Summer Learning: Retaining Skills and Knowledge

It's been noted that school children lose about 2 months of knowledge over the summer. As a result, school teachers spend 4 to 6 weeks re-teaching material that students forget during the summer.

Homeschooled children have an advantage over traditionally schooled children during the summer months. Here's a few reasons why:

1. Homeschooled children are accustomed to learning every day, whether it's a weekday, weekend, holiday, or vacation. Learning is simply a natural part of each day, just like eating, sleeping, playing, living.

2. Homeschooled children have a sense of responsibility where their education is concerned. When learning is a natural part of each day, it ranks right along with brushing teeth, getting dressed, giving hugs, caring for others, helping friends or family, choosing a book to read, making something new, solving problems, and other daily activities. Education isn't something that occurs only at school. Rather, it's a natural part of a homeschooled child's everyday life.

3. Homeschooled children enjoy learning, they enjoy challenging themselves, and they enjoy finding new things to learn, whether it's summer, fall, winter, or spring. With the freedom and flexibility to explore a world of knowledge, they are off and running! One idea will lead to another, and -- just like a tree that branches out into new and varied directions -- the homeschooled child follows new topics that consistently branch off into areas of new knowledge and fascinating activities.

Join us at EverythingHomeschooling.com to share ideas on Summer Learning through our Message Board, or to see dozens of Summer Activities that have been suggested.

Happy homeschooling!