Summer Schedules - Yes or No?

When my older kids were still homeschooling and we were traveling with my husband for work, we schooled through the summer. It gave us something to do in the hot weather and provided us with plenty of time off in the winter when we were home. We had great schedules each summer with schooltime in the mornings, outside time, park time, library time, and lots of free time in the afternoons. 

As the older kids grew up and went to public school and I had the younger ones still homeschooling, we were staying home instead of traveling. We were also adapting to the public school calendar with summers off. Having summers off with nothing but free time is great, but it can also be a little chaotic. We have plenty to keep us busy at home - horses, cows, chickens, dogs, cats, and a rabbit! I feel like the past few summers we have developed some bad habits that carry over into the beginning of the new homeschool year.

My oldest daughter, Mikaela, is 19 with her own baby (and apartment) now. Eli will be 17 this summer and has a summer job that will keep him busy most days. Mercie is 14 and will be attending a private Christian school this coming year. She will need to do a few lessons in Saxon Algebra 1 each week this summer to be ready for Geometry in August. Silas and Titus will be in 7th and 5th grades this coming schoolyear and will be homeschooled. Zeke is 3 and needs to keep a good routine to keep him happy!

Because of those reasons, I feel like we need a Summer School Schedule for this summer! The boys will balk at the idea of 'summer school', so I need to come up with a more appealing name. 

What I'm thinking is one hour a day of summer school. This will probably be done during the hottest part of the day here, right after lunch. I would love to have Zeke start a quiet time during this hour since he has given up naps already. 

Mercie will do her Algebra 1 lessons during this hour and then fill the rest of the time with reading.

Silas will work on Cover Story, a review we will most likely be doing for the Homeschool Review Crew anyway. He has never had a formal writing program and this will be good for him. He will also work a page or two in the "Key To..." math series, and fill the rest of the hour with reading.

Titus will be working on his multiplication and division facts during this hour because he really needs to master them before moving on to 5th grade math.  He will also be using Critical Thinking's Language Smarts workbook which is another review item and filling the rest of the hour with reading.

Zeke will hopefully spend his quiet time hour with puzzles, playdough, and quiet play in our homeschool/playroom. Hopefully this hour will also be a quiet time for Mom (if I'm not having to offer too much help!). 

Are you planning a summer school schedule for your kiddos? I'd love to read about it!