What to do when you don’t finish the curriculum by summer break?3 min read

As a homeschooling family, it’s not uncommon for you to have topics in your curriculum remaining by the time the summer break rolls around.

It’s definitely not always easy to get everything done before the break.

So, what do you do when you don’t finish the curriculum by summer break?

Here are a few ideas

• Schedule a light school over the summer

You can always homeschool over the summer months. You can take up the lessons that you missed. In fact, if your kids thrive on structure, then schooling over the summer is actually a great idea for all of you! Light schooling over the summer months will help your kids to remember what they have learned so far and not lose touch with their books. Working on unfinished lessons will help to provide a familiar routine. It will also help you to get caught up before back-to-school time in the fall.

• Pick up where you left off next fall

If you see yourself struggling to finish the curriculum before the summer break, don’t worry. You could always pick up where you left off when fall comes around. Don’t feel pressured to just cram in everything; it will just get really burdensome and stressful for everyone. Instead, go ahead and enjoy your break, and come back in the fall to tackle those lessons again.

• Look for other ways to learn about those topics

Learning does not have to be restricted to workbooks and homework alone, right? You can always look for other innovative and fun ways to learn the topics you’re left with and work on them during the summer. Encourage your kids to read biographies and historical fiction. You could watch documentaries and movies based on or set in time periods that you’re studying. You could take your kids on field trips. Visit museums, historical sites, gardens and so on. Work on science experiments and listen to audiobooks on missed topics. Get creative and have a fun learning experience over the summer!

• Take a look at the last lessons at the current level and the first lessons at the next level

Each level usually includes a revision or some kind of review of previous topics at the beginning of the year. Therefore, if the subject you couldn’t manage to finish is one that is shaped on previously-learned topics and concepts (like math), you could always move on without feeling like you missed anything. You could use the unfinished lessons as practice before beginning the new lessons for the next year.

• Just don’t worry about it!

Cut yourself some slack! Just think about this: do kids in public and private schools always finish each and every lesson on the curriculum? No! It’s totally okay if your kids haven’t finished a few topics. Even if you manage to finish 75% to 80% of the curriculum, you’re good.

Don’t panic if you aren’t able to complete your whole curriculum before the summer break comes around. It’s okay if you miss some topics, or get back to them after the break, or get to them during the break. Your kids can always tackle them in different ways too. We hope these tips help you!