Summer Learning And Real Life {week 25 lesson plans and recap}
Each week, I share our real life, interest-led homeschool lesson plans. I also include a recap of the week prior, so that you can see what changed in real time. This is week 25 of 2022 – our first official week of summer learning.
I promised you real life in these weekly plans. Well, this one is about as real life as it gets.
Summer Learning And Real Life
Just when I thought we had a great plan for summer, life happened.
It started with a minor car accident. My husband was rear ended by a very sweet man who was apologetic and gracious. Thankfully, he was completely unharmed, but we can’t say the same about his car.
This meant that we had one car to navigate getting him to work (almost an hour away some days) and get the boys to all the fun things we had planned (some of which were also an hour away, but in the opposite direction).
When we finally resolved the car issue, my youngest son injured himself rock climbing. We are still waiting for the MRI, but his doctor believes he has a small fracture and some tendon damage in his knee.
Not being able to walk or maintain his usual level of activity is NOT GOOD for my child. He needs to move. His body requires it. His brain requires it.
It all feels a little overwhelming at this point.
As we wait for answers, I am doing the best I can to come up with a plan for our week that provides a bit of structure and routine, while still giving us all a ton of grace.
Last Week’s Homeschool Lesson Plans vs. Reality:
Monday
THE PLAN
- Physical Therapy – 2 hours
- YouTube Video – both boys together
- Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Physical Therapy – 2 hours
- YouTube Video – Coral Reef (part of our Ocean Study)
- Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours
Tuesday
THE PLAN
- YouTube Video – together
- Online Voice/Music Lesson – one hour
- Current Events Discussion – read and discuss various news reports
- Ocean Unit Study
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Nothing
- Well, actually, lots of audiobook time as we drove all over Southern CA
Wednesday
THE PLAN
- Rock Climbing with Coach – 3 hours
- Drivers Ed
- Audiobook and Discussion
- YouTube Video – together
- Free trial of Vocabulary Quest
- Current Events Discussion – read and discuss various news reports
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Rock Climbing with Coach – 3 hours
- Drivers Ed
- More audiobooks in the car
Thursday
THE PLAN
- Audiobook and Discussion
- Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour
- Art class – 1 hour
- Rock Climbing class – 2 hours
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Audiobook and Discussion
- Social Time with friends – 1 hour
- Art class – 1 hour
- Rock Climbing class – 2 hours
- Current Events Discussion
- Overview of the history of The Supreme Court
Friday
THE PLAN
- History – taught by brother
- YouTube Video – their choice and educational
- Afternoon field trip to the aquarium
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- A trip to the urgent care
- More audiobooks
- More current events discussion
- A new military history podcast (definitely for mature audiences!) to also listen to in the car
Homeschool Planning Update
One thing I did accomplish last week was completing my son’s transcript for his 9th grade coursework. You can see the transcript itself as well as download your own sample in my new post: Creating A Homeschool High School Transcript That Works
Our Homeschool Lesson Plans For This Week
Monday
- X-Rays and MRI – no telling how long
- Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours
Reference Notes: Every Monday, my son has subcutaneous immunoglobin infusions. This means we typically keep learning to a minimum.
Tuesday
- YouTube Video – together
- Online Voice/Music Lesson – one hour
- Current Events Discussion – read and discuss various news reports
- Ocean Unit Study
Reference Notes: Tuesdays are our first full school day of the week. Because my son always feels better post-Monday’s infusion, we typically do a large percentage of our more traditional homeschool work on this day.
Wednesday
- Physical Therapy (assuming he’s cleared for it) – 2 hours
- Drivers Ed
- Audiobook and Discussion
- YouTube Video – together
- Free trial of Vocabulary Quest
- Current Events Discussion – read and discuss various news reports
Thursday
- Audiobook and Discussion
- Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour
- Art class – 1 hour
Reference Notes: We spend Thursdays in lessons mostly outside our home. My son attends a program on Thursday afternoons through a local private school.
Friday
- History – taught by brother
- YouTube Video – their choice and educational
- Audiobook and discussion
New Interest-Led Homeschool Lesson Plans And Updates, Every Week
Additional Resources For Strength-Based And Interest-Led Homeschooling
Take a look at all of our past lesson plans and recaps!
Research shows that a learner allowed to spend the most time studying in areas of strength, tends to perform exponentially better in all areas including the areas of weakness.
These resources are a great place to start!
Shawna Wingert is a former training and development professional turned education specialist, and has homeschooled her two children for the last ten years.Shawna has written four books about homeschooling unique learners and has been featured in homeschooling discussions on Today.com, The Mighty, Simple Homeschool, My Little Poppies and Raising Lifelong Leaners.
You can find her online here at DifferentByDesignLearning.com.
