Yay for finishing another school year! For many years, we’ve been so overwhelmed with life changes that we’ve basically just given up as summer rolled around without ever really feeling accomplished.
The Lord has blessed us with a wonderful school year. We successfully completed 180 days this year, and we’re all celebrating. It’s hard to believe that another year is in the books, but at the same time, we’re all ready for summer break.
Without further ado, here’s…
What We Accomplished This School Year…
*Finished math curriculum (mostly): Everyone has progressed well this year. We changed curriculums mid-year for two of them, so they’ll continue to plug along with lessons a few days a week.
*Reviewed the composers we studied: We’ve enjoyed our Composer Studies immensely. Instead of starting a new study this month, we reviewed the ones we’ve studied this semester. We’re all looking forward to more in the fall.
*Added to our nature journals: This is another thing I’m glad we added this year/semester. The kids are still enjoying Art For Kids Hub and using those drawing lessons to add to their journals. I know it’s not the “right way” to do nature journaling, but it’s working for us, and it’s giving my kids confidence in their drawing abilities that I hope will carry over into them attempting more on their own.
*Completed George Washington’s World: We learned about important world events and leaders during George Washington’s lifetime from 1732-1799. My kids learned more about the American and French Revolutions this semester than I did in all of my high school and college days. Seriously!
*Found a stopping point in Considering God’s Creation: This is a Creation-based science curriculum that has been on my shelf for years. I finally took it down to use it this semester, and again–I’m so glad I did! The book is broken into 36 lessons. Since we started in January, we accomplished 18 of those lessons and will complete the rest in the fall.
*Memorization Review: We didn’t take on any new memorization projects this month, but we reviewed the ones we’ve learned this semester–Psalm 100, Sonnet 18, Spanish and Latin vocabulary, and Children’s First Catechism questions.
What We Plan to Accomplish This Summer…
I’m working on a plan for a summer routine. We’ll likely have two extra cousins over about three days a week, and I know from experience, things tend to run smoother when there’s a plan.
So far, I plan to have all of the kids doing some schooling at least 30 minutes about three times a week, and we’ll have quiet reading time for 30 minutes every day that we’re home. Some of my kiddos will be working on math while others will be focused on reading/phonics or spelling.
Progress, not perfection.
We plan to have lots of fun this summer too! Here’s our short list of summer fun.
- Vacation Bible School: 5 consecutive mornings that I can drop and go. Forgive me if I’m a little excited!
- Tennis Lessons:
Our homeschool group has arranged for 45-minute lessons once a week for six weeks.So… The tennis lessons with an instructor didn’t work out because not enough kids signed up. But the handful of families that did are still planning to get together and practice through the summer. So, it’s still a win! - Mission Trip to Ecuador: Ecuador is our favorite place on the planet, so we’re excited to be heading back in July–even if it’s only a week.
- Cousin Camp: One of my kids most favorite summer activities!
And we have this cool Summer Bucket List that we’re working on this year. Most of the 50 items are free or inexpensive. So, we hope to be able to mark them all off the list before school officially begins again in August! Click the link to head over and get the free printable for your family.
What about you? Have you completed your home school year? Do you take a summer break in your homeschool? If so, do you have summer plans?