Help me make the case for year round schooling...

[amo_mea_filiis.]

We've always done something year round, but dd never considered it "school." Ds is easy because even when he was in PS, he was schooled year round due to disabilities and summer sessions.

 

Dd is currently looking forward to summer vacation. She doesn't know this yet, but she's only going to have a few weeks. We're starting our school year the end of June (it's the only way we can move to the next level of things when I want to-Spring).

 

I'm determined to get dd to enjoy learning again, and taking a long summer vacation will not help that at all!

 

Both kids are very high functioning with their disabilities, but they still have problems and not taking long breaks is best for them.

 

Other than "I'm Mom and I said so," how do I let dd know that we will be schooling year round?

[Pegasus]

Have you set the new school year schedule? It may help to let her know when the next break will be: "Yes, we will start school again in late June. The next break will be 3 weeks in September, when the worst of the hot weather should be past and we can enjoy spending more time outside." Or whatever is appropriate for your situation.

 

We school:

 

Jan-March, off April (to enjoy SPRING!)

May-July, off August (when all the other kids are headed off to school)

Sept-Nov, off December (so nice not to worry about school over the holidays)

 

We take very few days off during our terms so I do hear grumbling on minor holidays but I just keep reminding them when the next one month break will be and they are usually satisfied.

 

Pegasus

[Momof3littles]

We've started going year-round, because we love the flexibility. I point out to my kids that this allows us to take off-peak vacations. Most years we take our big beach trip in early Sept, when the water is warm and the beaches are not very crowded. This year my ILs booked a big beach house in the OBX, so we are heading there in late May. My parents visit from out of state, and when they are in town, the kids can take off from school without me feeling guilty. My dad always works on cool projects with them anyway, so they still end up doing lots of hands on, educational projects. My eldest is a perfectionist, so I emphasize how not taking huge breaks helps with retention, because he gets frustrated with himself when he forgets things. We take extra time at Christmas to do "school light" as we call it, so we have lots of time for crafting and baking and things.

 

I just emphasize the positives :)

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Thank you!

 

I almost have the schedule done, so I will wait to point out the positives. The upcoming year will be very busy because I want to be done by March (2013) and have our school year spring to spring. I could plan a tentative 2013 school year to show her my long term plan.

[Occasionally]

We do year-round, but take Wednesdays off. Doing four days a week instead of five lets us still take 7 weeks off throughout the year and get our 180 days in (I see you're in PA.)

 

Still, I sneak in learning here and there on Wednesdays ;) The kids still think of it as their "day off." I can also move our "Wednesday" so that we have more flexibility. For example, today is our "Wednesday" because we had a field trip this morning and the weather is lovely. So no formal school today, but we'll work on (the real) Wednesday.

 

Would that approach help you?

[Night Elf]

My kids chose year-round schooling over following the public school schedule. I told them if they wanted off the same school days as ps kids, they would have to do exactly what the ps kids did. That meant school from 8:30pm to 3:00pm with 5-min class breaks and a 30-min lunch period. Then, anything that did not get done during the class period was saved until after school because we couldn't spend more than one class period on a subject. They really disliked that idea. We start school each day when we feel like it and we get the work done in a much less time than ps kids. We also take random days off just because we need a day off.

 

Basically I told them they couldn't have it both ways but it was their choice of one or the other. :tongue_smilie:

[SweetMissMagnolia]

:iagree: if you work year round with the studies then it's easier to take breaks all thoughout the year as needed...we're going to go year round here (been saying for a few years but really are doing it this year) because kiddo's behind and earlier in the year wasn't as cooperative as he should have been and I finally figured out he doesn't do well with long breaks....

[Teachin'Mine]

I would plan week long breaks throughout the year and point those out as better than having a really long summer break and then getting tired of the break. Many kids are eager to get back to doing something long before summer break ends. Another idea is to have a field trip once a week. That gives you all something to look forward to. :)

[mama2cntrykids]

I keep kicking around the same idea. I love the idea of being more flexible about when we take off during the year.

 

As it sits right now, we'll be finishing up our current studies around the second/third week of April. That's *with* taking another week off (we just had a week off the week before last).

[TheApprentice]

We school year round, we end in the middle of June andstart in the middle of July. The "Perks" for my dc:

 

3 weeks of work, 1 week off

The last 3 weeks of December off

The week of their birthday is off (if on a Sat. or Sun. they can pick which week to be off)

 

They actually enjoy it. This is our 3rd year doing it this way, and it works for all. I even need the break, although the week off for them, I plan for the following 3 weeks.