How to Kiss Summer Slide Goodbye for Good
“Stay sharp this summer!” I said it in jest one day to my two boys, and from then on it became our little trick for keeping summer slide from happening ever again.
We love our little homeschool, but by the time May comes around every year, we are all sorely in need of a break - a really long summer break.
We want to run around a campground, go swimming in the ocean, do summer camps, take more hikes, be spontaneous, stay up late watching movies, relax in the hammock with a good book or two, and go on adventures as the mood strikes us.
The boys want to play with their friends, and I want to soak up some sun and a few quiet moments.
That's why we love summer break.
So, we take one - a long one. Typically we're out of our regular school schedule for 3 whole months because we homeschool through the rest of the year with very few extended breaks, and we live on the coast of Maine in the summer with loads of kids all around, so why not take 3 months off, right?
That why not hit us back in 2015 - summer slide.
I honestly didn't think it could happen to me - we do so much sneaky learning in the summer that I felt like we were summer-slide-proof.
But that summer, we were off from school for all of May, June, and July, and when August came and school started back, it was quite the rude awakening - especially in the math department.
“I can’t believe he forgot how to multiply... Seriously – he was really good at math, and now we’re back at square one. I've ruined him for life.”
These were the words of a frazzled, frustrated homeschool mama in the August of 2015 - me.
That summer had been the most magical summer of our lives. Long days working outside together. Long evenings around the campfire. Countless hikes and swimming trips. Loads of friends for the kids and parents too. We read a lot that summer, but we didn’t really worry about anything else. And then we paid for it.
"Never again," I vowed. "There has to be a better way to take a break than this."
So, the very next summer, we started our 3 months off with a plan - we would do a little bit of the essential subjects every day and see if August could be better. As it turns out, it's WAY better.
Four summers later, we're still at it, and by now my guys don't even bat an eyelash - they just say,
"What are we doing for Stay Sharp today?"
It's music to my mama ears. And they're both great at math again, by the way - that one summer didn't seem to hurt them a bit, so no mom-guilt monsters out there, okay?
So, for the mama out there looking for a way to make August a little less of a shock (or just looking for a way to keep from hearing "I'm bored" and "When can we play video games?" all summer long),
Here's how we do Stay Sharp This Summer:
Every single weekday, my boys have to do 7 things before they get their allotment of screentime for that day. I let them choose when they want to do them so they have plenty of freedom during their day, but they know screentime will be cut short if they don't get everything done before a certain time each evening.
#1 Play outside.
Every single day - just get out there and do something - anything. Ride bikes. Hike. Kayak. Paddleboard. Play with friends. Watch the waves on the seashore. If it's a beautiful day, we do everything outside and they play for hours, but if it's rainy, we might just play outside on the deck for a little while.
#2 Read aloud together.
Put a book on Audible for a few minutes each morning. Read bedtime stories at night. Snuggle up in a hammock with a picture book together.
#3 Read silently alone.
Help her find a good book series she can't put down. Take him to the library and let him choose as many books as he wants. Set a timer for 10, 20, 30, or even 60 minutes each day for quiet reading time. Soon you'll see her picking up her book at all times of the day and reading for fun, and that timer will be obsolete. Model this by reading for fun yourself, and you'll see the results skyrocket.
#4 Do 3 math problems.
Crack open the math book and choose 3 problems each day - just 3. Make it a random selection from all of the concepts he needs to remember over the summer, but don't fret over it too much. Check the problems together and go over anything she doesn't understand. It seems so small, and most of the time it only takes a few minutes, but the payoff is HUGE!
#5 Write for 30+ minutes.
Get one of those writing prompt books and let her have fun with it - selecting whatever prompt she wants to tackle for 30 minutes each day. Or, give him the freedom to do a creative free write on the computer and write a fictional narrative about anything he wants. Remove the pressure and just let them have fun. Resist the temptation to correct every error and just let them write. (You can always help edit later - or even turn it into language arts lessons for next year!)
Seriously - this works wonders. I've used these strategies during the summer and the school year for several years now, and I'm here to tell you they can work magic. In the span of just 2 years, my oldest went from not wanting to write at all (ever!) to asking if he could use the computer to work on his story during his free time. So hang on, despairing mama, it gets easier!!
#6 Do your chores.
With less schoolwork to do, there's more time to help out around the house with dishes, laundry, floors, and all those deep cleaning things we never get around to when school is in.
#7 Do one other thing.
Watch a documentary on Curiosity Stream. Take a trip to a museum or zoo. Research a topic you've been wondering about. Go to a junior ranger program at a national or state park. Do a science experiment. Plant and tend a garden. Watch an author interview at the Read Aloud Revival. Cook a meal together or let the kids cook by themselves with Raddish. Play a board game. Do a Field Trip Zoom. Take an art class. Build something. Take a class on Outschool. Work on a big project. Volunteer somewhere. Get your first job.
This is where the other subjects get to sneak in every few days, so I like to get creative.
Every summer we choose one big project each kid can do separately and one little thing we can all do together. This summer, one of my guys is tending a garden while the other is learning how to tie knots and do rope projects. We also subscribed to Kiwi Co's Eureka kit, so we get one engineering project every month in the mail, and they get to build something really cool together once a month. AND we're trying to get into the volunteering game, getting ready for those first jobs pretty soon. (Eek!)
And that's it - that's what we do in the summer to keep summer slide from happening, and it's been working so far.
What about you?
I'd love to hear what your family does to keep summer slide from happening - or just to keep kids busy and happy in the summer.
Hop into the email group and share your ideas.
Have more questions or want to chat?
Check out these posts for more info:
The 3-Step Strategy for Successfully Homeschooling Any Subject
A Day in the Life: Desire-Led Worldschooling with 12 and 14-year-old boys (while working from home)
Or, hop into our email group and send me a message.
I'd love to talk homeschooling with you!