Educational Summer: Check!

I always look forward to summer.

It doesn't really matter that it's really not that different from the rest of the year for us here at home.

(Contrary to popular belief, we do not take 2 months off because Daddy is a teacher. With 3 littles, time off is when I can sneak off to Walmart after they've gone to bed.)

The warm weather, sunny skies and frequent trips to the beach are vacation enough!

But as anyone knows who has ever cared for little stinkers like mine, messing with the schedule is a big no-no.

They like the rhythm of their day and quite frankly, so do I.

So this whole post is about the slight changes I'm making to our everyday happenings so that life with the crew is a little more summer friendly!

First off: review!

All those phonetic sounds Piper learned this year need to be remembered!

I'm not about to throw all that hard work out the window but, let's face it, daily flash cards are just not going to cut it with my 4 year old!

Instead she gets to do something fun and out of the norm: Reading Eggs!

This is an awesome online program that has 120 lessons and lots of fun games and activities, too!

This is not even work to Piper and she completes her lesson each day while little sisters are napping.

Not only is she reviewing what we've done this past year but she is also learning numerous sight words!

We've finished up our Beginning With God activity book we started in September.

We are still reading through the bible stories in the Beginner's Bible though since the activity book doesn't cover all of them.

For the summer we have also begun Leading Little Ones to God.

This is a fabulous book and is unique in that it teaches who God is and other foundational truths of our faith in a very understandable way.

For example, last week we learned why we can't see God, how we know He exists and how He speaks to us.

When I asked questions this week about what we had learned, Piper was able to answer all my questions without difficulty!

I was very impressed considering that there are very few pictures in the book.

Both girls love sitting and listening to me read this book at breakfast time and it has caused many interesting conversations!

Piper is working on her printing skills this summer.
We are using Handwriting Without Tears Get Set For School workbook.
This book requires only tracing of the letters which is pretty easy for Pipe but I figured it would prepare her for starting the Kindergarten level workbook, Letters and Numbers For Me, in September.
Believe it or not, she adores tracing the letters in her workbook.
She gets a little annoyed at me when I correct her pencil grip but is so proud of every letter that she traces!

You've already had several glimpses of the nature journals we've begun but it too is a summer project.

I'm hoping that we'll stay consistent with it since it is easy for me to forget to look for something interesting to add to the journal when we are outside.

So far Piper has been the one to find things and ask to draw them in her journal.

Thank goodness for her enthusiasm!

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One project that I have not yet begun but plan to is a sponser child lapbook like the one above.

The girls have taken interest in who the little boy in the picture on our fridge is and I think summer would be the perfect time to pursue that since we have a tad bit more time on our hands.

I'd love to provide them with regular opportunities to draw pictures to send to him and think of questions to ask since he writes us frequently.

I am really debating continuing our Before Five in a Row books through the summer.

We are having so much fun with this program!

Likely, I'll take it a week at a time and plan to row different books on weeks when there is not a whole lot going on or it is rainy.

I am really hoping for a warm summer though!

We have a garden to tend to, road trips to take and beachs to play at!

I'd be very pleased if the majority of our days were spent outside!

So I don't think this makes us year round homeschoolers...

Quite frankly, I can't imagine going any length of time without learning with these kids!

I'm realizing more and more that educating them is a way of life rather than a system that we can close down for a couple of months each year.

To be honest, even if I could, I wouldn't want to!

I love seeing their curiousity take over and them absorb every last drop of knowledge I impart to them!