Summer Programs For Homeschoolers
Fun and Educational Summer Activities for Homeschool Students
Children are easily distracted when the weather turns warm. How can parents keep schooling comfortable during the summer heat? There are alternatives to the classroom.
Homeschooling parents wishing to school throughout the summer months face many unique challenges. The first challenge is maintaining a child’s attention and interest while her public schooled counterparts are on vacation. This can be accomplished in many ways, though not all involve the use of school materials or a school setting.
The second challenge faced during the summer months is the weather. Heat and bright sunny weather can act as a distraction for students, but there are many ways to compensate for the added heat while tailoring the learning to the students’ own interests and abilities.
Fun Educational Summer Programs for Homeschoolers
Swimming Lessons: Many communities offer swimming lessons at local beaches. By attending swimming lessons at a public beach, the student gets to relax in a summer setting. He gets to interact with new children, and he gets to learn or perfect a lifelong skill while enjoying the warm weather.
Sailing/Canoe Clubs: Through boating lessons, a student is given the opportunity to interact with other children as well as work as part of a team. Lessons on great explorers or trade routes can be taught on the beach afterwards.
Summer Festivals, Farmers Markets and Artisan Shows: These shows provide students with a wonderful opportunity to learn about their own communities as well as the historical and cultural values of other countries and cultures. There are often many demonstrations and samples available at such events.
Theater Programs: Try enrolling the student in a local theater in the park or other acting/arts programs. Many of these are offered during the summer months and culminate in a final performance. These programs offer students the chance to do something different while meeting and working with other peers. Many of these programs also have non-acting positions available.
Summer Internships: Visit local museums, zoos, aquariums and historical attractions before the summer months and look into internship programs for older students or day camps for younger ones. Many attractions such as the Vancouver Aquarium offer youth internship positions of varying lengths.
Overnight Camps: Enroll the student in a sleep-away camp such as Camp Diamond for one or more weeks of the summer. Summer camps provide students with an opportunity to step out of their shell and try new things. Students get to experience being away from mom and dad, which teaches responsibility, and they are offered the chance to try things such as archery or canoeing. Some camps even offer an overnight wilderness trip.
Tips for Planning Summer Activities
- Don’t overload the student. Allowing him to try one or two new things in a summer is often enough to satisfy his curiosity and offers enough downtime to regain focus.
- Ask for input from the student before enrolling him or her in a summer program. It is important to be sure it is something he will enjoy.
- Remember the student will be learning while involved with any summer program so it is all right to forgo some or all of the formal classroom work he or she may normally do during this time.
Overall, turning summer into a learning vacation away from the classroom allows the student an opportunity to relax and clear his or her mind. This can have many positive effects when he or she returns to the normal routine and it can be a pleasant change for both the student and the homeschooling parents.
For more information on this topic read these other great Suite 101 articles Summer Camp for The Family, Homeschooling and Summer Camp and How to Choose a Summer Camp.
