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Hey, I'm a new homeschooling mom and we are really loving Heart of Dakota! My 6 year old daughter is doing 1st grade in Beyond and to say that she loves it is an understatement! She often asks me to do 2 days in one sitting! I'm thinking ahead to the summer months and I'm just wondering what most of you do in the summer? I know a long break would be nice, especially since baby #4 is due in May, but I'm not sure my daughter is going to like that! I've already thought about having her do copywork from the Bible, but are there other things you all do to keep kids learning in the summer?

This might not be exactly what you're looking for, but we've decided to spread our homeschooling out through the year instead of taking a big summer break. We're planning to homeschool about 4 days each week from September through May, then homeschool about 3 days per week in June, July, and August. My children tend not to forget things over the summer this way, and it also gives us structure while still giving us freedom to do other activities.

On years when we have taken a summer break, I usually just continue Math and some type of writing most days. They read so much on their own, that I don't feel like I have to assign it in the summer.

HTH!

Happy New Year!

Last summer I took a 7 week break, just long enough for them to do summer soccer, dance camp, and then swimming lessons. We started up again in mid-July. It was great to actually start when it was so hot outside we couldn't do very much, and get some momentum going before the co-op and other activities we do started in the fall. I love how school structures our days. We took this past week off as a Christmas break and my children are actually getting bored right now... so we're back to it starting tomorrow!

I am hoping to have our 180 days by sometime in May. Depending on how busy our summer is, I would like to continue math, reading, and some writing here and there through June and July. I don't want to do HOD guide days because I know we wouldn't be able to keep up with it consistently. More than likely, our 'foster' baby will no longer be with us come summer, so I want to get dd outdoors more and do some fun stuff that will obviously count for science. We always go camping for a week. If it correlates with HOD, great! Otherwise, we will pick up with our guide in August.

Our summer is also too hot for outdoors, so we just keep going with school. We take breaks as needed throughout the year to go on mini vacations and visit family, but no more than a week or two at a time. We'll take time off for VBS and take days off here and there to do activities, but mostly we just will keep chugging along.

Thanks for the responses! This may not matter, but we live overseas in a mild all year round climate, so "summer" doesn't affect us, as far as weather or extra-curricular activities. I will probably find some things to do, though, like some suggested, like writing and math. She reads like crazy on her own! Thanks again for the responses!