Year round?

[zarabellesmom]

My daughter wants to strike a deal, 4 days-a-week, year round vs. our current summers off 5 days-a-week plan.

 

So the question is, do you school year round? If so, are you happy or burnt out. Frankly, we are only a couple of weeks into the summer and bored. Should I strike a deal?

[MeghanL]

I think I would be burned out with that plan...

However, I currently do 1 week off a month (and the entire month of August to plan for the following year) and have found that prevents me from being burned out. At any point in time, I'm at the most 5 weeks away from a week long break. It's just enough that no one gets bored with the break but often enough that no one feels like all we do is school.

[NASDAQ]

Yes, and I'm happy and not burnt out, but don't ask her ;) We go 5-6 days a week though.

[Snickerdoodle]

We do 4 days a week year round and take off other days here and there as needed.    I don't think I could handle taking a long period of time off (ie the summer) and find the wherewithal to jump back full time when the vacation was over.      Slow and steady with a set year round routine works best for me (us). 

[Snickerdoodle]

And for the record, we do MT-- ThF.    I love this schedule.   We work hard for two days and get a day off, work hard for two more days and get the weekend.    Just throwing that out there.

[HS Mom in NC]

We have 4 day school weeks and take the same time off as the ps: June-late July with 2 week Fall, Winter and Spring Breaks. The 5th day is PE followed by a social time for the kids.

 

I used to school year round and take off more time in the Fall, Winter and Spring because of our extreme weather.  No one wants to do much outside when it's 110+ degrees, so we got more school done in the summer then.  But that was when my older kids didn't have neighborhood kids as a social outlet.  My youngest has close friends in the neighborhood, so it makes sense for us to follow the school year in our current situation so she can maximize her time with them.

 

There are plenty of other options out there beyond the traditional 9 months on, 5 days a week, with a week off in Spring and 2 in winter.

 

3 weeks on 1 week off

2 months on 2 weeks off

3 months on 1 month off

 

You can mix and match the above as it suits you and add on time off during the holidays.

 

3-4 longer days

5 shorter days

half days sometimes  (especially during the holidays) and longer days other times

 

The possibilities are endless. Don't be married to a particular schedule because you're familiar with it-do it because it works for your situation at the time.

 

If your kids get involved in activities with kids in institutional settings, the schedule will likely be adapted to the ps and private school schedules in the surrounding areas.

 

[Arcadia]

We school year round 5 days a week. Kids take a week or two off in summer for summer camps. My boys find it easier year round with not forgetting stuff and they prefer structure anyway.

I try to make sure we do fun stuff outdoors on weekends.

[73349]

We go year-round; it's been great so far. We do school 5 days a week and haven't taken more than a week off at a time since the summer of 2012. That way, I can make the school day short and still make good progress.

 

I expect to change schedules to more like 6 on/1 off when we get closer to middle school and spend longer on each subject.

[boscopup]

We do 5 day weeks year round, but take breaks about every 6 weeks or so and take a few extra weeks off in June to do camps and such. We start our school year the last week or two of June. When weather is nice in fall and spring, I let the kids play outside more and do less school. I end up with around 200ish days of school most years. Not all of those days are full "get everything done" days, of course. ;)

 

ETA: I take a guilt-free break when needed, so don't tend to burnout. If I feel burnout creeping in, we have movie days and blow off school. I feel more relaxed than my friends who are trying desperately to finish up curriculum at the end of May (though part of that is probably that I don't try to finish up curriculum by the end of May, even though our school year ends then :lol:)

[ajfries]

This last year we did 4 day school weeks, 6 weeks on & 1 week off. We also took off some time here & there when DH was home on vacation and "Mommy's mental health days". I don't know that it would be enough for an older kid, but for my young'ns & me it was a gentle but productive year.

[Ellie]

My daughter wants to strike a deal, 4 days-a-week, year round vs. our current summers off 5 days-a-week plan.

 

So the question is, do you school year round? If so, are you happy or burnt out. Frankly, we are only a couple of weeks into the summer and bored. Should I strike a deal?

