For those that start your school year in Jan what does your schedule look like

[nukeswife]

HI all,

We've had a really rough beginning to the year and even though we started in Sept, we just haven't gotten as much done as I thought we would. I also have had to make some changes in what curriculum we're using so since much of that will be new I was thinking of calling the past few month "Autumn Tutoring Intensive" and then restarting our school year as of Jan 10th (dh is off from Dec 29th-Jan 9th, that's why I picked to start on the 10th). We plan to take about a month long vacation in the summer, probably mid July to mid August, but I just wondered what your schedules look like if you start in Jan and finish in say Nov or Dec. How many weeks do you take off between Jan and Oct and do you take just a week here and there or take a month off in the summer with just a couple weeks off the rest of the time?

 

Any input is greatly appreciated.

[swellmomma]

We officially started in Sept but because ds spent a full month in the hospital, not to mention still trying to figure out how to get school done while also working I have been thinking about how I am going to restructure things to reboot our school year after xmas break. We are doing school over the break, but mainly lapbooks and finishing up projects/units we already began. The one thing I found that worked last year before we moved was workboxes. Due to space constraints etc I never got around to starting them up in the new house. I think I may kick start them again for the 2nd term and see if that helps keep us on track to finish up to take a shorter summer vacation. Of course this does not really answer your question, just that you are not the only one facing this. I guess the key no matter what you figure out will be to just keep going regardless of how much or little you finished in the term before.

[GoVanGogh]

We start our school years in January. Basically, we school 3-5 weeks on, 1-2 weeks off, then take off all of December.

Looking back over this year, we did school 10-15 days a month, year-round. (Not counting field trips.)

I am in the south and would rather school heavier during the hot summer months and take more time off in the spring and fall when we can enjoy the outdoors.

[DaffodilDreams]

:bigear:

[TheAutumnOak]

I can't give expert advice, but I can share what our plan is...We haven't done it yet, but this is what I am planning...

 

School starting in January, 4 days a week...We plan to school about 45 weeks with seven weeks off (my husband's vacations which are one week in May, one week in July, and one week in September) and the 4 weeks in December...

 

I will see how it goes...If I see that we need more time off, I will adjust our schedule since 45 weeks is a long school year anyway...

[Mommyfaithe]

My new school year always begins in January not by design, but by happenstance. I pulled my first kids out of school in the 2nd semester...bought our Curr that year and finished in Dec. Part of our Christmas presents have always been science projects/kits, new books, math manipulatives, art prints/projects etc. so naturally we would want to start those in January.

 

Anyway...we school Jan.-Jun (3rd week) then we take off all of July and 2 weeks in August for swim team and summer vacations. We then school from the 3rd week of August- the 3rd week in Dec. taking 2 weeks off in December. I am not sure how many weeks we get in, but enough to finish our books and start anew in January. I am supposed to be making those plans and ordering those books/ supplies right now....oh...focus!

 

Faithe

[Sahamamama]

... take this with a grain of salt. :lol: We started Kindergarten in January 2010, schooled off and on the whole year, and this week finished all that we had planned. It was a full, rich, wonderful year (for Kindergarten). ;)

 

Why did I start in January? I'm not really sure! I'll admit that it was a bit stressful to plan, order, organize, and pay for a full school year right around Christmas -- and then have the twins' birthday on January 3rd. :001_huh: What was I thinking? :D

 

I thought it was time to begin because Sarah was ready. She turned five a month after we began. She did so well with everything, it was amazing. She has such a sweet spirit about learning and being homeschooled, she is truly a blessing. For us, January was the right time to start, in spite of the hassles of planning and paying for it all at once (Christmas, birthdays, homeschool stuff).

 

Because I wanted to stretch out the "work" for the full calendar year, I simply divided the work into 13-week quarters (e.g., Quarter 1 = January, February, March). I never actually looked at a calendar. :tongue_smilie:I planned the work out by the month for some subjects (e.g., Science: January = Primates; February = Bears/Cats/Dogs; March = Rabbits & Rodents, etc.). When the month was done, we'd move on....

