Do you think a long break during summer is good for you dc?

[Tabrett]

I keep reading about people doing "light" school over the summer or schooling year round. I know that people who school year round take breaks. Personally, I think dc benefit from long breaks. I think it give them time to relax, to be creative and imaginative.

 

What do you think and why?

[Loupelou]

We tried a long break a couple of years ago and it did not work for us. I think it's a personal/family thing though. It also depends on what other things you are doing. Towards the end of the summer we really don't have a lot of activities going on other than music and karate. At the very least we read and do math, it keeps my kids focused. I notice they descend into anarchy and chaos without at least a smidgen of consistency!:D

[Dirtroad]

I think it is wonderful for them & for me. We pack it up at the end of May and do not resume until Labor Day. They do read each day & practice music, but those are part of life... not "real school".

 

School is out... they run, play, sleep late, swim..... just get to be KIDS!

 

I have also found that DD returns from the break with IMPROVED skills... she can focus more & her handwriting is even better! Kid you not!

 

I think Year round is a tremendous burden for everyone... especially kids. Let them run & be FREE! (one day soon they will be working & never have that freedom again). Plus, it builds muscles and coordination!!!

[Karen in CO]

We aim for 180 school days which start in September and end when they are over. We don't typically school on Mondays and take off when the weather is beautiful or when the motivation is low. We will probably finish this year by August which will give me time to plan next year. However, we do keep up math at least a couple of times a week during our break to keep from losing our momentum. We watch very little tv around here except science shows when the weather is bad so when we are done with lessons and chores, it is free play and outside play as much as possible. I like the freedom and flexibility that the extended school year gives. I don't ever feel behind schedule or pressured to push. We plug along at our own pace with plenty of time to finish and more than enough time to stop and enjoy our days. We don't feel like we need months off to get that freedom since we have it already.

[Snickerdoodle]

We go year round and take breaks when we need. My kids have no shortage free time to run free and be wild and crazy. I have found that doing lessons does not dampen their creative pursuits during their leisure time.

[elegantlion]

I love long breaks, but we do a light schedule in the summer. My reasoning is that ds is allergic to anything school related. He won't read unless I make him, he wouldn't pick up anything educational all summer. The one summer we did take off we paid big time in the fall, it was if he forgot all about numbers and how to handwrite, much less the reading. :glare:

 

So we do a light schedule in the summer to keep some subjects fresh. It's also alleviates some boredom. The schedule is super flexible and if something fun or if spontaneous education drops in our lap (ie: nature in our yard) we will drop the school stuff at a moments notice.

 

I hoping at some point a more educational type hobby will interest him and he can do that in the summer. Hasn't happened yet.

[Desert Rat]

What do you think is a long break? We tend to keep our breaks under 6 weeks. I tried a traditional summer break and it was a disaster--crabby, nasty, bored kids. But, we live in the desert and summers are rough for outside play here, even water play. So, we school through summer, taking a 2 week break in August before beginning a new school year. We take 6 weeks during the winter holidays and a week off for each boy's birthday. That leaves us with 10 weeks off a year. Our school year is 42 weeks with 6 of those weeks being "light" school or catching up on things I've neglected, namely arts and crafts.

HTH

[Chris in VA]

I like a long break, too. I guess it has to do with how I was raised and what I'm familiar with. I particularly like it for public schooled kids.

 

My summers were always pretty idyllic--we had a pool or could go to the park without supervision, there were lots of kids playing in the street (dead end), we had woods to hike, I loved to read, etc. My brothers were 5 and 6 years older than me, so my mom would leave a little chore list, we'd get that done, and then be free. In 8th grade we moved, and my bro's were gone, so those summers were different--boring, lonely, etc. Still had a lake to go to and friends could come over, but not much. Mom worked then, too.

 

Dd reads a lot on her own, and is used to being alone a lot (I mean, not playing with other kids) b/c her brothers are 8 and 10 years older, one not living with us currently and the other working full time right now. She definitely needs a break for the summer. Don't know what we are going to do, but no school.

[Angel]

Heck! Who cares about the kids! MOM needs a break:lol:

 

Seriously, we ALL need the down time of summer break. Sleeping in, getting caught up on laundry:tongue_smilie:, lazing around with a book, watching movies all day on a hot day or water fun outside, the list is endless. With a break, all pressure is off. It is just nice to know that we have a while to just relax.