 

Even if you do school four days a week, that does not mean you can't have several weeks off during the year.

 

I don't see any reason not to do four days a week.

 

We took off a couple of weeks around Easter, a couple of weeks in late August/early September, and Thanksgiving through about the middle of January, and other random days as needed for mental health or grandparents visiting or a trip to Disneyland on a Wednesday in April. :-) And we always took off Fridays.

[silver]

I do year round. I do a combo of 6 weeks on/1 week off with four day weeks. I like it. I like that Friday can be our "catch up" day if we had a rough week or it can be a free/fun stuff day if we had a good week. I like that every time I feel "I need a break!" there's a break. I like that the breaks are only a week, so there is minimal forgetting, minimal "boredom fighting" amongst my kids, and no pain of having to recreate the routine after a long break. I like that four day weeks let us take an impromptu 3-day weekend trip without having to shuffle school around. I like it so much that I don't want to let my kids know that summers off is "standard."

[zarabellesmom]

Why did it never occur to me to take a day off that wasn't a Friday???? Brilliant! You are never more than two days from a day off!

 

I have to say that the idea of not losing ground over the summer really excites me. I thought I wanted time off, but we are just sitting around, bored. (Though that word is technically off limits.) We do activities during the school year, dance, soccer, and this year I hope music lessons, but those aren't Friday. Sadly, most of our school age friends are overbooked public school kids and that doesn't change year round. I'm really considering this. Keep the comments coming!

[Snickerdoodle]

Why did it never occur to me to take a day off that wasn't a Friday???? Brilliant! You are never more than two days from a day off!

 

Exactly why it works so well for me. 

[julie4]

We school 4 days a week, take extra time off around Christmas & Holy Week/Easter. And this will be the first year that we do a modified summer schedule. We will still take a week off each month of the summer. But we will continue Math & writing the rest if the summer. We always read, individually & read aloud.

[Rachel]

We intended to do year round but as we wrapped up kindergarten we were ready for a nice long break.

 

Right now summer school consists of reading daily, xtra math or math games, and mom taught piano lessons. After a week of day camp we will work through a science book my son has been asking about.

 

This fall we will go back to 6 weeks on one off. I like to do a lighter day on Wednesdays which is the same day we have bible study.

[MotherGoose]

I'm thinking about next year's schedule. Right now I need a summer break, for planning if nothing else. And I do lots of gardening so that makes the summer busier for me than most. I talked to a PS friend today, and she said the school took up the books at the end of last week so the kids have been in school for an entire week (Thurs and Fri were half days) doing exactly nothing, and the legislature also voted to forgive about 3 of the snow days so that means a full 8 days of school (at least) that they learned nothing to speak of. Not to mention all the half days the school district schedules during the year where they've had school and LUNCH by 11:30 and call it a day?!!?

[HS Mom in NC]

You can take time off of the regular curriculum too if you like.  Sometimes we took off from Thanksgiving to the first full week in January as I did costumes and sets for nativity plays and I played in the church orchestra.  Sometimes, when I did have big projects like that,  we still did school during that time but the kids were allowed to choose what they wanted to study that whole time.

 

We school M, T, W, F.  TH is for PE and a long play date at the park after PE.

[boscopup]

I talked to a PS friend today, and she said the school took up the books at the end of last week so the kids have been in school for an entire week (Thurs and Fri were half days) doing exactly nothing, and the legislature also voted to forgive about 3 of the snow days so that means a full 8 days of school (at least) that they learned nothing to speak of. Not to mention all the half days the school district schedules during the year where they've had school and LUNCH by 11:30 and call it a day?!!?

 

Schools here stopped teaching once testing was done - a good 3-4 weeks before the end of school! They didn't learn anything else, and they watched a lot of movies.

[Rivka]

We have always gone year-round. That way we can take breaks whenever we need it, without guilt. I "grade promote" the first week of June, and we go up a level in our various books whenever we finish them. We missed a bunch of the spring due to health issues (everyone sick, then I had a concussion, then two months later I had surgery), and it's nice that I didn't feel any pressure to "finish up" by some arbitrary date.

