Summer
I’m going to say something I know will be highly unpopular. But it needs to be said…
Summer is a GREAT time to catch up—or even get ahead! The average child loses several months of reading progress and at least a month of math progress over the summer. Just doing a little each day (or at least 4–5 days a week) can have a HUGE impact! This is especially true for students that are already struggling academically!
How great would it be to go back to school and already be caught up with the rest of the students—or at least have closed the gap a bit?
I’m not talking about 8 hours of trudging through schoolwork all summer long. BUT—every little bit helps!
A few years ago, we started doing the equivalent of “homeschool time” during summer weekdays. This meant spending 1–2 hours, 4–5 days a week (because let’s face it—sometimes things just got in the way!) focusing on schoolwork.
I partnered with a friend in a similar situation, and we tried several different things. And honestly—it all worked. The biggest challenge was discipline.
I mean, even as a parent, the last thing I want to do is schoolwork. But I knew it was important to maintain the amazing progress we had made at school—and maybe even catch up—so that when we returned, we’d be as close to where we “should” be as possible.
(And without getting off track here—don’t “should” all over yourself. Instead, think of each step as one that can add up to a BIG difference. The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step and all that…)
The first year, we were completely lost. What on earth should we do?
We turned to a homeschool program called Time4Learning, which allowed us to select topics and assign them based on where our kids were. We aimed for 20 minutes of reading, 20 minutes of spelling or writing, and 20 minutes of math.
We also used TeachersPayTeachers for additional resources (like “daily editing” or “writing prompts by grade level”). Generally, this meant we focused primarily on reading and writing using the programs. For math, we used flashcards—20 minutes, or if they finished the stack early, they were done! (Great encouragement to try!)
We took weekly trips to the library and continued with nightly reading. When the kids went back to school, they tested in the upper 75% of their grade. I honestly couldn’t believe it, because we really were NOT at grade level. But with what we caught up on—and what others lost due to lack of practice—we were able to start the year in a way that gave the kids real confidence.
So the next year, we did it again, but this time we used different resources. Between my friends and me, we’ve tried Reading A–Z (I really appreciated the Headsprout program), homeschool programs, and school-supported tools like Lexia and IXL.
Regardless of what we used, just setting aside a little time each day made a HUGE difference.
Now—I know it stinks getting all this set up. But it does get easier. You can sign up for something like Time4Learning and let it schedule things each day for you, or you can just assign time on a reading and math program from your local school.
And honestly—by the second year, my kids may have groaned a bit… but they knew it had to happen.
I also rewarded them often—ice cream or popsicles go a long way on hot afternoons! We looked for other fun things, too, like trips to the park or library, or we’d set up the sprinkler. Anything to help make summer fun.
And in the grand scheme of things, when they went back to school, they were able to focus and were excited that they could participate. So… it’s worth it—for both you and them.
