Peggy Ployhar

Teaching a child how to hike parallels the larger tasks of homeschooling and parenting.  Hiking, as well as homeschooling and parenting, may have many technical pieces of instruction, but never should we dismiss the greater benefit of the journey itself. There is a greater benefit of the homeschooling journey too, and it has more to do with walking the path with our children each day than how well any of us masters the hiking itself.

 

A Family that Hikes Together

Our family has been hiking since before we had kids. My husband and I both came from hiking families. Plus, within a few days after each of our children were born, as an initiation into the family, we introduced them to hiking.

As an infant, our child would ride in a front-pack when we would take off for a nearby trail.  As each child grew bigger, the transition from facing towards one of us in the front-pack to facing out happened around the second or third month.  Next, the child graduated from our front-pack to a more sturdy hiking backpack.

But we did not leave each child in the backpack stage. Instead, we observed that child’s walking acuity.  We paid particular attention to how well the child mastered uneven terrain and how resilient the child was to the occasional fall.  Our oldest was a natural pack mule on the trail and thankfully so because he was as solid as one too. He became rather difficult to carry early as a toddler, and we were all too happy to let him take that stocky frame and carry it on his own two feet.  But his younger brother was completely different. Our second child had difficulty mastering uneven surfaces. He hated walking on grass and especially when he needed to transition from the grass to another type of surface. Thankfully he was extremely light, and we managed well in the need to carry him much longer than his older brother when we went out on our hiking adventures.

Each child’s readiness considered, we still did not transition right away to multi-mile hikes as soon as each started putting their feet to the trail.  Instead, we had each walk part of the way and ride the other. At first we continued to carry an empty backpack and allowed the child to ride when walking became too difficult or was slowing down the rest of the party, but eventually, we transitioned making our shoulders available for the occasional rest.  

 

Hiking Milestones

Not until each child had built up enough personal stamina did we remove the option to ride.  But, getting our children walking on the path by themselves was only the first milestone in teaching them to hike. In the years to follow, as our family hiking continued, we continued to teach our children lessons on the trail.  

Our children learned how to:

  • Plan wisely and pack enough supplies.  Acknowledging your unique needs and properly preparing to address those needs dependent on the conditions of the trail and the length of the hike is extremely important if you are to get the most out of the trip. Ill-preparation can lead to uncomfortable situations and the potential need to make otherwise unnecessary changes.
  • Be considerate of others. No matter who is on the trail with you or who will follow your path consideration is appreciated.  These lessons involved making room for others who are slower or faster than you are and making sure to “leave no trace” so the hike will be equally appreciated by those who follow.
  • Look out for dangerous conditions. Being observant or taking appropriate action when necessary is essential to hiking safety.  From determining an animal and it’s probable proximity from droppings and prints to knowing when to make noises to warn animals of your approach, when to stand still to avoid getting attacked or trampled, and how to protect yourself if caught in a storm are all invaluable lessons to keeping safe on the trail.
  • Enjoy the journey.  Taking time to look up from the trail to watch the wildlife, smell the flowers, take in a scene, or stand in awe of the magnificent beauty that God alone can create so flawlessly has to be cultivated and encouraged. Looking beyond the trail to be immersed in the experiences is the greatest reward a hiking experience has to offer.
  • Cultivate relationships.  Talking on the trail or even sharing long periods of quiet pondering when walking side-by-side with others strengthens relationships.  Hiking parties naturally bond on the trail and these bonds have strengthened relationships in our immediate family and with extended family and/or friends we have hiked with.
  • Never give up. Hiking can be very tiring especially in high-altitude, dry, and steep conditions.  The determination to finish the trail before you start, unless conditions cause a necessary detour, helps for keeping the course when the trail gets the hardest.

 

Greatest Benefit of the Journey

Why do I share these things with you?  Because over the years as our family has taken countless hiking trips from short half-mile hikes in quaint campgrounds to grueling hikes down into the Grand Canyon and up again, there is a wonderful parallel for how teaching our children to hike has mimicked our 17 years of homeschooling and 22 years of parenting. Little by little we have trained our children not only to hike but also how to hike well, and still at the ages of 22, 20, and 14 they continue to do a lot of “hiking” alongside us as we teach them how to best follow the trail God has set before our children in the way they should go. Thankfully they still desire that we keep hiking with them through the ups and downs of their daily lives which has been the greatest benefit of the homeschooling journey.

“Our children still desire that we keep hiking with them through the ups and downs of their daily lives which has been the greatest benefit of the homeschooling journey.