 

I have not noticed my dd's forgetting stuff and I have never noticed them getting crabby or bored (any more than usual stuff). Even if we tried to keep up light school in the summer. We have camps, vacations, VBS, etc. and that would just screw it all up.

 

That said:blush: Dd1 is going to work an hour a day (when she has a free day) on Algebra this summer. She is in the middle of Algebra and that might be the one thing that she would forget over the summer (cause it's not going well to begin with). Dd2 is going to do a little math drill over the summer, cause she's a little shaky. And of course, that's if it even happens. Summer schedules being what they are, we may end up just picking back up again in the fall:D

[Cinder]

We've varied it over the years. Most years we started in July when it was starting to get pretty hot and end in April or early May when it was starting to get nice. We took off a few weeks for Christmas and days here and there whenever we needed/wanted. Birthdays were always a day off from school.

 

The last couple of years we tried "light" school over the summers but just got a bit burned out between that and the traditional school schedule our co-op followed.

 

This summer will be different. We will not be in a co-op next year. Ds1 may be going to traditional school for high school so will likely have the full summer "off" unless there is summer reading assigned. He's staying busy building and programming his new computer. Ds2 is bothered by spring/summer allergies and wants to have a long winter break instead of summer. So for him we'll probably start in July and take 6 weeks off during winter.

 

For us 6 weeks is a long break. But as they got older I found *I* needed more time to plan for the next year and really wanted longer breaks.

 

Cinder

[joannqn]

Since summer is the only time that we get a long stretch of decent weather, we take off. We're usually done sometime in early June and start again sometime in August. This year, we finished almost everything early so we've only been doing science and history since mid-May. We won't be starting again until the very end of August because I don't want to be dealing with a newborn, postpartum recovery, and school all at the same time. We also take off the entire month of December and take days off for fun field trips, being sick, or just needing a day whenever we want.

 

I've found that we don't have a problem with taking off the time. We always finish our curriculum even with all the time off. My kids don't seem to lose anything that they learned over the summer. And we don't have boredom issues because we spend our summers partaking in all of the free activities that they have around here.

[LibraryLover]

Now, now, learning doesn't stop in summer even when you take a break. :D You go to museums, the library, civil war reenactments, catch crabs at the beach, maybe go fishing, play lots of card games and Scrabble, look at maps for getaways, listen to Jim Weiss audios in the car...it's all good.

[ElizabethB]

We enjoyed our long summer break last year, but we paid for it with 4 months of getting back to where we were in math.

 

This year, I'm going to do RS math games a few times a week during the summer.

 

She reads well and didn't lose any reading or spelling skills, math is the only thing we'll need to do over the summer.

[Stacy in NJ]

I keep reading about people doing "light" school over the summer or schooling year round. I know that people who school year round take breaks. Personally, I think dc benefit from long breaks. I think it give them time to relax, to be creative and imaginative.

 

What do you think and why?

 

 

My kiddos have the opportunity to relax, be creative and imaginative all year long; thus, we have a short summer break (4 weeks).

[Kim in Appalachia]

:D I NEED the break. I need to not be "teacher" for a while, and just be mom. We all enjoy our summer off. We spend a lot of time in our pool, the kids swim as a sport as well, and we just relax. It's nice.

[Stacy in NJ]

I notice they descend into anarchy and chaos without at least a smidgen of consistency!:D

 

:iagree:

 

Yep. Structure is my friend.:001_smile:

[TammyinTN]

We are just finishing up the last of our summer break. We took off April, May and June this year and had great weather for traveling before Dad left. This year we will be starting our year round schooling. Breaks from now on when needed and plenty of field trips.

[Karen in CO]

Since summer is the only time that we get a long stretch of decent weather, we take off.

Maybe my views are clouded by our weather :lol:

 

It varies wildly and is unpredictable. One summer, the weather stayed a chilly and a cloudy 50 for two months, another it was in the 90s and sunny and dry all summer - so that we ended up with a long "fire season". The fall has typically beautiful weather for weeks, then blustery for a week then back to nice. Two weeks ago it was in the 80's here and then rained for 8 days, was sunny for a couple and is now forecast to be rainy and windy until Friday. So we take off when the weather is nice and declare emergency sunshine days in the middle of the school year, then work through days when the weather is bad. I'd rather be off and enjoying the nice days than working through them in hopes of nice days that may not come in the future.

