Handpicked Summer Resources Just For You!
Summer and homeschooling – there are so many options. As many options as there are families! Many homeschoolers continue full-time lessons throughout the summer, others choose a lighter load for the summer months, and some of us take the summer off. Regardless of how we choose to homeschool, we understand that learning doesn’t stop just because it’s summer. Summer learning – and summer resources are important to us!
Because of this, Homeschool.com has published our Summer Resources Awards list – handpicked gems from companies that understand the importance of continued summer learning opportunities and experiences. These companies offer full curriculums, individual classes, important supplemental materials – and educational/fun toys that promote summer learning. The award winners are listed alphabetically – make sure you read all the way to V (no Z!) – as you don’t want to miss a thing.
The awards are sponsored by Time4Learning.
A big thank you to Time4Learning for sponsoring this list.
101 Things To Do This Summer
Every year, Homeschool.com publishes our 101 Things To Do This Summer list. It’s a great resource of fun (and educational) things to do. This year, our list is part of Rebecca Kochenderfer’s book The Summertime Survival Guide for Parents: How to Create a Summer of Wonder, Discovery and Fun! You can see an infographic of the list here and fyi, previous lists can be found here.
The ABCmouse learning program, for ages 2-8, helps kids learn to read through phonics, and teaches lessons in math, social studies, art, music, and much more. With more than 8,500 individual learning activities and 850+ complete lessons which follow their Step-by-Step Learning Path, ABCmouse encompasses reading and language arts, math, science, health, social studies, art, and music. ABCmouse is available to families on a low-cost subscription basis for use on computers, tablets, or smartphones.
The company abcteach offers 6,000+ FREE educational worksheets for homeschoolers. Many have a summer theme! Their member site offers 49,000+ cross curricular resources. These resources include; printable materials, interactive lessons, clip art library, custom worksheet generators, educational videos, plus a weekly newsletter. Use Promo Code: (HS1year) for 75% OFF 1 year memberships. Only $9.99!
Blue Socks Media
Want your kids to learn a little history this summer? The 45 Presidents is the first multi-media project to include a song, music video, and activity book featuring all 45 U.S. Presidents. You can watch the 45 Presidents song for free here.
Building Brilliant Minds Online
Building Brilliant Minds Online School of the Arts offers courses in Architecture, Art, Dance, Photography and IEW Writing. These courses are perfect for summer enrichment and for more serious yearly studies. Students (K-12) may begin their courses at any time. Did we mention this site is run by a homeschool Mom?
Homeschooling through the summer? CHSH-Teach.com (Christian Home School Hub) is an affordable option designed to make your homeschooling journey easier. It is brimming with resources (PreK-12) and will save you time and sanity! The site offers FREEBIES, a Download Club, a Membership option and more. This site was created by a homeschool Mom.
Concordia Publishing House
You can incorporate God’s Word into every area of your children’s learning with age-appropriate Bibles, catechisms, church history books, family devotionals, and more. Their book, My Devotions – Summer is a perfect fit for summertime reading.
Have your kids read this summer! Crabtree Publishing Company is dedicated to producing high-quality curriculum-aligned books and educational products for Pre K-9+. Crabtree is well-known for beautifully illustrated books and educational resources on many subjects including science & technology, nature & environment, countries and cultures, history, mathematics, financial literacy, digital literacy, geography, sports, health & guidance, visual arts, fiction reading and biographies.
Easy Grammar Systems
Grammar this summer? Why not! Dr. Wanda Phillips’ texts 1) the Easy Grammar series, 2) the Daily GRAMS series, and 3) the Easy Grammar Ultimate Series introduce grammar concepts in a building-block paradigm and incorporate a cyclical approach which promotes mastery.
Almost 1,000 summer products offered! Discover thousands of educational toys, engaging worksheets, hands-on learning lesson plans, interactive online programs and more, all at up to 90% off! Plus, tons of FREEBIES are added daily!
Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
Evan-Moor Educational Publishers has partnered with homeschool families for over 35 years. Their colorful activity books are perfect for summer learning and enrichment. The Daily Summer Activities books provide practice across all core subject areas, while the Skill Sharpeners series hones in on specific skills in math, reading, writing, science, and critical thinking. The Never-Bored Kid Book series is perfect for art and hands-on projects. The company offers FREE resources as well.
Excel High School
Excel High School is a Department of Education recognized, regionally accredited high school serving students in grades 9-12. Excel offers both secular and Christian online courses, as well as full-time, part-time and summer courses. Parents choose Excel as for their education partner because of Excel’s flexibility, affordability and commitment to student success. Excel is rated A+ with the Better Business Bureau and has an outstanding reputation for excellence.
Have Fun Teaching, LLC
Have Fun Teaching is a website that offers FREE worksheets, activities, flashcards, workbooks, lesson plans, songs, and videos for teachers and homeschoolers. You can check out their summer resources here. The site also offers premium/membership services ($8/month).
Delve into history this summer! HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 5,000 articles originally published in their various history magazines. These magazines include America’s Civil War, Aviation History, Civil War Times, Military History, Wild West, World War II and more.
Want to learn piano this summer? Mr. Hoffman’s engaging piano lessons and child-friendly (adult friendly too!) teaching tools make learning both easy and fun, while providing a complete foundation in ear training, music theory, transposition, Solfège, improvisation, technique, composition, and much more. Mr. Hoffman’s basic plan is FREE (you can start lesson 1 now) and his premium plan is just $15/month.
iCivics teaches students how government works by having them experience it directly. Free games and lessons allow students to take on the role of judge, president, or member of Congress. This summer iCivics challenges students and parents to turn civic learning into local civic action. To learn more, visit: www.icivics.org/summer-sendoff. You can also join them on social media: @iCivics, #CivicSummerSendoff, #TeachLocal
Reinforce early reading skills this summer while having superphonic fun! Alphabotz Superphonic Decoder Cards are robot ABC flash card and game sets developed to engage the imaginations of young children (3 and up), while teaching them technically-sound phonics skills through stories, adventure, silly phrases and fun. 5 out of 5 robots agree – these are not your Grandma’s flashcards!
K12 Tuition-Free Online School
K12 is a leading provider of individual online courses from PreK – 12, designed to strengthen core skills, recover credits, or accelerate studies. Providing both independent courses as well as courses supported by world-class K12 teachers, K12 offers hundreds of flexible, award-winning courses to support your child’s education. Summer courses are available.
Keep kids engaged and inspired all summer long, with classic and creative products from Kahootz Toys. Encourage creative thinking with Spirograph, Fashion Plates, LatchKits, and Popoids – plus so many more of your favorites!
Kane Press Inc.
Summer reading should be fun – and it is with books from Kane Press. Kane Press is an award-winning publisher of books for kids ages 3 to 11. Their books focus on 1) relating educational content to a child’s everyday experiences through fun, engaging stories, 2) modeling positive traits, and 3) solving kid-sized dilemmas. Plus, the site offers FREE downloadable activities.
The Keystone School is a flexible, accredited online private school for Grades 6-12, that helps students achieve their unique dreams and goals. Whether your student wants to study full-time or just needs individual classes, Keystone offers more than 170 courses from credit recovery to world languages and AP. Students can enroll at any time – even during the summer!
Math practice made smarter. Knowre is an award-winning online program for Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2. They support your child’s math practice with thousands of questions, interactive step-by-step support, and instructional videos. Perfect for summer (and year-round) learning!
Classical Music with Stories – Great summer music for road trips and travel! Maestro Classics offers classical music for your homeschool with CDs, MP3s, and activity books featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra, engaging storytellers, and educational tracks. Visit http://www.maestroclassics.com/ for FREE puzzles, games, activities, and curriculum guides; and save 17% on all products with coupon code ‘homeschool’.
Magical Microbes offers fun summer STEM experiences that feed kids’ imagination and learning at home. Their kits enable kids to create electricity from soil, have a “yeast race” that results in some yummy loaves of bread, and so much more! Also, the site offers lots of FREE resources.
Mand Labs, Inc.