Our children at the beginning needed us to help them with everything.  But, teaching them the mechanics of life was only the beginning of teaching them all the knowledge that my husband and I had acquired over the years. In fact, we are still teaching our children as they actively navigate much of their trails now on their own. The same is true for homeschooling and parenting.  We teach our children reading, writing, math, and other life skills, but if we stop walking alongside them once we have taught them these things then we miss out on the greatest benefit of the homeschooling journey – the deepening relationship.

 

Path Yet Ahead

My encouragement to you as you look back at your homeschooling and parenting journey so far, and then look forward towards what yet you have to teach, there will always be enough path and time for the lessons that need to be taught as long as you plan wisely and determine to never give up. The key is in teaching the technical lessons that build on mastery and allow time for integration: enjoy the journey, cultivate the relationships, build awareness of potential dangers, and teach your children the importance of the impact God desires to make through them on the world around them.

Thankfully, God provides the trail as well as a continuous stream of supplies. So, as long as we follow His directions every day, we will not get off track or lose our way and our relationships with our children will only grow more strong and beautiful as we walk alongside them on this journey we have the privilege to share.

 

We at SPED Homeschool are so glad you have allowed us to take this journey with you, and we would love for you to share snapshots of what your homeschooling journey looks like.  Feel free to share a picture or story that makes your homeschool unique and beautiful, and let us know if you would allow us to share your story with the SPED Homeschool community.  When we share our stories, we not only gain a greater understanding of one another’s path, but those outside our community will also gain a greater understanding of what homeschooling looks like when a family works to help their child succeed beyond their struggles.

 

 


Did you know SPED Homeschool is 100% donor funded?

Donate today

 

 

SPED Homeschool Team

 

There is no one right way to keep your children learning during the summer. For this reason, we thought we would give you a glimpse into what the summer looks like in each of our homeschools and how we each uniquely continue homeschool learning in the summer.  Hopefully our examples will help you embrace the specific needs of your family as you develop the best way to keep your children learning and growing.

 

 

Our Unique Homeschool Summer Learning Paths

 

Amy Vickrey

For the summer, we continue on in our schooling.  We take some days and weeks off as we have family events and need some time off.  However, my son does better with some structure and routine, so keeping up our academics helps.  This also keeps him from having any lost skills over long breaks. We tend to focus on the basics—math, reading, and such.  We also enjoy time outdoors and going swimming!

This summer will be a little different as I will also be working.  It will be interesting to see how everything lines up and if our plans change some.  However, I love the idea of continuing year round so that I don’t have to worry about needing to take time off during the school year for any reason.  If that happens, we won’t be behind because we have spent time together learning as a family throughout the year!

 

Peggy Ployhar

Summer learning for our family has always been more of an unschooling approach between lots of planned activities at camps, church, and classes offered locally in our community.  I guess you could say we spent a lot of that time working on social skills as my children dove into delight-directed learning which made them push through the social barriers they often found inhibiting. Additionally, our family is also big into camping so sometimes over half of our summers were spent at one or more campgrounds living in our RV while exploring God’s great creation and the lessons that awaited us outside our door each morning.

For me I needed a large chunk of down-time from teaching just to make it through the rest of the year, so this yearly break was not only good for my children but also for my mental well-being after been closed up in a house in Minnesota most of the 9 months we were homeschooling. Yes, we did end up having to do some catch-up on forgotten skills over those summer months, but on the flip side my children expanded their learning in many areas that they would not have been expanded if we had not made time for them to participate in very different learning environments during the summer.

My children have so many fond memories of our homeschooling summers. As we finish up our homeschooling years with our youngest in high school, we have plans to keep this tradition going.  Our youngest is already signed up for 2 teen art camps, a week long camp with our church, and a week at iGoven run by Generation Joshua this summer. It will be busy, but as always we are all looking forward to the change of scenery and pace in our homeschool learning.

 

It seems that each year our summers have looked a lit bit different, depending on what we’ve needed at the end of that school year.

 

Cammie Arn

We school year round but our activities change. For example during the typical school year we are involved in a homeschool co-op, a Speech and Debate club and homeschool handbell and vocal choir. We utilize our co-op for history, science and various electives. At home we add in math, Bible and lots of life learning. All in all 4-5 hours per day

We do school in the summer by continuing math, reading, art and a mini-course. Since our co-op ends at the end of April. I do a mini-course for the month of May and 2 weeks into June. This year we are knocking out Government and Personal Finances. This lightens up the pressure of finishing everything during the school year and gives us something to do on the scorching hot Texas summer days.

 

Tracy Glockle

It seems that each year our summers have looked a lit bit different, depending on what we’ve needed at the end of that school year. For many years, we tackled hands-on science, art, music and some of the subjects that didn’t get as much attention during the school year. Other years, we’ve focused on motor skills with lots of physical activity.