 

I intended to follow more of a pattern with our "on" and "off" times -- 3 on, 1 off, 3 on, 1 off, 3 on, 2 off. But after about three months, it didn't seem to matter to do so. It dawned on me that we only had to finish that month's work in that month's time. What's to schedule (at that level)? If we did about 15 days of school each month, we got our work done well and peacefully. And 15 x 12 = 180 days. That is enough. [if you want July and December off, then just do school 18 days each month for 10 months = 180 days. Voila!]

 

In 2011, we plan to do First Grade for Sarah and Preschool for Yacko and Wacko. I'm afraid of the twins. Very afraid. :willy_nilly::willy_nilly:

 

So far I have all the core, seatworky stuff -- Math and English -- in a file box, organized by the week (Week 1... Week 36). When that box is empty,

we will have done a full year's worth of work, however long it takes us -- more on that below.

 

So far, I also have the weekly subject stuff organized in binders by the lesson (Lesson 1... Lesson 36). We'll (theoretically) do those once per week (Geography, Bible, Music, Science).

 

I'm not planning any breaks, but that doesn't mean we won't take one. We will, but I reserve the right to be in charge of when we do what. Somehow, that "only 15 days a month" thing really frees me up in my thinking, while at the same time, having the work lined up by the month motivates me to teach and complete it.

 

I'm not sure this is helpful at all to you. Oh, one other thought I had the other day about year-round schooling. Who is to say that a school year HAS to be 10 months or 12 months long? You could just as easily say (I suppose) that there are times when a year is going to be shorter or longer, for various reasons.... Perhaps a student is aiming at going into a classroom setting, and wants to be more aligned with the school's starting month (September?). So, I thought that you could always, if you needed to, simply add on a Fifth Quarter to any year -- and then your start-up month would readjust to three months later in the year. We may do this for First Grade/Preschool, which means First Grade will take 15 months, instead of 12. But so what? I might just want and need three more months to finish up, plan a new year, take a break... so, I'll add on three months to the 2011 year (really Jan, Feb, March 2012), and call it Fifth Quarter. Then we can begin Second Grade & Kindergarten in April 2012.

 

If we did this again once or twice, the school year's start month would be moved to July or October... which is fine. Does it matter? It's okay to call it what you will -- "Autumn Intensive" -- or whatever. It's your school!

 

I like that you are thinking it out, not being tied down to September as the be-all and end-all of start dates. I know I'm a newbie, but it's so good to know that there is more than one-size-fits-all homeschooling. Good luck with your 2011 year! BTW, I LOVE your school room. We love those colors, they are so nautical. :)

Edited December 18, 2010 by Sahamamama

[lovinmomma]

No expert advice here, either. What we do is start in early Jan. and end right before Thanksgiving. We also take 4 weeks off in the summer and a couple of week long breaks. Days off when we need them, etc.

[nukeswife]

Thanks for all the replies so far. I'm soaking it all in and it's really helping my thinking. I'm not worried about the change so much for my younger 2 kids (3rd and Ker) but hope it doesn't screw up my oldest (6th grader) I don't think it will because he was in PS for K and half of 1st and never wants to go back EVER! (his words not mine)

 

Right now I see the only thing I'll really have to be careful with is my NOI for the state (making sure it reads correctly) and making sure I have the standardized test scores in on time.

[ladydusk]

Well, here's my "in a perfect world this is how it will work" ... do you live in a perfect world? Me either. But I like to plan as if I were :)

 

Our academic year begins the first Monday following Epiphany (my son's birthday is on the 5th, Epiphany makes a nice break-point). We do 4 days a week with a week off in June and another week off some other time. Maybe a day or two here and there. The Friday before Thanksgiving week is the end of the academic year. We have "Yuletide Session" from Thanksgiving week through Epiphany which allows for fun crafts and baking and other Christmasy activities that can be school related (read alouds, kitchen table math, etc.), but aren't our regular academics. (because 4 days a week the rest of the year doesn't hit 180 days ...)

