Ah, Summer...

One of the things I love about homeschooling is how it breathes and grows with our family. Every year looks a little different from the last, changing just like my kids do.

Summer is sweet. We've finished off our big things, like the year's science (we did this one and loved it), and are ready for a little breathing space, so we take a breather from science and history.

But I've learned something about my kids: if they take a break from the things that they are challenged by, it all slips from their brains like water in your hands! So once a week we still have Math Day, and my youngest reader still has to practice reading three or four days a week (at least!).

I love this pace, and so do they. We go to the library just like always (oh, how the librarians chuckle at our heaps of books!) and we are out in nature as much as possible. We have a little talk about summer being time to explore and be creative and teach the dog tricks and make up games and just be.

This morning they spent a good amount of time outside,  laughing as my ten year old figured out how to hang his own hammock from the palms in our yard, and now he is swinging away with his little sisters, still laughing. 

We are very, very blessed. I am grateful for this life, this pace of living and being with them. Every day is such a gift, isn't it?