One thing I do every time we have an extended break (Christmas or summer) is to have my kids fill out a “bucket list.” These lists include any projects they want to tackle, skills they want to learn (painting, computer coding, bike riding, scooter tricks, etc.), crafts they want to make, and places they want to visit. I limit how many of the activities they can write down that depend on me, and the rest of the ideas are things they can initiate on their own. Our “bucket lists” serve several purposes. First, it’s my reference point for the “I’m bored” complaint. Anytime my kids come to me looking for something to do, I send them back to their bucket list. Also, it gives my kids a chance to work on some executive function skills of self-managing their time and tasks. These bucket lists also give us an idea of our priorities for our break to be a satisfying one: if we can’t get to everything on the list, the kids decide which activities are most important.

 

The freedom that homeschooling offers, allows each of our families the ability to make accommodations which can also be extended into our summer months for what works best for each of our children as well as our families as a whole.  Whatever that looks like, embrace that path and all that awaits you as you take on homeschool learning in the summer with your children.

 

 


Did you know SPED Homeschool is 100% donor funded?

Donate today

 

 

Dawn Spence

 

When I was a public school teacher I taught summer school to make extra money. I know the kids dreaded coming to school in the summer when they could have been swimming! I saw though the value as I knew some of my students never cracked a book over the summer. So I taught in units that students would enjoy learning and I would enjoy teaching.

 

Fast forward as a homeschooling mom and I still see the value of summer learning activities or even what can be called year-round schooling. Having a child with special needs I learn that if we walk away from learning for three months, she will have regression. Don’t get me wrong; we play a lot and swim a lot. What else can you do in Texas heat? But I do try to have fun or do units during the summer to change things up.

 

However you decide to structure your summers, have fun and enjoy the journey.”

 

Here are some of my favorite summer learning activities:

 

  • Unit Learning– One summer we spend the whole summer studying all things Rainforest. We read, made hands-on projects, and celebrated by going to the Rainforest Cafe. I usually ask my kids what we want to learn about and go from there.

 

  • Character Building- Do you see some character training that needs tweaking? It is the perfect time to slow down and focus on their hearts.

 

  • Field Trips- Summertime gives us time to go on field trips and mini trips while dad is home from teaching public school. We enjoy learning new things as a family.

 

  • Reading Programs- We sign up our kids for summer reading programs at local libraries, Barnes and Noble, and Half Price Books. It is a great way to keep them reading while earning free books.

 

  • Finish A Subject– I find that every year we are needing to finish up math. It gives us time to finish and not rush. We summer school and then do something fun, such as swimming. It’s a great motivator to finish up your fractions.

 

These summer learning activities allow us to keep a routine and structure because my kids need that and I need that! However you decide to structure your summers, have fun and enjoy the journey.

 

 


Did you know SPED Homeschool is 100% donor funded?

Donate today

 

 

SPED Homeschool Team

Have you ever wondered how your approach to summer homeschooling compares with other special education homeschooling families?  We did too, so we asked our community how they approach summer learning and this is what they told us.

 

Summer Homeschooling Poll Results

From our poll, here are the results we received:

 

46%

responded that they homeschool year-round and do not make any changes in the summer months.

 

23%

responded that they homeschool year-round but they make an effort during the summer to do more hands-on and play-oriented learning activities.

 

8%

responded they take the summer months off from formal schooling, but still incorporate lots of hands-on and play-oriented learning into their schedules.

 

8%

responded they continue with their delight-directed or unschooling methods as usual.

 

4%

responded they do their version of delight-directed or unschooling during the summer months.

 

And,

11%

responded that they were still in the process of figuring out what they were going to be doing for the summer months.

 

Summer may be a good time to try a different approach or even to make a switch to a new approach for the coming school year.

 

Choose Best for Your Situation

No matter what approach you decide to take, if you have considered what your child needs,  what types of breaks you need as a teacher, as well as what works best for your family, then you will find the best summer homeschooling approach for your unique situation.

 

One of our parents shared this great example of her summer homeschooling approach:

My son is 6 and right now we’re putting a heavier emphasis on non-academic skills (aka activities of daily life that he needs to learn to do to care for himself – like dressing, hygiene, etc). Unschooling as always in our school fits the best at this moment since formal academics are not our focus yet.” Lisa P.

 

Lisa’s comment is a great reminder that being flexible in your homeschooling approach can also extend into the full school year. Summer may be a good time to try a different approach or even to make a switch to a new approach for the coming school year.  

 

No matter how you choose to extend your homeschool learning over the summer we hope you enjoy the time with your children and create lots of great memories while learning together!

 

 


Did you know SPED Homeschool is 100% donor funded?

Donate today