[JudoMom]

Maybe my views are clouded by our weather :lol:

 

It varies wildly and is unpredictable. One summer, the weather stayed a chilly and a cloudy 50 for two months, another it was in the 90s and sunny and dry all summer - so that we ended up with a long "fire season". The fall has typically beautiful weather for weeks, then blustery for a week then back to nice. Two weeks ago it was in the 80's here and then rained for 8 days, was sunny for a couple and is now forecast to be rainy and windy until Friday. So we take off when the weather is nice and declare emergency sunshine days in the middle of the school year, then work through days when the weather is bad. I'd rather be off and enjoying the nice days than working through them in hopes of nice days that may not come in the future.

 

Yep! It's only 51* outside right now. The boys might as well do some school so they can enjoy the gorgeous days we get!

[6packofun]

No. Moderation on this sort of thing for us--we take a 4-6 week break and then hit the books again. My kids have learned to get stuff done early in the day and I encourage long breaks when the sun is still out but not at it's hottest, so they go outside plenty even though we're doing school. We're a little more laid back in the summer anyhow.

[Jayne J]

Yeah, I'm new at this and we started our break in May. Well, we are back at it again, lightly, because ds's behavior took a nosedive. I mean a startling, "whose kid are you?" kind of nosedive. So, we do about 1hr a day of phonics, math and handwriting daily now and behavior is improved. Geesh. I really wanted to be able to be completely off for a while. :glare:

[In the Rain]

Oldest Dd just finished 1st grade, so this is really our first summer break- 3 months. I feel like I need time to be a mom, and not a teacher. I'll probably declare a summer school day here or there just to practice math facts.

 

Dd who just turned 5 will keep working on reading. She is interested, and it just takes 10-15 minutes a day.

 

FWIW, I think kids need time to "be bored" and then figure out what to do about it.

[amyco]

Just last night I finally figured out a "modified year round" schedule. 38 weeks of school, 14 of vacation. That means a shorter summer for us, 8 weeks, with the other six weeks off throughout the year. I like it already and the kids seem fine with it. After 8 weeks we are all good and bored! Also this way I expect I'll feel a lot less pressure to get it all done in our previous 36 week schedule, and not feel as guilty about taking a mental health or field trip day here and there.

 

Up til now we've had 3 months off in the summer, but they did forget a lot of math and Latin. Hopefully our new schedule will rectify that.

[HiddenJewel]

We find if the break is too long the dc get bored.

[gandpsmommy]

I think it depends on your family, the region in which you live, your kids' (and your) personalities, and your activitiy schedule.

 

We personally find a long break (two to three months) in the summer is terrific for us. We live in a region where the weather is inhospitable for outdoor play for most of the late fall, winter, and early spring. So late spring and summer are our time to enjoy the outdoors. We do a lot of outdoor activities: work in our garden, play on the swing set, swim at the pool, ride bikes, go hiking, visit parks, play tennis, go golfing, plant flowers and do outside projects around the house, etc.

 

Also, my kids' have activities in the summer. DD's gymnastics hours increase in the summer to give the kids time to get used to the new schedule before school starts again. She will be doing 14 hours this year. She loves to swim, so we spend a lot of time at the pool, and she is thinking about doing a synchronized swimming class two mornings a week. She still will have piano lessons once a week. Ds plays tee-ball, which is three evenings a week. He loves to explore the creeks and streams and play outside in the sand. There are usually a lot of classes and camps offered at various locations. We're hoping to take advantage of some art classes at the art museum, and take in as much of the music/arts festival in our town in July as we have time for.

 

We also like to take field trips over the summer to the zoo, acquarium, botannical gardens, museums, etc. We don't always have the time to fit them in during the school year, and the weather is sometimes so bad here in the winter that I can't necessarily plan on travelling an hour to the city for these field trips during certain winter months.

 

We like to go on little excursions, too, to an amusement park or something. We usually wait until the late summer to take our vacation, though, since most other kids are back in school and it isn't too crowded.

