Intentional Summer: A Lesson Plan for YOU

Posted by Debra | 0 comments

I have always held that summer is a great time for learning and while we stop our academics my kids continue in their social, physical and delight-directed learning. But what about me? I have found that I become a bit of a taxi driver in the summer taking them from camp to playdate to lesson. At the end of the summer I look at my half-checked to-do list and think, “Where did my time go?” “What did I accomplish?” “Who did I become?”

This summer I’m being intentional. I’ve made a list of priorities and I’m penciling them into my own lesson plan with that Type-A adage ringing in my head that if I fail to plan then I plan to fail. So here is my lesson plan:

Reading: My reading list is all mapped out. I include different genres: homeschooling methods, spirituality, American literature and this year I’m adding a biography. What do you want to read that you’ve been putting off? What will help you grow in a new way? What will prepare you for life ahead? Put it on your list and have silent reading time every day.

Writing: I plan to contribute to a couple blogs, journal every evening (bullet-point journaling helps me get this done), include our families stories in our scrapbooks, write curriculum for next year and begin a rough outline for a bigger project. What do you need to get out of your head and down on paper for your eyes only or for the pleasure of others? Your writing projects may differ, but get yourself a new notebook and get busy with them (out in the sunshine with a glass of iced tea).

P.E.: Not only do I have 10 pounds I’d like to walk off, but I intend to go outside and play WITH my kids rather than send them out on their own. So, between our backyard soccer games, walks and www.hundredpushups.com, I’m going to be very intentional about moving my body more. I also plan to rest more. The two go hand in hand if I’m going to be holistically healthy.

Art: This is the hardest one for me to commit to because it feels like I’m playing and not taking care of things. But I’m being intentional here. Not only do I intend to streamline our family scrapbooks, but I am determined to work on a few art pieces for our new home. I’m not a painter, but I’m going to try. Maybe you need to pencil in time to knit, craft or paint. Growing in a skill and creating is not wasted time.

Communications: I plan to be more intentional about relationships this summer. Having just moved to a new area I’m writing down coffees, book groups, park days and co-op mom’s night out on my schedule. My kids also rate pretty high in my relationship queue this summer so I’m taking off my teacher hat and we’re going to hang out daily at our local playground, walk and talk on our local trails, and read some books out under a tree that I’ve been waiting to enjoy with them. My husband is not to be forgotten either. Date nights aren’t a consistent reality for us, but this summer they will be and I already know where we’re going. Now I just need a babysitter.

Maybe your intentional summer lesson plan includes Applied Science (horticulture? architecture?), Geography (road trip?), or Home Economics (culinary arts? human development?). Whatever your plan entails, be intentional about what you’d like to learn and produce, and who you’d like to do it with. The goal isn’t to have a degree by the end of summer, but to grow a degree and look back at the summer not as lost time but as time well spent.

Debra Anderson has been married to her true companion for 15 years and has three sons under age 10. Debra’s passions are education, art, her husband, church ministry and missional living — not in that order. She has served as her co-op’s coordinator in Portland, Oregon and is a new resident of the Denver metro area. Debra has her seminary Masters degree in Christian Education and has always home educated their boys — even on the hard days. She maintains a blog at www.emergent-homeschool.blogspot.com.