Yep, I’m that mean mom that has my kids learning ALL year round. Sorry kids, a couple of worksheets keep the “I’m bored” words away. And reading makes the world go round, so we get to do that too!

So it’s summer, the COVID-19 home schooling has come to an end at Mr. L’s summer school is supposed to start next week. Yet, Monday through Friday my kids still get to brush their teeth, put on clean clothes, read a few pages with me, listen to my husband read a few chapters of Harry Potter before bed, and they each do a page of math and English a day.

Yes, you heard that correct. My kids “get to” do these things. It’s summer time, so I’ve cut back the work sheets from 4 to 2. I’ve cut back their reading from 10-15 pages to 6-7, and they have asked their dad to read closer to 2-3 chapters at night instead of the dreaded 1 chapter that used to be hard to get through.

I get it, it’s hot. The end of their previous school year was an unexpected roller coaster ride that no one asked to get on. But kids need a bit of routine, something to rely on, and my son with autism needs to keep his schooling going or more then just the regular kid’s summer regression could happen.

All kids do it, school gets out and during their long break their brains turn just a little bit to mush. They forget some math, they forget some English, and they forget some of the rules the traditional American school has in place. Rules like getting in line, waiting their turn, and raising their hand to be called on.

But Mr. L is capable of more regression than that. Things like remembering to sit and finish a worksheet, being able to switch between fun activities to less exciting ones, and being able to write his own answers with his own pencil.

So our mornings are a mix of breakfast, worksheets, teeth brushing, deodorant, reading and finding clean underwear. To others it may look like chaos, but to my kids it looks like an abstract checklist with a mix of choices of preferred and non-preferred activities.

As for reading, getting it all done before bed has become too stressful. Everyone is tired and without air conditioning people get grumpy. So we’ve switched up the routine and split it up. The boys do their reading in the morning and I take Little Miss A to her own room in the evening while my husband, Mr. M does scripture reading and Harry Potter with the boys. We are lucky that we can divide and conquer!

Oh, and I’ve changed up how to encourage Mr. L to get his assignments done. I’ve added in using action figures to do the talking, spaced out fruit snacks along his pages, and I’ve started using either a Shazam character, action figure or a bouncing fruit snack instead of my finger when pointing at the words Mr. L needs to read.

That’s kind of my update, and my advice on keeping learning interesting. Also, I know I mentioned worksheets a lot in this post. Please don’t assume this is our only way of learning. We also use the world around us to learn. But sometimes, the worksheets just fits into the need for routine.

So tell us, are you a forever learner? Do you teach your kids during summer break? Do you have a loose routine you try to stick to for you? Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to like and share ✌️🧩📚🌸