 

The January through June following their "Senior Year" of the school's academic calendar will be set aside as full-time an Independent Study based on personal interest.

 

Doesn't that sound pretty? Yeah. My oldest just finished Kindergarten too. We'll see how it plays out. [smile]

[Sahamamama]

Doesn't that sound pretty? Yeah. My oldest just finished Kindergarten too. We'll see how it plays out. [smile]

 

:lol: I am cracking up. Aren't we a pair?

 

I like your ideas so much, I'm going to take notes on your post! :D

[Sahamamama]

No expert advice here, either. What we do is start in early Jan. and end right before Thanksgiving. We also take 4 weeks off in the summer and a couple of week long breaks. Days off when we need them, etc.

 

Tanzania? We are curious about your avatar.

[Closeacademy]

Our school year:

 

We do 4-day weeks with Fridays for playgroup/playdates.

 

January--We start on the 3rd and have 4 weeks/gearing up

February--4 weeks/working hard

March--5 weeks (we may take 1 off for spring break)/working hard

April--4 weeks/winding down the semester

May--we take this month off but may do 2 weeks

June--go back on May 31st, 5 weeks/working hard

July--week of the 4th is off, 3 weeks of school/working hard

August--5 weeks/working hard

September--4 weeks/working hard, looking toward the new year

October--4 weeks/finishing up

November--3 weeks, we take Thanksgiving off/finishing up

December--2-3 weeks, it starts after Thanksgiving and it mainly fun Christmasy types of stuff, 2 weeks+ off for Christmas

 

Hope this helps.:001_smile:

[Ellie]

We were officially off for a couple of weeks in the spring around Easter; a couple of weeks in late August/early September, and Thanksgiving through the middle of January. We also took off random time for vacations or mental health days. :D

 

We "promoted" in the fall. I still kept dc at the grade level they'd have been in if they'd been in school, just for the sake of any official paperwork, or grandparents and Sunday school teachers; ditto if I'd had to do state-mandated testing. Otherwise, we just kept doing stuff until we finished or got tired of it, and moved on to the next thing.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Well, we got off to a very rough start this fall. It was mostly because my job changed and I had to transfer, so I had to work full time during months I hadn't planned for. We took our family vacation in September, full time in October (planned), sick for three weeks in November (not planned :lol:), full time in December (not planned). We only used bits and pieces of Oak Meadow this year and tried to use Ambleside while I worked. It's been mostly a hit and miss type of schooling for the fall. We have been very consistent with the 3Rs, but that's it. Now that things are going to settle down, I'm planning my new year. I'm planning on taking advantage of Oak Meadow when we are home, and doing our own mix of Ambleside/SCM/Queen's while I'm on the road. That's seemed to work best so far, although I felt very disorganized while trying to do this by the seat of my pants. Not going to try that again!

 

Here's to a new, well-planned year!

 

January ~ school five mornings a week, afternoons for playdates and field trips

(one week off for Rella's birthday)

February ~ school five mornings a week, afternoons for playdates and field trips

March ~ school five mornings a week, afternoons for playdates and field trips

April ~ work full time, 3Rs for school and fun stuff when time permits

May ~ school five mornings a week, afternoons for playdates and field trips

June ~ school five mornings a week, afternoons for playdates and field trips

July ~ school five mornings a week, afternoons for playdates and field trips

(take one week off for Mater's birthday)

August ~ work full time, 3Rs for school and fun stuff when time permits

September ~ school five mornings a week, afternoons for playdates and field trips

October ~ school five mornings a week, afternoons for playdates and field trips

November ~ school five mornings a week, afternoons for playdates and field trips

(one week off for Thanksgiving)

December ~ work full time, 3Rs for school and fun stuff when time permits (Christmas activities)

[Diana B]

We actually start in late Oct, going straight through until spring. We take a couple weeks off in spring and then end our school year early/mid Sept. Taking about a month off in the fall.

