Our Summer of Playing Skillfully {Curriculum}

There were shouts of “hallelujah!” the year that A Summer of Playing Skillfully was released. Our family had followed the “school year” curriculum for September through May for the three years prior, and I knew without hesitation that I wanted those extra summer months to add to our experience. This was quite opposite of my initial purchase of the curriculum, I might add- I hesitated over that “purchase” button for months! (You can read about that in this post.) This time around, I knew the beauty and richness of the “Playing Skillfully” curricula and it was an easy purchase! I have no regrets! Here’s why:

A Summer of Playing Skillfully added an element of fun and freshness to our “lazy hazy crazy days of summer”… days when planning and Pinterest were far from my mind or mental capacity! Mama needs a break, too! I wanted just a little “something” to bring some organization, and I trusted that this curriculum would be organized around the six domains of early childhood development (math, science, communication/literacy, gross & fine motor, social & emotional skills, art & music), all under the umbrella of intentional play. So, I could pull out the gorgeous spread of ideas presented in the pages of the curriculum and not have to stress! It was like protection from Pinterest and a cure for FOMO all in one.

During the summer especially, I want to protect my kids’ childhood– to enjoy those open spaces of time, for leisurely days spent outdoors, to embrace boredom. But, when the rubber hits the road, we do well with some planned activities, too! For our family, this curriculum was a perfect balance. We did not complete nearly all the activities- maybe a handful per week. We never made elephant toothpaste, but we went fishing for letters endlessly. We never made an outdoor sundial, but we proudly showed all our friends how big a blue whale would measure, sketched in chalk from our driveway to our fence (Measure This! activity from July).

A few questions you may be wondering:

I am not a homeschooler. Why should I consider this “curriculum”?

Truthfully, it doesn’t feel like a curriculum! There’s nothing here that is “homeschoolers only.” It is truly approachable. The biggest hurdle I’ve noticed new families facing is planning. This “curriculum” doesn’t say “On the first Monday in July do XYZ.” So, you have total freedom to browse through, be inspired, and select activities that are a good fit for your kids. The bundle is beautiful– with full color photographs throughout, inspirational quotes, and checklists (for supplies and organized by developmental area, e.g. “science/sensory”). But, you will need to select what you want to do when. The reward will be a hand selected plan that should infuse fun and play based learning into your summer!

I already have the school year bundle,  A Year of Playing Skillfully. Do I really need the summer months too? 

Before the summer months were released, we had been following the school year bundle for 3 years. During the summers of those years, I pulled out activities from the larger curriculum that we had skipped, and also added in some activities from The Homegrown Preschooler. That is certainly a workable option! It might be the best plan for your family if that sounds like something you’d like to piece together. For our family, we loved having the summer themes and the inspiration of a fresh new plan when it became available. I liked having a full year laid out, so that each month I’d open the binder and it would be fresh, planning for the developmental stage they were now in (rather than doing an activity in the summer and then considering it again in a few months).

What I shared about A Year of Playing Skillfully rings true of the summer edition:

These activities weren’t drudgery; they weren’t overwhelming. They were an invitation to fun. I know that many of the activities and recipes are now part of our family culture– we’ll repeat the seasonal gems each year.

I am so excited for our SECOND Summer of Playing Skillfully coming right up!

Here’s the link to the shop. (aff)

Links on this page are affiliate links, but I hope you can tell the genuineness with which I write! I only recommend what I truly love. You can purchase the original book The Homegrown Preschooler on Amazon (aff) or the creator’s site here (around 224 pages, not organized by month, nor a true curriculum, but FULL of lots of amazing ideas!), or you can purchase The Summer months curriculum as an ebook, or a printed book here (around 30-40 activities per month organized by a theme and within the domains of early childhood learning).

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

I would love to connect with you about your summertime learning and playing! Find me on my Instagram account or Facebook page.