 

I think that we all return to school in the fall much more ready to start a new school year, and so far my dd has retained all skills extremely well. I can't imagine schooling year round and having the energy to keep going year after year. It just wouldn't work for our personalities.

 

We actually try to be done with all schoolwork by Memorial Day weekend and start back in late August or early September. This year we didn't finish math or Latin, so we'll still be plugging away at that until July. I can't wait to be done!

[KidsHappen]

Well, we have traditionally taken off the months of Dec and June but now that the younger two have so many PS friends we are transitioning to a traditional school year for them. The older two just do their work whenever they feel like it. Sometimes they are very motivated and get lots done then if the need a break they take one, so long as they get all of their work done with passing grades it's all good.

[DarlaS]

Oldest Dd just finished 1st grade, so this is really our first summer break- 3 months. I feel like I need time to be a mom, and not a teacher. I'll probably declare a summer school day here or there just to practice math facts.

 

Dd who just turned 5 will keep working on reading. She is interested, and it just takes 10-15 minutes a day.

 

FWIW, I think kids need time to "be bored" and then figure out what to do about it.

 

Yep! My dd is reading through a stack of Usborne science books today. I had to head out to take my mom for a medical procedure and I come home and everyone's reading. (Is that summer school?)

 

I gave her the Readers Digest "How Nature Works" book I bought for her brother and I wonder how long before she comes up with a project for us...

 

A few minutes of flashcards a couple times a week should keep us up to speed with math at this point (for the younger kids anyway).

[johnandtinagilbert]

kids forget what they've learned

we all get lazy and don't want to work hard in the fall

when our schedule is off, everything is chaos (house, behavior)

 

 

We do take 1 month in August, save daily hour of reading. We break periodically throughout the year. We have tried both ways and for us, anything past that month brings hair pulling later!

[Ginevra]

I keep reading about people doing "light" school over the summer or schooling year round. I know that people who school year round take breaks. Personally, I think dc benefit from long breaks. I think it give them time to relax, to be creative and imaginative.

 

What do you think and why?

 

We do "light" school from Memorial Day to mid August, then we will add subjects back in and be on full schedule by post-Labor Day.

 

There are reasons. One, I don't think Math benefits from a three-month break. Facts are forgotten. This fall will be my first year with Latin, but a friend of mine said this was true with Latin, too - that a summer break was a big mistake.

 

Another reason is that speaking strictly for my own children, I notice that they get "bratty" with hours upon hours of unstructured time. They start begging for more "entertainment" - computers, movies, tv, junk. I really am aiming for them to have a Well-Trained mind. I think this is best facilitated by having some structure in their day, even if it is less than during the school year.

 

Lastly, they simply do have the time to learn some useful things - might as well use it. They have several hours to daydream/create/be silly/play unstructured/whatever. I'd rather still require an hour or so of focused, attentive work.

[Alice]

As a kid, I never liked the long summer breaks much. It was great at the beginning but by the end I was dying to get back to school. Part of it was as an only child I really liked being around other kids, part of it was just that I liked school and learning. I read all summer and did other stuff but I missed the structure. But everyone is different.

 

This was our first real year so our first summer. The plan is to take 6-7 weeks off. I think that will be long enough for all of us. We'll start back in August, which this year is mostly because I'm due in September and plan on taking 3-4 weeks off then. During the break I plan on having ds read with the library summer reading programs and he'll have swimming several times a week. I got the idea from another board to do a Summer Adventure box. C5 chose animals to learn about so I have a bunch of animal books and crafts and we'll add in field trips. Other than that we'll have a lot of field trips and fun stuff planned. August in Virginia gets miserable anyway so I think by then we'll be ready to stay inside and do school.

 

Also, theoretically I like the idea of learning being more of an ongoing lifestyle than having a sharp division between "school time" and "break time". And I bet it's somewhat semantics..one person's break might be very similar to someone else's "light school". Especially for the younger kids: art projects, music, books, crafts, field trips, having fun in the outdoors, etc.

Edited June 2, 2009 by Alice

[GoVanGogh]

We school year-round and DS still has plenty of time to run, play, sleep late, swim, bike, etc.

