Although in my state the school year doesn't end for another six weeks, in many parts of the country students are already on summer vacation.

That means a break for many homeschoolers, too. And looking for other activities to keep kids busy.

I'll be putting together some articles about what homeschoolers do over the summer. My family has run the gamut -- homeschooling year round, summer camp, enrichment programs, and just hanging around with friends.

I'm interested in hearing what you do over the summer. Does your family follow the traditional school schedule?

Image: Flickr user Labyrinth X-2/Creative Commons

The news that Denmark is about to get the world's first Lego school made me think about all the ways Lego is used by homeschooling parents. I know at one point they threatened to take over my sons' bedrooms, if not the whole house.

So I asked some homeschooling parents what educational projects their kids do with Lego. My favorite answer:

I always jokingly say that picking Lego out of a pile of swept-up crud is our spelling curriculum because research shows that good spellers are just people with extraordinary visual discrimination and visual memory skills. They know when a word looks wrong. That is certainly a skill put to practice when a kid can look at a pile of two hundred tiny colorful objects and pick out the three little Lego one-peg units.

My new article lists 6 Ways to Homeschool with Lego, including learning engineering with Technic sets (Compare Prices). What would you add to the list?

Image: PriceGrabber

To all the moms out there -- especially those who are giving of your time, energy and experience to homeschool your children --  I wish you a wonderful Mother's Day!

If you simply can't resist turning today into a teachable moment, here's an article about the history of the modern celebration of Mother's Day.

And if you just want a little fun online, check out today's Google's Doodle for Mother's Day -- it lets you create a virtual card!

Image: Kathy Ceceri

A reader who asked to remain anonymous sent in some useful suggestions for helping your homeschooler prepare for the SAT.

One book her kids liked was called Up Your Score: The Underground Guide to the SAT. I just ordered a copy for my son, who'll be taking the test in a few weeks.

In the meantime, here's some good advice about SAT prep from a veteran mom whose daughters did very well on their standardized tests.

Image: Workman Publishing