 

We take what ever 'mental health' days we need through spring/summer. I don't have to count days / report to the state - but even a lot of our days off could be considered school as they turn into hands-on learning.

 

I've found that it's much more beneficial to just figure in X number of days off to be taken as needed than to schedule a certain number of vacations (unless you plan on going somewhere specific!). It's much more fun and really more beneficial to be able to adapt your schedule to the weather and your children's attitudes. How disappointing to schedule a week off of school and have it rain, just to have it be sunny the next week when you are trying to get work done.

 

So I'd say schedule in the 'big' breaks you know you want, and then leave the rest open for spontaneity!

[nukeswife]

 

So I'd say schedule in the 'big' breaks you know you want, and then leave the rest open for spontaneity!

 

I love this idea. Now if only we knew when that big break would be, but with my dh being miltary it's still very up in the air right now. Hopefully by April I know more about when he'll be rotating and we'll be able to finalize when the big break will be. For now I'm just planning 30 days off sometime in July/Aug, From Nov 19th-Dec 31 off and the rest will just come as needed.

[PeterPan]

I never try to finish everything at the same time. We always start new stuff in January (in fact we're starting a lot new this time!), but what I do is have goals for each term. So I have goals for what I want to cover from Jan-April (winter term). I have goals for May Term, usually doing something neglected like art or a unit study or something. I set goals for summer that seem realistic and change up the pace, meaning we drop a little, add a little, and smooth it all out. And we have goals for fall term. Math gets done when it gets done, and we just go into the next thing. So it's not like I try to end ALL the subjects at once to make a formal year, kwim? I just make it fit our goals. If we've been doing a lot of math but skimping grammar, I might double grammar a while to finish by the end of term I'm eyeing. But I don't try harder than that.

 

I try to finish our winter term work by the end of April and do testing in May. We have to turn in test scores or a letter from a certified teacher who has reviewed our work, so I just do it then. No one cares if you're in the middle of a history book or something, kwim? Either the kid has been doing work or he hasn't. That's what they look at. I don't know, it has always worked out fine for us. The January thing just kind of happened with us, and it has always been nice. I like having new, fresh things to look forward too. We usually start new history stuff in July btw, not January. Nothing says it's either or. You can do both. :)

[greenmamato3]

We start our school years in January. Basically, we school 3-5 weeks on, 1-2 weeks off, then take off all of December.

Looking back over this year, we did school 10-15 days a month, year-round. (Not counting field trips.)

I am in the south and would rather school heavier during the hot summer months and take more time off in the spring and fall when we can enjoy the outdoors.

we are very similar.

and you share my thoughts exactly regarding the HOT HOT summer months here in the south.

[Desert Strawberry]

I like to play it fast and loose with the schedule. We don't have any state mandated reporting, so I can do whatever I want, with no consequences.

We school year round, and I start the schoolyear on each child's birthday. I hope to stagger it a bit so that I don't have to order a thousand books and plan everyone's year at the same time. My oldest is December, the others are April, June and May. Not as spread out as I would have liked, but what can you do?

We do a 4 day week during for school year. I schedule activities, errands and work related stuff on Fridays. We take off a day here and there as needed. Right now, I have a lot of doctors appointments, so we are taking more days off than usual. In may, when I have the baby, we will likely not do school for a week or 2, or do just the basics-things that don't require a lot of effort from me.

We take off time in spring and fall to do fun stuff, and go places. We only get about 4 weeks of good weather a year. I think it's worth taking a bit of time off for that.

This summer, the kids had tennis, arts and crafts and swim lessons everyday. We didn't do formal lessons for 6 weeks because they were pretty wiped out from all of that. They had classes all morning, home for lunch and then we took the afternoon off.