Summertime is a great time to learn a new hands-on skill. How about learning hands-on electronics? Mand Labs KIT-1: The Coolest Educational Electronics and Electricity Kit for Starters; i-Design Award-2015; Kids can build a range of 50+ cool projects and learn concepts of physics and electronics. Plus, check out their FREE tutorials.
Math Without Borders
Summer is the perfect time to catch up or get ahead. Math Without Borders provides a complete high school math experience for homeschoolers by supplementing the best existing high school math textbooks with solid teaching by an experienced teacher. After all, math is not easier when watered down; it is made easier when taught well. Sample lessons are available here.
MindPlay transforms lives of dyslexic and struggling readers – 95% of learners who use the program with fidelity gain one grade level in just 20 hours. It’s research-based, systematic, online, and mobile device-friendly. Plus, no teacher is required. You can learn more here and you can start your FREE one week trial here.
Summertime – play time! MindWare is the creator and manufacturer of Brainy Toys for Kids of All Ages. Their diverse product line includes educational toys, games, brainteasers, creative play activities, building sets, coloring books and more! Check out their listings for educators, award winning toys, and best sellers.
Mona Melisa Designs
Mona Melisa Designs believes that in order for children to best learn and absorb information, they need to be a part of the educational experience – to be able to touch, feel, move and interact with their lessons. Their educational wall decals and lessons were designed by a homeschool Mom that was tired of ‘worksheeting her daughter to death!’ So, put down the worksheets and start creating a generation of inspired thinkers and imaginative minds this summer!
Mother Goose Time
http://preschoolcurriculum.com & www.mothergoosetime.com
Mother Goose Time preschool curriculum is published by the Experience Early Learning Company and specializes in the development of research-based preschool and infant curriculum, books, music and authentic assessment tools for early childhood. Their curriculum inspires children to experience learning through creative expression, play and open-ended discovery. You can see a Homeschool.com product review of the Mother Goose Time curriculum here.
My Summer Goals Handout
From our very own Rebecca Kochenderfer – Use summer as an opportunity to teach your children how to learn something for themselves and become independent learners. Help them set goals at the beginning of summer for the things they’d like to learn or do this summer and then cross each thing off the list as they complete them. Enjoy my FREE printable to help you get started!
Oak Meadow provides flexible, creative homeschooling curriculum for K-12. Their experiential, nature-based approach allows families to set their own rhythm of learning and encourages critical thinking and intellectual development. Use Oak Meadow independently or enroll in their teacher-supported, accredited distance school. You can start anytime.
Online summer programs for a changing world. Outschool offers hundreds of interactive online summer classes from coding and minecraft to civics, economics, writing and science. The classes are offered by independent teachers and take place in small-groups over videoconference and an online classroom webpage. Inspire your kids about technology this summer by using technology to learn!
Peterson Directed Handwriting
Peterson Directed Handwriting offers FREE short video lessons that teach activities designed to introduce or improve cursive handwriting. The videos make learning how to use FLUENT MOVEMENT both challenging and fun. Your child can start the “Learn Cursive Step-By-Step” series today.
Have fun coloring this summer with Pirasta for the Colorful! The company offers REALLY LARGE (as large as 63″ x 36″!) coloring posters and sheets. Choose the World Map, U.S.A. Map, Funny Farm, Spaced Out and MORE!
Reading Rainbow Skybrary School
Reading Rainbow Skybrary School is an online supplemental reading service for grades K-3 featuring an award-winning library of books, real-world video field trips, lessons and easy-to-use teacher management tools. Plus, they offer a FREE trial. Keep your kids’ reading skills up this summer!
Red Apple Reading
With Red Apple Reading, children have fun learning to read! The website offers a digital program for kids ages 4 to 8, with 1000+ interactive games and videos, that teach phonics, sight words, vocabulary and comprehension. Plus, they offer apps, offline content, storybooks, a magazine, and more. You can check out their FREE samples here. And there’s a money-back guarantee.
Rodeo! Performance Group
The What Makes Me Different? book 1) helps you understand the ‘wiring’ of your children for making effective life choices 2) teaches children to recognize and rejoice in how they’re made, and 3) helps YOU better understand yourself. A valuable summer read for sure!