That's why we homeschool - so that DS can have free time to just be a kid! We love the flexibility of homeschooling.

He stays up until 10 p.m., reading, then wakes on his own in the morning. DS sleeps in most mornings, no matter if we are doing formal school or not.

We live in Texas, where it can be brutally hot in the summer. I would rather hit the books hard in the summer and take a month off in the spring and another month in the fall, when we can actually be outside and enjoy the weather. We take days and weeks off here and there, as needed and wanted.

Our neighbors have a pool and they routinely heat it up in the winter, if the air temp is decent. The past few years we have swam at their place on Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. So, for us, swimming isn't a summer-time only activity.

We do go to local water parks in the summer, but they generally don't open until 11 - we can still get a few hours of school in. One city water park (ie: super cheap) opens at 10 so we often go there for two hours, come home and eat lunch, then do school in the afternoon.

We love our year-round schedule, but I know it isn't for everyone or for every family. But it is perfect for us.

[Jill- OK]

I keep reading about people doing "light" school over the summer or schooling year round. I know that people who school year round take breaks. Personally, I think dc benefit from long breaks. I think it give them time to relax, to be creative and imaginative.

 

What do you think and why?

 

We do take long breaks. We just took one that was probably a couple of months, total.

 

But...I don't do that every year.

 

And...it's more for me than the kids. :tongue_smilie:

 

We do lite school over the summer, and we school year 'round in theory...but occasionally, we do take a long break.

 

I'm not so sure about kids needing long breaks, but we do a short schedule (short days, short week), so that might leave more room for free time and the creativity you're talking about...?

[johnandtinagilbert]

Yeah, I'm new at this and we started our break in May. Well, we are back at it again, lightly, because ds's behavior took a nosedive. I mean a startling, "whose kid are you?" kind of nosedive. So, we do about 1hr a day of phonics, math and handwriting daily now and behavior is improved. Geesh. I really wanted to be able to be completely off for a while. :glare:

It has been that way for us too! It was like I was living with someone else's children! It was either :smash: or :auto: and since I couldn't do either, back to year round with months off in Dec and Aug and days or long w/e where necessary.

[JennifersLost]

I like taking a long break. I like it when the kids get bored....and then suddenly come up with great ideas.

 

I also like the feeling of getting back to school in the fall.

 

I think taking a summer break refreshes all of us. And this year we have only one scheduled activity (dd's soccer - one day per week) - and that's it!

 

I'm doing light daycare. My older boys are looking for summer jobs. If we read or do anything together it will be purely for fun.

[sunflowerlady]

I guess it depends on you and your family. For us , I have found that we do better going year around with breaks as needed. If something comes up and I feel we need a day or week off, we take it off. Also, I have found that it allows us to get more done over the course of a year and allows me more flexibility all around.

 

When we tried to do a summer break, dd and I would get bored and she would start getting a little bit of an attitude problem.:001_huh: We just do better keeping to a routine.

 

If we could afford to go on vacation , travel and go to the beach and things like that frequently, it might be different. But , we are at home most of the time and too much free time is not good. We still have a good bit of free time each day and with whatever time we take off throughout the year.

 

It is a good balance for us.:D

[my3starsofthesea]

Yes, and it's good for me too ;)

 

We need some down time, I encourage them to read, which they enjoy anyway, but we really do love our summer break!

[Quiver0f10]

I need summer. I love summer. My kids love summer. I am so so so thankful we are done until the end of August.

[AnnetteB]

We go year round and take breaks when we need. My kids have no shortage free time to run free and be wild and crazy. I have found that doing lessons does not dampen their creative pursuits during their leisure time.

:iagree:We have just started our summer study. We will focus on explorers, astronomy, Family Math, poetry, and crafty stuff. The tent will go up soon and the kids enjoy the change in pace.

[Heather in Neverland]

We have always done Math and Latin during the summer and will continue to do so (but usually only 3 days a week). And reading of course, but I don't consider that "school".

[mcconnellboys]

I agree, and it's certainly good for *me*, too, LOL.... When else would I have time to get ready for the next busy school year? Everyone needs down time!

[Rhonda in TX]

We finished the year last Friday and I plan to start back up the first week of August. The only school we are doing is reading every day from a specific list of books. It is freeing and I am thrilled about our break this year. I need to just be the mom for awhile and put away my teacher hat.

