For many, May means the end of school. Kids get anxious...teachers get more anxious. Finals are coming up for older kids and for younger, a flurry of end of the year activities like parties and such. The pool is calling their names and so is freedom....ah, freedom. I remember all to well what it felt like to reach the end of another school year and know that in just days/hours/minutes school would be no more for 3 months. Glorious.
For homeschoolers, though, summer may or may not be a time for a break. It could be just another school day. Each homeschool family comes up with their own schedule. Most homeschoolers I know stick with their local school district's calendar...I'm not sure why? Maybe they like having a beginning and an end...having someone else figure out that part of the schooling since, as a teacher, principal, counselor, superintendent, etc, they have to come up with everything else. I also know several homeschool families that opt to do school year round...incorporating a flexibility to take extra long weekends here and there and travel on a whim...reducing the stress of getting a full year's work in a set time frame or having their kids work ahead and stay ahead. Being in the south Texas area, I know other homeschoolers that do a typical school year appoach, but flip the break time...summer do school, winter extended break. This is pretty smart where we live as summer is always so hot, it is hard to go out and do anything...so why not do school in the cool air conditioned home in the summer and than in the winter when the temperatures are better, take a break where the kids can actually enjoy the outdoors.
I think it's great that there is such a flexibility in this. When my daughter was in public school (my son was still too young), we decided we wanted to go to Disney World. We didn't want to go in the summer...going to a major theme park when it is EXCRUTIATINGLY hot with TONS of people just sounded HORRIFIC!! Our daughter was in 4th grade and we weighed out her responsibilities with a really great family vacation experience and decided that we were going for it...we would go to Disney World in February!! BOY, did I get a talking to by some friends...so legalistic in their views of school...my daughter's teachers were less offended by our vacation than some (by some I mean one) friends were. Her teacher's gave me some school work to do with Sierra on our trip and wished us great fun. I was berated and made to feel guilty that I wanted to give my kids a fantastic experience on this vacation...and it was the best trip we have ever had. It was not too hot, it was not too crowded, and our kids had the most memorable time....a time they talk about still today.
So, in thinking about how our school year will go, I tend to be more in the camp of the year round school....long breaks in between. The advantages to taking vacations in the fall and winter months are great...off season pricing is a key benefit...not to mention the reduction in crowds. The fact that summers are so hot in so many areas is another benefit. I do not fall in the camp so much on doing school all year, but I do believe in not stressing out too much and if we need to get some school done in June in order to have fun in January, than so be it. School shouldn't be a stresser...trying to jam it all in in a few months time is not our goal. Getting what needs to get done, done is our goal and we do get it done in a time frame...to some point. Obviously, what needs to be done needs to be done....I can't have Sierra taking 2 years to get 7th grade done, but without all the pressure, she can get the work done without making mistakes because she is working against a clock.
So, this summer, activities are calling our names...and we will certainly be participating in a lot of your typical summer activities: beach, pool, mall, movies, bowling, etc......but we may be getting an hour or two of school done here and there, and that is ok. When the next "school year" begins, we won't need to review after a summer's worth of inactivity...we can dive right in!!
For homeschoolers, though, summer may or may not be a time for a break. It could be just another school day. Each homeschool family comes up with their own schedule. Most homeschoolers I know stick with their local school district's calendar...I'm not sure why? Maybe they like having a beginning and an end...having someone else figure out that part of the schooling since, as a teacher, principal, counselor, superintendent, etc, they have to come up with everything else. I also know several homeschool families that opt to do school year round...incorporating a flexibility to take extra long weekends here and there and travel on a whim...reducing the stress of getting a full year's work in a set time frame or having their kids work ahead and stay ahead. Being in the south Texas area, I know other homeschoolers that do a typical school year appoach, but flip the break time...summer do school, winter extended break. This is pretty smart where we live as summer is always so hot, it is hard to go out and do anything...so why not do school in the cool air conditioned home in the summer and than in the winter when the temperatures are better, take a break where the kids can actually enjoy the outdoors.
I think it's great that there is such a flexibility in this. When my daughter was in public school (my son was still too young), we decided we wanted to go to Disney World. We didn't want to go in the summer...going to a major theme park when it is EXCRUTIATINGLY hot with TONS of people just sounded HORRIFIC!! Our daughter was in 4th grade and we weighed out her responsibilities with a really great family vacation experience and decided that we were going for it...we would go to Disney World in February!! BOY, did I get a talking to by some friends...so legalistic in their views of school...my daughter's teachers were less offended by our vacation than some (by some I mean one) friends were. Her teacher's gave me some school work to do with Sierra on our trip and wished us great fun. I was berated and made to feel guilty that I wanted to give my kids a fantastic experience on this vacation...and it was the best trip we have ever had. It was not too hot, it was not too crowded, and our kids had the most memorable time....a time they talk about still today.
So, in thinking about how our school year will go, I tend to be more in the camp of the year round school....long breaks in between. The advantages to taking vacations in the fall and winter months are great...off season pricing is a key benefit...not to mention the reduction in crowds. The fact that summers are so hot in so many areas is another benefit. I do not fall in the camp so much on doing school all year, but I do believe in not stressing out too much and if we need to get some school done in June in order to have fun in January, than so be it. School shouldn't be a stresser...trying to jam it all in in a few months time is not our goal. Getting what needs to get done, done is our goal and we do get it done in a time frame...to some point. Obviously, what needs to be done needs to be done....I can't have Sierra taking 2 years to get 7th grade done, but without all the pressure, she can get the work done without making mistakes because she is working against a clock.
So, this summer, activities are calling our names...and we will certainly be participating in a lot of your typical summer activities: beach, pool, mall, movies, bowling, etc......but we may be getting an hour or two of school done here and there, and that is ok. When the next "school year" begins, we won't need to review after a summer's worth of inactivity...we can dive right in!!
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