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I know my DD needs a very good routine to her day. We have just started doing LHTH this week and plan to work for another 6-7 weeks as DS1 finishes up part of his year. This is the first year we have ever been using a curriculum. It has been pretty nice.

I am wondering if I should keep working with DD during the summer or just take a few months off and do lots of crafts and fun stuff during the "school time". I know we will be spending lots of time outside if it isn't too hot. Water play, sand, swimming, bike rides that sort of normal summer stuff.

Anyone care to share?

Thanks!

Our summer is about fun and learning without really thinking they are learning! LOL! I take the children to the library and they sign up for the summer reading program so if I read to them or they read 15 minutes a day, every week they get a prize and at the end of the summer they get a free book. Those prizes sure motivate them! Our library has an art lesson weekly so we do that every week! We sign up for t-ball, that is a good 8 weeks worth of Phy-ed! We go camping and theylearn about the lake, animals, woods and I take them to historic parts of the park and explain how the log cabin was built and the famous Souix uprising in our area (and the one lady who was spared bc they gave the braves some water!) We go to the fairs and see animals and projects. Some years we have visited the zoo. I take them to art stores to see and explain tasteful art. WE have went to Walnut grove (45 minutes away) and see the Laura Ingals Wilder muesum. I do want to throw some math in once or twice a week to keep up with that on my children. So Fun is the key but learning mixed in when they don't know it!

In the long run I plan to have year-round schooling (with a week-long break here, and a couple of months off there...). However this year we wrapped up Kindergarten early since it's not mandatory in our state, and we've just been relaxing mainly so far. We are still working on phonics, handwriting and math review very casually. My mom ventures up here in the summers with my step-dad, so we like to spend a lot of time with her/them. We live relatively close to the beach, and to a major amusement park. I don't like to really plan too many activities, but my two older kids will have swim lessons for two weeks. Then we'll start our formal lessons back up tentatively the week of July 19th so that we can get a solid 6 weeks in before the baby comes. I'll be having my 4th cesarean and I look forward to not having anything to worry about for a few weeks besides recovery and taking care of the little one. Plus, the baby will become a constant lesson, I'm sure.

My dd is in school for K, which will be finished June 4th I plan to do a little reading with her through June and July. During that time, we have much going on - VBS, an out-of-state trip, on which I am hoping to stop and see my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson , picnics, a week of camping, fishing, etc. When we aren't doing these things, we will spend time outside. My dd has her own little garden tools, so I want to let her plant a little garden of her own. We also have a new puppy which will occupy some time. We will begin LHFHG full swing in early August. That is usually when I began the year when my older kids were homeschooling. It's good to give a break from the routine of school. Then they can look forward to starting a new year. You can still keep some structure in your days of summer activity Have fun

Here in sunny Florida it is very hot in the summer (the kids don't even like to be outside unless it is first thing in the morning or the evening), so we do school 4 days a week and go to the pool on Fridays. Than come October we will take 3 weeks off. We pretty much school year- round and take time off at different times of the year. Holidays and sometime in the spring. Whatever works for our schedules and vacations!

We school all the way through. We take a good amount of time off during the year due to having a child with special needs...going to therapy and medical visits.

So we have many half days and such during the year. So, we just keep plugging away.

But we do have more "off" days than during the fall and spring...Lots of time to play with Daddy when he is home.

We have to have structure to our summers or we just go crazy. We have discovered the Miller books (Wisdom & the Millers, Missionaries & the Millers etc) and my children love them. We read a chapter a day for our devotionals. I also try to concentrate on getting caught up with our housework, so we all work together on a special area of the house for about 30 minutes in the morning. We also sign up for the summer reading program at our library so our afternoons are usually spent reading in front of the fan if we are not at the spray park or wading in the creek. Working in the garde: I give the kids a part of the garden where they can plant their own vegetables or flowers. Someone gave us a few recorders and I already had a "teach yourself recorder" book, so we plan on learning recorder this summer also. I am also planning on looking into our local 4-H to see what is available for the summer.