For our family, summer is a time to reset and recharge. Even though it seems counter-intuitive, the way we recharge in our home is not by just shutting everything down. Rather, we use the freedom from our normal schedule to embark on learning adventures we’ve set aside all year. It’s what I consider the most important part of our educational efforts because it instills the love of learning, discovery, and wonder in our family that can often be absent during the rest of our school year. (Hmmm… this statement gives me much to think about. Why did we not instill a love of learning, discovery, and wonder during the “normal” part of our school year? Perhaps I’ll share on those thoughts at a later date…)
Over the summer, we enjoy the freedom to do nothing at all during our summer breaks (which usually doesn’t actually mean nothing at all; it can mean things like like beholding the sky and simply pausing to notice what’s around us). But it’s so much fun to embark on studies that bring civilizations to life in a way that we can never pursue when we’re in the midst of the classical grind (re: our oldest middle/high school students). Thus, we’re studying ancients now as a family instead of waiting until the Fall semester because… our oldest children enjoy being a part of our learning adventures, too.
Our Summer Plans = Ancient Adventures…
….and a little bit more.
Keyboarding. It’s not ancient, but it’s a skill that our children need to work on. Typing.com is a great place to learn – and it’s free! Update: Upon request, our boys asked to find a program that starts with memorizing the home keys as I learned. I found this website which is not nearly as elaborate, but the boys are learning to type much more quickly with this one: How-to-Type.com.
Nature Study. Our goal this summer is to learn how to identify a few more birds – and to revisit the study of butterflies when they start to gather in large kaleidoscopes in our hollow. Our favorite field guides are the Kaufman Field Guides.
Summer Read Alouds. Reading aloud is one of the most wonderful things we do as a family. Now that we’ve finished up our American History Reading Plans – and because it’s been several years since we last read them, it’s time to embark on a journey to Narnia once again…
Play Board Games. Would you believe that I have to make a conscious effort to remember to play with my children? I really do. Playing with our children is important, and I can easily forget how imperative it really is. With our eldest only three years from graduation, I realize that time is fleeting. Lord, teach me to number my days aright that I may gain a heart of wisdom!
Our children love board games and play them all the time. (Playing games is also a way that I get them to practice math facts over the summer. heh.) The games listed above are some of their favorites. They also have the largest Monopoly collection this side of Smith County. (I think.)
Ancient Egypt History Study. Our boys have wanted to study Ancient Egypt for several months now, so during the month of May June, we’re heading into Ancient Egyptian history with the Ancient Egypt Project Passport, an integrated study that provides a glimpse of history (along with Biblical connections!) through reading, handicrafts, projects, and games. We’re one week in and loving it! UPDATE: We’ve finished it! Go check out the details here!
As a mother/teacher, it’s my job to teach my children handicrafts, even if I’m not necessarily a crafty mom. (Same thing goes for cooking.) One of the things I enjoy most about these studies is that it helps me to instruct them in how to make things with their own hands – how to form beautiful and engaging projects that teach them skills while giving them the sense of a job well done. Take a look at all the projects we enjoyed in this study!
Ancient Greece History Study. As classical educators, one of our aims is to pass on a body of knowledge, values, and ideals from which Western Civilization has stemmed, the root of which lies in the culture passed down from Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem. By providing an introduction to Ancient Greece and Rome in the early years, we help to connect to the overarching goal of eventually reading the words of Homer, Plato, and Cicero. This study provides an introduction to the life, customs, and people of Ancient Greece. We may also add some readings from the Famous Men of Greece, but we can also just stick to the readings in this project pack.
By special request from three of our four boys, we’ll be working through this Ancient Greece study during late June through July. We look forward to sharing more about it later this summer! UPDATE: We’ve finished it! Go check out the details here!
Ancient Rome History Study. This is one we actually started after the beginning of the school year. The Ancient Rome Project Passport study includes a chronological history of Rome, starting with the kings and legends of early Rome and its early establishment as city-states to the rise of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, eventually leading to its fall to barbarian invasions. Directions and project masters for over 50 projects and activities are included for topics such as: everyday life, government and law, education and occupations, literature and science, medicine and philosophy, religion and warfare, business and transportation, arts and architecture, emperors and oratory, the Pax Romana, barbarian invasions, and the beginnings of Christianity! UPDATE: Go check out what we’ve completed thus far here!
Architects of the Ancient World Online Art Class. Although the Ancient Egypt and Greece studies include a few art projects, our children would also like to learn some art techniques from someone who actually knows what they’re doing. For this reason, we’re looking forward to a study of drawing and painting techniques using the newly released Architects of the Ancient World Art Class from Yellow Spot Sun. I’m really so very excited about this!
We look forward to sharing more about this art class in the coming months as well!
Science in the Ancient World. A couple of years ago we worked through several lessons in Science in the Ancient World. With its integrated and wonder-full history/science approach from a Christian worldview, I’ve wanted to come back to it for some time now. My hope is that we’ll be able to dabble in this book again this summer. (Not sure if this will happen.)
Latin. On this week’s episode of “Confessions of a Homeschool Mom,” I’m admitting that I lack motivation to study Latin (especially Henle Latin). I’m sorry, y’all. It’s the one thing I keep letting slide, and it’s the one thing that’s supposed to be at the core of our Classical Education. But… there’s hope for us yet! I’m enjoying the study of Latin a whole lot more with Visual Latin. I’m not sure if it will transform me into a Latin scholar, but it’s getting us a whole lot farther than anything else we’ve tried! (And our rising 4th grader is enjoying the lessons alongside me, which is definitely a bonus.)
That looks like a good deal of activity for our summer break, so let me mention that our primary goal is to pursue God’s direction for our lives in the midst of regaining a love of learning in our family this summer. I’ve found that when we don’t have anything planned during our breaks, we tend to turn on the television by default. And… it will be much more rewarding to use these wonderfully laid-back months to embark on a few learning adventures together as a family. We hope that sharing our own excursions will provide a glimpse of possible learning adventures for your own family in the coming school year!