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As we finally wrap up our 6th year of homeschool, I can’t help but look back at how we’ve spent our summer in previous years. We consider ourselves year round homeschoolers, and that still holds true today, but this year, I want our summer to be a bit more intentional.
Today I’m sharing how we’re wrapping up year 6 and what our summer homeschool plans will look like.
Looking Back at Homeschool Year 6
This homeschool year has been an interesting one. A good one, but nonetheless, interesting. It was the year the my oldest son officially started homeschooling. The year we finally settled down after selling our house 3 years ago. And the year we spent playing catch up on curriculum.
If you’ve been around for any length of time, either here or on my YouTube channel, then you know how far behind we were on curriculum while selling and moving. Then, we found out we were pregnant in the middle of all that transition which only put us behind even more. Getting on track with everything hasn’t been easy but we made it! We’ve caught up on lots of curriculum, slowed down on others, and got rid of what is no longer serving us in this season of life.
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Why We Continue Learning in the Summer
I’m a firm believer on continuing a child’s education throughout the summer months. It might look different than the regular homeschool year but learning still happens.
Maintains Academic Progress
For the last six years, we’ve done year round homeschooling, which has consisted of a pretty heavy workload in the early hours of the day. Part of the reason why we’ve chosen this route in the summer is because it’s helped maintain our children’s academic progress. Being a public school kid, I remember coming back to school in the fall and not remember a thing of anything I had learned the previous year. We didn’t want that our kids. We wanted consistency; for them to remember concepts and ideals that they would need the following year without us having to spend the entire first quarter in review.
Reduces Screen Time
Let’s be honest. Summer time is the perfect time for screen time to increase significantly. When schools out, kids wake up without having any work to do and immediately, their go to is to turn on the television. With having schoolwork to do, that tv time is constricted. In our household, specifically in the summer, tv’s are not allowed to get turned on until we’ve done everything we have to do in the morning, including schoolwork. Homeschooling in the summer is a great way to keep screen time low and, as I said before, even light work can help maintain that academic progress.
Creates An Easier Transition Into The New School Year
Another thing I remember as clear as day from my public school days, was struggling to get back into a school routine after 2-3 months off. When we started year round homeschooling, one of the things we had in mind was having to avoid the struggle of coming back to it in the fall. Because we have a pretty consistent homeschool schedule throughout the summer (even when it’s light), we don’t encounter the back to school struggle. We don’t even deal with them not wanted to do any work, because throughout the summer, they’ve kept up with their morning routine of breakfast, chores and then schoolwork. It really does help with transitioning into the new school year with ease.
Our Summer Homeschool Plans
For Summer 2026, our homeschool plans are pretty simple. Although we will still homeschool year round, the workload won’t be as heavy as it has been in previous years. If I’m completely honest, this year I reached a level of burnout that left me extremely unmotivated most days. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that type burnt out in the last 6 years of homeschooling. So this year, I decided I wanted to enjoy my summer without the stress of the constant workload of homeschool.
When we finish our current school year in mid June, I plan on taking a firm 2 week break with absolutely no school work (just reading). We’ll begin our summer schedule on July 6th with light work and officially begin the 2026-2027 homeschool year in August.
Prioritize Summer Reading
Reading is one of those things that are non negotiable every day. Our 3 older kids are required to have at least 20 minutes of uninterrupted reading time a day. The girls are strong independent readers now, so they read through chapter books, while I sit with my Kindergartner and help him practice reading through beginner friendly books. We are following a few summer reading programs that will reward them based on their time reading, so we also make sure to track our time.
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Focusing on Life Skills
For us, life skills is an extension of having a home education and it’s something we lean into every single day, regardless if we count it as a homeschool day or not. We’ll continue our household chores as we would on any given day. But we will add more time in the kitchen for each of the kids, so that they can learn basic cooking skills and bring those into the new homeschool year in helping me with prepping breakfast and lunch.
Light Math Work
Math is another non negotiable everyday in the summer time. We put a pause on every other curriculum, but math is one that we continue to work through. My rising first grader is done with his kindergarten math so he will be working through a summer program with Argo Prep that contain lots of math practice as well as language arts. When we start the new homeschool year, then he will go ahead and start his 1st grade Math with Confidence.
My girls will continue working through their current math programs so we can finish those and move into the next grade levels. My rising 5th grader is 2 lessons away from finishing and then we’ll be moving into fourth grade Math with Confidence. She will continue to work through this level until we catch up her up to 5th grade level. And my rising 3rd grader is about half way through her current level and once she’s done with that, she’ll be all caught up and will start 3rd grade Math with Confidence.
Math was one of those curriculums that we slacked on throughout our transition with moving and having a baby, and we have fell significantly behind. But we are just pushing through, taking our time, making sure we grasp every concept before moving into the next level.
Spending Time Outdoors
After math, reading and life skills, outdoor time is top priority. Living in Indiana, winters can be long and boring, so as soon as the nice weather comes in, I try to get outside as much as possible. Because we have lighter work this summer, the kids have so much more time to spend outside with their friends. This also helps with keeping screen time at a minimum.
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Final Thoughts
As we close out our 6th year of homeschool, I’m so so grateful for Gods faithfulness through every milestone this year. We’re looking forward to a slower summer filled with lots of reading, outdoor and family time, and slowly preparing for year 7!
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