grabbed Discovery Decks from The Waldock Way and will have them available to the kids to use anytime. These are simple cards with a question and QR code that share a YouTube video with the answer. Tons of fun and interesting questions that kids always have like “Do woodpeckers get headaches?” “Do animals fart?” or “How are crayons made?” If we are having some down time or the kids are bored, they can grab a card, scan the code, and watch an educational video to answer the question.
There are a few different “decks” available on space, animals, inventions, ocean, weather, discoveries, and so much more. Check them all out HERE! I printed a few decks on card stock, cut them out, and will display them in a simple box/basket on our school shelf.
Writing
These Usborne books are so fun and encouraging to get your kids writing more. I have these on our shelves that my older kids can use anytime. My son is super excited to do the comic book one and my daughter is interested in learning how to write scripts!
Usborne Write and Draw Your Own Comics
Usborne Write Your Own Adventure Stories
Usborne Write Your Own Scripts
Other Ideas:
Here are a few other unit studies that would be great to do this summer!
We read The Wild Robot by Peter Brown last summer and loved it! This unit study would be so fun to do as you read the book together. Also perfect to complete this summer as the movie is coming out this September! It looks so good, we can’t wait to see it! Watch the trailer HERE! *This book guide is on sale!!
This is another fun unit I really want to do with my kids one summer. This Survival Unit Study has 15 lessons in wilderness survival using the Bear Grylls Adventure book series as a base. It includes simple and engaging lessons that go with each of the books, educational videos, and hands-on activities all about surviving in different elements of nature. I know my boys will love this!
I also contemplated doing this Edible Science unit study from How Wee Learn this summer, but actually decided to use it with our co-op next school year! What kid wouldn’t enjoy learning about early chemistry with chocolate, rock candy, popcorn, and more! We are going to be learning about where ingredients come from, the chemistry on creating these treats, and making some ourselves of course! It would be a great study to do as a family this summer too!
I love having simple summers full of time to read, be creative, play, and relax. We usually go on lots of vacations to our cabin, the beach, and have lots of play dates with friends or cousins, so there isn’t much time for too many extras. I hope you found some fun unit studies to do with your family this summer or to use next school year!
Wishing you the best summer ahead!
– Lindsay
Schoolroom/Playroom Refresh for Summer
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