Episode 195: Summer School or Sacred Rest?
For the Busy Mommas…
The Heart Check (01:25)
If you Keep Going (02:00)
If you Pause (04:15)
If you Want Both (11:00)
When summer rolls around and you're already exhausted, how do you know if it’s time to press on—or pause?
When June hit perhaps it found you wondering: Should we keep going with school... or just breathe?
WE KNOW you love your kids deeply, and you want to raise not just smart students, but excellent humans. But you’re also tired—mentally, emotionally, spiritually.
Today, we want to offer you something better than a checklist: clarity.
Because the decision to continue school in summer isn’t about what other homeschoolers are doing. It’s about tuning into your season, your family’s needs, and your long-term vision—without guilt.
Let’s unpack what it could look like to either keep going with intention or rest with purpose or a mix of both.
The Heart Check (01:25)
The first thing we want to start with is a heart check…
Are you choosing from guilt or from peace?
What does your family actually need right now—structure, rhythm, rest, or delight?
What are your kids communicating through their behavior and energy?
What are you communicating through your behavior, thoughts, energy, and actions?
If you Keep Going (02:00)
After asking yourself those questions, here’s what school can look like, without the burnout.
Fun, flexible, low-pressure learning: nature walks, kitchen science, read-alouds, a math lesson every day (or every other day).
Choose one subject, or just 15 minutes a day. That sounds crazy, but the beauty of continuing through the summer is that you get to try different things without the fear that comes along during the school year. The world is your oyster!
Creating a rhythm that supports your summer, not steals it. This requires us to take a pause and answer the question, “What is actually stealing your peace?”
If you Pause (04:15)
Check out Episode 186, where we talked about choosing a Done Day.
The first step to pausing is permitting ourselves to pause, and debunking the myth of constant productivity.
Rest builds stronger learners and calmer homes (this is science, people).
Unstructured play, boredom, and life skills are learning. Boredom is a gift, and it’s where we’ll find our creativity (it’s good for our kids and us)! If we’re constantly filling our kids’ lives with screens, sensory bins, everything, we aren’t allowing them to figure out who they are.
Life skills are another form of education (offered by large families, especially). Kids will grumble, but they will benefit (even though they definitely will not appreciate it in the moment).
Journaling, family projects, and memory-making are all ways to learn! Journaling is excellent (again, for both moms and kids)! Even if your kids can’t write themselves, you can write for them!
Family projects and kid-directed activities are a great way to spend a summer day! Britt’s 10-year-old loves setting up a library in their home, complete with library cards, bags, and a stamp (blank, of course) for check-outs. Don’t forget to take lots of photos and look at them later with the kids (because, memory stacking).
If you Want Both (11:00)
If you want a little of both (rest and productivity), pause and look at what your family needs.
For Britt, hers needed both (structure and joy). After some thoughtful prayer, Brittany came to the realization that the family needs enough anchors to lend structure, but also allow the days to be opened up to some undefined play.
So, be willing to bake in fun and work. Be willing to cut anything that upsets the flow. This is where Britt’s finding her balance right now. Be mindful of activities that take you (and your family) out of flow.
Ask yourself: What would flow—not fear—look like in our homeschool this summer? And what do my kids and I need to feel whole again?
Take 30 seconds and jot down three things your kids are loving right now, and one thing you need this summer. Use that as your compass—not comparison.
For Britt...her kids needed friends, family memories, and structure, and she needed rest...a way to enjoy them without having to go anywhere or do anything that felt emergent.
Let us know if you’d like help creating a simple summer homeschool plan, a rest-based learning routine, or a decision worksheet to guide your summer choice, or go grab our Homeschool Plan Like a Mother and use it to really connect with what your heart, mind, and family need this summer.
