We’re a few days away from the official First Day of Summer, but it seems that the season is unofficially in full swing for most. For our public-schooled counterparts, summer typically involves a final slamming of the books and a 180-degree turn of families’ thinking and scheduling as they work to squeeze every last drop of fun out of their three months of freedom. But how about homeschoolers? My first instinct would be that this group of mommas would be the first in line, ready for a warm weather hiatus, but surprisingly, this doesn’t seem to be the case.     

I have seen a number of social media posts lately in which homeschool moms are busily sharing their ideas and plans for a fun-filled summer of unit studies, literary exploration and summer-friendly science activities. Most other months of the year posts like these would send me into cold sweats of self-doubt, but NOT this month. Not sure if I’m in the homeschool minority here, but we have never continued our schooling into the summer months and I’m totally alright with that. Here are my top five reasons for taking a seasonal break and NOT feeling guilty about it.

#1 WE LIVE IN MINNESOTA

For those living in the “frozen tundra” — ‘nuff said. But for those unfamiliar with life in the northern Midwest, winter is brutal, bitter and unrelenting for at least six months. Spring and fall are both blink-of-an-eye short and the remaining few days make up our glorious summers. For these few precious weeks, I want my kids (and me!) to kick back, relax and enjoy every second.

#2 BRAIN BREAK VS. SUMMER SLIDE

I know a lot of moms worry about the dreaded “summer slide” wherein kids tend to forget some of the things they’ve learned over the previous school year, resulting in weeks spent reviewing when the new year begins. Honestly, I just don’t get that worked up about a few cobwebs. In fact, I firmly believe that a brain break is exactly with the psychiatrist, er doctor, ordered when it comes to homeschooling effectively. If that means we need to spend a week or two in September warming our brains back up again, I think that’s a small and reasonable price to pay.

#3 LIFESTYLE OF LEARNING

Obviously I like to draw a firm line in the sand differentiating the “school year” and “summer vacation,” but that doesn’t mean that we close the door on learning over our three-month break. In our home – as in many others – we embrace a lifestyle of learning. Meaning that we try to keep our ears, eyes and hearts open to moments of learning whenever they present themselves. This doesn’t mean we make our kids write summer book reports, but it does mean that when one of them mentions a book they’re reading, we’re ready with a few open-ended questions. It means identifying every bird that lands on our feeder, not because it’s mandatory science but because we love birds. It means when my kids ask me a question that I don’t have an answer to, I’m quick to say “I don’t know; let’s Google it!” and then taking the necessary two minutes to do so. No big deal. Learning is always seamlessly happening whether we have a textbook in our hands or not.

#4 MEMORIES

Summer vacation was a LONG time ago for me, but pretty much any fond memory I have of my brother, sister and I involves summer vacation as the backdrop. It seemed to be the only time we had fun together. Now, as homeschoolers, my kids spend WAY more time together than I ever did with my siblings, but I still think there are benefits to spending unstructured time together – and what better time then when the temps are high, the sun is bright and bedtime is a little less strictly enforced. Hopefully, we’re making memories together all year long, but I’ve just always felt like there was something particularly magical about summer memories and I want to give my kids the opportunity to make them as well.

#5 OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN SELF-DIRECTION

Nowadays it seems that kids and young adults are frighteningly aimless. One of the reasons may be that these generations were not taught the art of self-direction. Given a wide open afternoon, how do you fill it? My kids usually spend the first few weeks of summer looking to me to play the part of cruise director, but it doesn’t take too long before they are guiding their own activities and play. Not only does this give them a sense of independence, but it often opens up doors to new interests as well.

So, how about you? Do you formally school over the summer, or close the books until fall? I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below or on my Facebook page.