Stories to Grow by
Motivate and inspire children this summer with stories and plays from Whootie Owl’s award-winning collection of Folktales & Fairytales, Reader’s Theater Scripts, Audio Stories, Activity Guides, Lesson Plans and Much More! Great for year-round too!
What does your child want to study this summer? With over 15,000 video lessons and other resources, this might be a good place to start! The courses are short and concise, they offer lots of examples to help your student master the material quickly, and they are engaging. The site offers monthly plans – Basic, Premium and Accelerator, and you can get a month-long FREE trial here.
SuperBooks are Phonics-based books that provide a total curriculum for beginning readers. They are fun, colorful, easy to read stories that motivate children to read. The HomeSchooler Bundle includes 40 eight-page books and a complete Teacher’s Manual with Lesson Plans for Guided Reading & Skills Instruction, plus 40 Reproducibles. Click Here to see these Super products and prices.
The Etiquette Factory
Is it time to teach your children impeccable manners, character and integrity? The Etiquette Factory curriculum includes songs, games, crafts, and kind instruction – TEF strives to make learning fun, instruction easy, and the results… well see for yourself! Summer is the perfect time – no need to wait!
The Good & the Beautiful
This faith-based homeschool curriculum emphasizes the good & the beautiful: God, family, nature, and high moral character. It’s academically strong and requires little to no prep time. This curriculum is FREE (Levels 1-5 language arts and literature course sets are offered as free downloads) or fairly inexpensive . To learn more, click here.
The Royal Conservatory
Study music history online this summer. This fun, interactive course provides an introduction to, and overview of the study of Western music. It’s perfect for students and music lovers whose goal is simply to explore music history for the sake of becoming better-informed musicians.
The Summertime Survival Guide for Parents: How to Create a Summer of Wonder, Discovery and Fun!
Written by our very own Rebecca Kochenderfer, this book is chock full of ideas to keep your kids’ skills sharp during the summer months. Grab the book, put it into action, and never hear your kids complain of boredom all summer long! Bonus: they’ll learn many new things, too! Plus, there is a FREE planner!
The Summertime Survival Guide Planner
Do you have loads of summer plans but wonder how on earth you’ll pull them all together? Check out our 68-page, three-month daily planner specifically designed to help you create an awesome summer for your kids! It’s FREE, is for non-homeschoolers and homeschoolers alike, and correlates with Rebecca Kochenderfer’s newest book The Summertime Survival Guide for Parents: How to Create a Summer of Wonder, Discovery and Fun!
This Place is a Zoo
Imaginative and educational play – what a great combination! This Place is a Zoo offers a wide variety of high quality, realistic looking stuffed toy animals. They feature large and small plush toy animals from the jungles, forests, farms, and oceans of the world. The marine stuffed animals are especially perfect for summer play.
Time4Learning is an award-winning, online curriculum for PreK-12th. Their learning system teaches and grades lessons, tracks progress, and works with a variety of learning styles. The comprehensive curriculum includes lessons in math, language arts, science, social studies and more. Students also have access to printable worksheets and the ability to advance at their own pace. Time4Learning combines the technology kids love with the education they need to make learning fun. You can get Time4Learning summer learning tools here.
Time4Writing offers 8-week online writing courses and a variety of free writing resources for 2nd-12th grade students. The student-paced courses are perfect for summer and include lessons and quizzes, and personalized feedback from certified teachers. From the basics of grammar to essay writing, Time4Writing is designed to help students master the art of writing at all levels. Courses are $119 each, and start daily.
Up-Words Reading® is a comprehensive, research-based, 4-level reading program complete with everything necessary to teach ALL children to read – especially struggling readers. It includes literacy-rich activities to strengthen phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, sight words, and reading comprehension. You can see a Homeschool.com product review here.
Virtual Schools of Excellence
Summer courses are available now. VSOE provides homeschool students with high-quality, college preparatory education. With over 100 courses, students personalize their pace and program in an engaging online environment. Part-time or full-time enrollment, faith-based options, and career prep are available.