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

[carla36301]

My mother-in-law works in our city school system, and my son loves to stay with grandma when she is out of school, so we follow that schedule. It's a modified year-round schedule. We have a fall break for one week, christmas break for two weeks, and spring break for one week. Our summer break is eight weeks. That's the perfect amount for us. This also keeps him on the same schedule as his friends at church. We modify the schedule when we need to. There is no way he would stand for school in the summer, and frankly, I need the break, too! LOL!

[Dobela]

We are doing light work in the summer because we had many life interruptions that made us be further behind than I ever anticipated. However, my son will be taking breaks all along. Tomorrow he leaves for a week of camping with grandparents. Later he will do it again for 2 weeks. We took off a week in May and another week in April. We will likely take off as we need in the fall and winter.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Yep. The long summer break is good for mama, therefore it is good for the kids. :-)

[TravelingChris]

We normally work through the summer. We get off schedule enough (operation, move, tons of doctor visits,) and since they are doing summer activities (swim and dive team, going to concerts and nightwalks, etc), I am not concerned. Since mine are older, I have enough free time as it is. THis year, the older one is behind in Chemistry, American History, and Literature. We are switching what we are doing with Spanish and she will also do SAT math prep. She is going on a week mission trip to Newark, NJ and she also has a four week summer camp (4 hours a day) in Fine Arts. She will continue with her subjects as she can while still competing in diving.

 

Her younger sister has less work and has about 50 more days to go but I combine some school days. They will both have a vacation in mid August of slightly more than a week. They had an 11 day one in mid May. Neither girl likes long breaks.

[Laura Corin]

I've always been surprised by how long school holidays are in the US. Standard UK school summer holidays are six weeks. In theory that's what I'd like to give my children (as you say - I want them to have time to relax and create). In fact, we've never managed more than a month, due to travel/other commitments. This year we should be able to do five weeks.

 

Laura

[WTMindy]

I guess part of the reason we just do school-lite in the summer is that I don't like the mentality that school is something we need a break from. (sorry about the grammar. :-)) I want to communicate that learning and practicing what we have learned is just a part of every day life. And, I haven't found that the lite amount of school we do in the summer hampers their creativity or their free time. We usually get a fairly early start, do a couple hours of school, do a couple chores, and are good to go enjoy the majority of the day. My people are happier with a little structure.

[Angel]

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

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

Just "being" gives perspective to the "doing."

[3lilreds in NC]

We haven't been schooling for very many years, but I've found in the short time we've been doing it that breaking entirely is not so good for us. Emma, particularly, seems to need a little math and handwriting to keep up with things, or the start of school is just awful. We do get quite a few breaks throughout the year with holidays and visitors and such. This next school year I hope to be more organized so we have "official" breaks; we're really good at taking breaks when we feel like it but we need to be more disciplined about getting school done. I hate the feeling of being stuck to a schedule, but if we don't have one, we slack off too much.

 

It's so hot here in the summer, that my plan is to go to the pool in the mornings and do some light school while the baby naps in the afternoons. There isn't much else we could be doing anyway; might as well read some good books, right? Also, I'm going to start having them read independently more. I've started having them do that at bedtime while they're waiting for prayers & songs instead of watching TV, and it's working pretty well so far.

[Tammyla]

My kids are readers and have lots of summer activities and truth be told even I enjoy the break.

 

WINTER here is ugh, long and we spend it doing lots of work...I've learned to enjoy every hot, humid, sticky moment of summer here except the mosquitoes. BBQ, swimming, vacations, and simply enjoying some down time is very refreshing.;)

[Mommy22alyns]

My girls get bored - literally, bored. They are creative, imaginative little ones, but they just do better when there is some structure going on. Less picking, fussing, bickering, getting on Mommy's last nerve. If I give them structure early in the day and then set them free, it's the right balance.

 

It's also too hot to be outside all the time in summer here. Year round allows us to take breaks and vacations when we need them, not just because it's summer (and everyone else is doing it! :tongue_smilie:). We do light school to take advantage of the library's summer reading program and art classes at a local center.