[Mom2boys]

I think it depends on your family, the region in which you live, your kids' (and your) personalities, and your activity schedule.

 

:iagree:

And I would add "the ages of your children". My oldest will be doing math this summer because he hasn't finished his math book. And I feel at his age, it is important that he not fall behind in math, because high school isn't that far away. And we are going to start our new school year at the beginning of August, because it will be so hot and humid that no one will want to be outside anyways.

[Ravin]

I'm not going to tie myself to "we do this every year", but this summer we started our break around the beginning of May and will be starting up again after Midsummer's. For now we're just doing the library summer reading program and spending extra time cleaning up around the house and going on some extra outings to the splash playground and zoo before the weather gets totally insane (and before my babysitting job picks back up). DD does better with a more structured day, and her behavior lately hasn't been all that, but I've found limiting TV when she doesn't behave has been working wonders. I've been warning her for months now that there will be less TV once she starts first grade, but that we'll have lots more fun and exciting lessons. Hopefully it'll be a short shakedown and she'll settle into the new routine nicely.

[Leighton Academy]

Year round also works best for us. The summers here are so hot. In fact, we started back this week after only a 2 week break. The boys say it's too hot to play outside til late evening. Like most others, my boys still sleep in and have tons of play/free time. For us, the fall is our "summer". The weather is perfect and we get to avoid the crowds when we travel. :001_smile: I plan to take a week off for each boy's birthday. Plus we'll be taking breaks every 5-6 weeks. A week off here and there does wonders for us without being so long that the boys grumble about getting back into the swing of things.

[bbsweetpea]

I am doing year round because that is what works for us. We do take three to four week "breaks" twice a year and then take time off as needed the rest of the year.

 

My kids are young though and I have found that my oldest thrives on being taught. She wakes up every morning and asks me what we are learning today. I have always been the same way.

 

With my son he just sits in when he wants. I don't push anything with him at this point because he is still young.

 

My kids play outside, ride bikes, swim etc 9 months out of the year. In the summer they PREFER to be indoors because it is so hot here. Our breaks fall usually in the fall and spring when the weather is cooler.

[Peela]

I like our Australian system. We have 4 ten week terms (sometimes I little shorter), with 2 week breaks between them (Autumn, Winter and Spring breaks) except for about a 7 week break in the summer (which we call Christmas holidays because that's when they start).

 

Our summer holiday is therefore naturally a little shorter than the U.S. one and I think it is perfect except I think 6 weeks would be better. I am usually champing at the bit that last week, to get back into school.

 

Forget the kids. *I* need a long break. We do no school in holidays. I do my planning then, though. We have a pool and airconditioning, beautiful beaches and a river, walks, movies and just hanging out.

I think its important for kids- and adults- to learn how to relax and just "be" rather than being productive all the time.

[Peela]

I like our Australian system. We have 4 ten week terms (sometimes I little shorter), with 2 week breaks between them (Autumn, Winter and Spring breaks) except for about a 7 week break in the summer (which we call Christmas holidays because that's when they start).

 

Our summer holiday is therefore naturally a little shorter than the U.S. one and I think it is perfect except I think 6 weeks would be better. I am usually champing at the bit that last week, to get back into school.

 

Forget the kids. *I* need a long break. We do no school in holidays. I do my planning then, though. We have a pool and airconditioning, beautiful beaches and a river, walks, movies and just hanging out.

I think its important for kids- and adults- to learn how to relax and just "be" rather than being productive all the time.

[Oak Knoll Mom]

We're taking a break this summer. *I* needed the break. However, we do have rest time right after lunch, so I'll be using that time to do some three Rs--one boy one day, the other boy the next day. I think doing the basics every other day will help keep them on track, but still give us hours and hours of free time.

[Danestress]

We love our summers. We get a lot more time with family, which is a major priority for us (not just our little household family, but extended family).

 

We get to relax more and play more and spend more time on sports (though we spend a lot of time on sports anyway). We go to the beach all the time and see our friends at the pool, sleep later and love life.

 

BUT

 

I make my kids practice the violin everyday and we do enough math and Latin sheets that we don't have to review everything in the fall. I want to start up and running.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm