Sometimes Summer Break Isn’t A Break At All
I remember summer vacations so well.
When I was a child, summer break meant eating way too many Popsicles, not having to get up in the morning, swimming for as long as I wanted, impromptu trips to the lake, and absolutely no real plans.
The summer break of my youth was glorious.
The summer break of my children? Not so much.
When we first began homeschooling, I had big plans for the last day of school. We had a party. We took pictures. We discussed all that we had learned that year. It was a great day.
Then the next day came.
The first day of our summer break.
Sometimes Summer Break Isn’t A Break At All
I was looking forward to doing nothing. I was looking forward to sleeping in. I was looking forward to less structure, less requirements, and less planning for our summer activities.
My children, however?
They were grumpy, out of sorts, and fighting constantly. They were like different children, and not in a good way.
And then the next day came, and the next, and the next.
Our first summer break as a homeschooling family was our worst.
Navigating my kids’ special needs is not easy.
I know that for my children, being able to depend on the schedule, to know what comes next, and to not have to worry about the day, makes things a little bit easier for them both. They NEED summer activities. They NEED a summer reading list. They NEED a plan.
But I need a break. For reals.
Find out how we balance the need for structure with the need for a break.
More than anything, I want you to know that if summer break has not been going as well as you’d hoped or always imagined it would, you are NOT ALONE.
Sometimes, the idea just doesn’t match the reality. Sometimes, we have to do the best we can with what we’ve got, even when it’s summer break.
I am learning that not only is it enough, it is actually exactly what we need to have that same feeling I experienced in the summers of my youth.
Togetherness, joy, freedom. It may look different, but it is more than enough.