 

We recently moved to a new weekly system, which I'm really liking. Four days a week we do our regular academic subjects. The fifth day - which could be any day of the week - is "Different Day." Different Day is definitely a school day, with mom-directed educational activities, but we don't use our standard books and assignments. It's all enrichment. We might go on a field trip, watch documentaries, do an art or cooking project, have a poetry tea, read aloud for hours, play games... it's the day we pretend that I'm not an uptight, demanding classical homeschooler.  :lol: 

[zarabellesmom]

She says she has changed her mind now. I'm thinking of trying to change it back. :)

[....]

My daughter wants to strike a deal, 4 days-a-week, year round vs. our current summers off 5 days-a-week plan.

 

So the question is, do you school year round? If so, are you happy or burnt out. Frankly, we are only a couple of weeks into the summer and bored. Should I strike a deal?

 

That's been our schedule for 5-6 years.  I've tried multiple times to do school 5 days a week and it's impossible.  I mean, you need time to mow the lawn, buy groceries, pay bills, clean the house, do laundry, repair and upkeep of the house and vehicle, take the kids to doctor/dentist appointments, run errands, etc.  *shrug*  That stuff has to get done, too.  It's much easier to run errands on Fridays than on Saturdays - as far as how crowded the stores are.

 

No, we haven't burned out working year-round.  It's much less stress, because you don't feel pressed for time.  You can also get through a lot more curriculum.  It almost seems like we're able to get through two "school years" in one.  One of my daughters is using 3 math curricula (it's not me pushing her, she just really likes math).  The only reason that's possible is because we use more of the year for school.

 

I was thinking when my oldest starts high school, we'll have to get into a 5 day a week schedule, but now that high school is getting closer, I don't think so.  I think we're still going to stick with our 4 day weeks.       

[Susan in TX]

We school year-round. My high schoolers are in public school. During the school year we follow the school schedule so there are several 3 day weekends, a week off at Thanksgiving, 2 weeks off at Christmas, and a week off in March. During the summer we usually take off June and start back schooling after the 4th of July. This year I plan to take off the 2nd week of June for VBS and get back to school right after that. My kids will be doing an outside activity every Thursday so we will be taking Thursdays off for most of the summer.

 

Susan in TX

[IsabelC]

We are considering a 4 week rotation as a possibility:

 

1 weeks skills (everything relating to the 3 Rs)

1 week contents (immersion in history, science, special project or whatever)

1 week skills again

1 week off (I catch up on my non home ed stuff and plan the next 3 weeks, while the kids have an unschooling week)

 

This would give us 13 rotations including 39 weeks of 'school', which is exactly what our local public school does, and I think the subject areas would balance in approximately the same way as they do when studying a little of everything every week.

 

 

[pitterpatter]

Even though we school year round, we are taking off four weeks right before officially starting up again this fall. Although we typically school five days a week, we have plenty of four-day weeks. Plus, we take off for DH's vacations and a wee bit around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think four days is doable, if you don't have a deep desire to get ahead or add in extra electives (which is what we often do in spring/summer). History and science always take the longest to get through each year for us, so maybe keep a tight schedule going on whatever your long-running subjects are.

[My3girls]

We do 4 days with a catch-up day on Friday. So it depends on how productive the girls were during the week on how much we have to do on Friday. We school year round, but do take off ALL holidays, 2 weeks at Christmas, and about 4 weeks in summer. We, also, take off the occasional day just for life. It works for us.

[Meadowlark]

I once heard some great advice on this, and it's really worked around here. She (someone on here probably) said to do school on the days you have nothing else to do...so basically all through the winter when the weather is bad, on public school days off, etc. But, when an educational or fun opportunity comes up, take it!

 

We've lived by this philosophy for the past two years and it's worked for us. We usually start August 1, take off whenever my husband is off (roughly 3 weeks throughout the year), and any other time we want, and finish around June 10. This leaves a 6 week break. I am the type to 100% need a break. I mean, I don't want to do anything for those 6 weeks. I even will physically remove the work boxes and school stuff so it's out of my sight. I need a clean break. Not long..but a break.

 

Of course, this will only work if the "fun opportunities" are kept to a healthy minimum. So far for us, they have.

[bobbeym]

We do 6 weeks of school then 1 week break, with 6 terms during the year, running late Aug - mid June.  So far though DS has never finished school work on schedule and works well into the summer.

[La Texican]

We intended to do year round but as we wrapped up kindergarten we were ready for a nice long break.

 

Right now summer school consists of reading daily, xtra math or math games, and mom taught piano lessons. After a week of day camp we will work through a science book my son has been asking about.

 

This fall we will go back to 6 weeks on one off. I like to do a lighter day on Wednesdays which is the same day we have bible study.

way off topic...I was scrolling down, reading the replies. I almost clicked "like" on this because I liked your picture, as if I was on facebook. :)

[La Texican]

We are considering a 4 week rotation as a possibility:

 

1 weeks skills (everything relating to the 3 Rs)

1 week contents (immersion in history, science, special project or whatever)

1 week skills again

1 week off (I catch up on my non home ed stuff and plan the next 3 weeks, while the kids have an unschooling week)

 

This would give us 13 rotations including 39 weeks of 'school', which is exactly what our local public school does, and I think the subject areas would balance in approximately the same way as they do when studying a little of everything every week.

Even further off topic.. Isabel, you changed your avatar.

[fdrinca]

We do a four-day week, and it works so well. One benefit not mentioned yet is that you give yourself days off during the school year, so you can avoid holiday and summerime crowds at places like parks, zoos, etc.

[La Texican]

My daughter wants to strike a deal, 4 days-a-week, year round vs. our current summers off 5 days-a-week plan.

 

So the question is, do you school year round? If so, are you happy or burnt out. Frankly, we are only a couple of weeks into the summer and bored. Should I strike a deal?

We're too new at this to know what will cause burnout. Right now we're going year round, seven days on, seven days off, and two or three hours a schoolday (after lunch). Right now my son is saying he wants to work every day his dad does (12 on & 2 off). That makes me happy to keep my 7 & 7 schedule because I feel like my kid is learning plenty, and he thinks he could do more (which tells me he must not feel "overloaded"). I just always reserve the right to change my mind.

[IrishMum]

We school year round, taking time when we need/want it. We don't follow a schedule or plan, just keep pushing forward. We usually school 5 days a week, but I will easily drop a school day for a day at the beach, or a visit to the museum. We also take a week or two here and there for vacations, Christmas, etc. We sometimes work weekends if we are in the mood, or there wasn't much work done that week.  My boys are at grade level or ahead in all subjects, and none of us ever feel burnt out.

That reminds me, I don't think I shared my homeschool mum interview from the Pioneer Woman here, I talked a little about our year round approach there. http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2014/01/homeschool-mom-interviews-irishmum/

[Maela]

We school year round, taking time when we need/want it. We don't follow a schedule or plan, just keep pushing forward. We usually school 5 days a week, but I will easily drop a school day for a day at the beach, or a visit to the museum. We also take a week or two here and there for vacations, Christmas, etc. We sometimes work weekends if we are in the mood, or there wasn't much work done that week. My boys are at grade level or ahead in all subjects, and none of us ever feel burnt out.

 

That reminds me, I don't think I shared my homeschool mum interview from the Pioneer Woman here, I talked a little about our year round approach there. http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2014/01/homeschool-mom-interviews-irishmum/

I love this. This is pretty much what we did in the past year and what I hope to do again this school year. For me, instead of causing burn out, going year round every day greatly reduces stress. We do some "schoolwork" every day that we don't have something else to do, which can even include weekends. But I am free of guilt when we have a busy week or lots of social stuff going on. Or we just want to do something different. And the amount of required work for each day is really small.