Are your school kids at home for the summer and need some structure? Or…are you a homeschooler looking to keep skills fresh, but want your children to be independent?
You are in the right place!
Here you will find a routine that works, links to no-prep resources to practice grade-level skills, and ideas to keep kids engaged and not bored.
Also, download the FREE schedule that you can edit, print, and use to keep your kiddos organized and focused.
Purpose
Giving children something meaningful to do each day in the summer gives them purpose and allows learning to continue after school gets out.
Have you ever noticed how a child acts on days when they are left to their own devices all day long? Sometimes, they run out of ideas, get bored, bother their siblings or parents, and get into trouble. Having routine responsibilities first thing in the morning gives kids autonomy through accomplishing tasks and meeting expectations. It also minimizes power struggles. All the while children practice grade-level skills to keep them fresh for the coming school year.
Think of this chart as a routine and not a schedule. Children can wake up, have breakfast, and do their chart. When they are finished, they can free play. This routine often helps children look forward to their free time and have more creativity in what they choose to do.
Guidelines
- Children must complete their chart first thing in the morning and have you check it when they are done. This leads to less complaining and struggle in general.
- You know your child. Choose educational tasks to work on that they are struggling with, need more practice, and help the child improve in grade-level skills.
- Keep the tasks minimal. They don’t need 25 things to do all day. Choose just enough to keep them busy for a couple of hours in the morning. It is summer after all!
- Print each schedule at the beginning of the week. Feel free to update and change is as needed. If a child needs extra work, add it. If something comes up (camp, swim lessons, vacation), you can remove things. This gives you flexibility all summer to put what you need and do what is best for your child and your family.
Optional Categories
Choose section headings based on your family’s and child’s needs. For example, if you don’t want your child looking at a screen at all, don’t do “online work”. If you already have chores worked out, delete that category.
Calendar: The calendar at the top is for children to list the dates and activities of the week. This helps them stay organized and reminds them of upcoming events.
Independent Work: (options for independent work, feel free to customize your own topics and wording).
- Independent review page: this is perfect as a quick written review of grade-level skills. Some options I suggest are summer morning work, summer math & literacy printables, or some other review workbook. Some teachers send home review pages, this is a great place to use them.
- Reading: Up to 30% of reading skills can get lost over the summer. Children must be given the chance to work on decoding skills through the physical act of reading. Choose some books for your children and have them read for a specified amount of time (based on age) or a specific number of pages (1 chapter for example). If children struggle to read on their own, have them read to a parent, friend, or sibling.
- Daily Science: Work on science skills by reading nature readers (Christian Liberty Series are our favorites, the Good and the Beautiful are another good option), keeping a birdwatching notebook, keeping a nature journal, or doing daily science workbooks. Research shows that children develop a good science foundation and respect for God and the world through focused observation of nature.
- Piano (or other instrument) Practice: The perfect time for kids to improve their musical abilities is in the summer when things have slowed down. For free online piano lessons, try Hoffman Academy.
- Audiobooks: Children can process up 2 to 3 grade levels higher than they can read themselves. Audiobooks are great for this! They learn things like advanced vocabulary, higher-level topics and literary skills, critical thinking, and imagination. Check out some of our favorite audiobooks and our favorite librivox books.
- Scripture Memorization: Practice reading a Bible verse 5 times a day until it is memorized. Write out Bible verses from a book, list, or these free memory verse cards. Or learn scripture through music! Some of my favorites are Seeds Family Worship, Hide ’em in Your Heart, Bible Songs, Sing the Word, and the old Psalty the Singing Songbook songs. **If your church has Right Now Media, you have access to Seeds Family Worship and tons of other great Bible teachings and videos.
- Bible: I really enjoy reading the Bible to my kids and believe that is very important. Children also need to learn and understand the Bible on their own. Children can read a Bible passage, and do a chapter of devotions (we have liked Indescribable, and Devotions For the Children’s Hour among others). Older children can listen to portions of sermons online (we enjoy JD Farag and Bible studies by the late Chuck Missler). Devotions can also be done as a family during mealtime. This is a great way to discuss faith together! Some great family devotions are Family Ways, New City Catechism, and Foundations, among others.
- Drawing: Learn drawing skills which can support and improve penmanship and fine motor skills. For a handwriting and drawing combo pack, try the Draw Write Now series. The How to Draw series and the Good and Beautiful Drawing sets are great starts.
- Reading Fluency: If your child struggles to read with fluency and flow, the summer months are a great time to work on this. You can either have the child read a passage several times to practice fluency (with a parent modeling a fluent reading) or you can try fluency passages designed to work on this particular skill.
Online Work: (options for online work, feel free to customize your own topics and wording).
- Learn Spanish: Practice Spanish skills here.
- Multiplication Facts Practice: Keep math facts sharp with online practice.
- Typing: For kids in third grade and up, work on typing skills. Typing Club is a great, free option.
- U.S. States and World Geography: Do your kids know all of their states and countries, oceans, continents, rivers and geographical features? If not, try this.
- Art: We LOVE Art for Kids Hub.
- Devotions/Bible Lessons: Listen to a short devotion or Bible lesson.
Chores:
This is the perfect place to add some personal chores such as cleaning your room, doing your laundry, straightening your closet and chores that contribute to the family such as doing dishes, wiping down windows, or working in the garden. Change these weekly if necessary.
Notes
- To use the fonts I used, download this one and this one. Once downloaded to your computer, it will automatically work in powerpoint. You can also change the fonts to any one you already have.
- If you don’t have powerpoint, you can upload to google slides. You may have some formatting to change, but it should still work.
Last Things...
I hope this helps you establish a daily routine that works. May your summer be filled with learning, memories, and happiness!
♥ Melanie
Summer learning loss is a real thing…to get more tips to avoid the summer slide, check out this post.
