Katiebug_1976 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Hi, My husband came home today talking about this homeschool mom he had heard on the radio. She homeschools all through the year. She said they focus on the basics, math and language arts during the regular school year, and then do their history and science during the summer months. She said it is easier to do outside experiments especially when it comes to growing things. I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but after hearing someone say it, it make perfect sense. With 5 kids, I'm always trying to make my day last longer. I think this might be the answer to my time problems. What do you think about schooling like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Well, we do school all year round, but we do more of a school-lite in the summer. We keep up with math and languages and I usually try to add in one summer extra that we cover. But, it is a nice break to not have to do all the subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontier Mom Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I tend to do lots of Science in the summer just because that is when we are out more, along with the bugs. I love the idea of Nature Journals, a la Charlotte Mason style, but we never have time for them during the normal school year. Summer is great for that and I also usually end up with three or four neighborhood children tagging along to help and learn. For us, summer is the time when our extra curricular activities are at a minimum and we have much more time. As I just signed up for ALEKS math, I told my dh I am going to have them do 1 hour of this daily to stay sharp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We school year round with maybe a 6 week break. We school lite in the summer covering lang. arts, math, and anything else that we need extra work on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vettechmomof2 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We school year round because I truly believe that my daughter would hurt me if we stopped. Plus, it just works for us.:) We do all of our lessons year round though but(mainly over the summer) there might be a few days where we do not do one subject and then do a sort of cram fest for 2 days of it. We are heavier with experiments in the summertime though for obvious reasons and plan those specific items for that time of the year. My parents are taking the kids and I to the beach in Sept. so we are doing an oceans lapbook in August and a quick unit on the Chincategue ponies as we are going to Maryland. That really is the nice thing is as homeschoolers we really can tailor hsing to be so specific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Youngs Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 All year here. We are finishing up all of our classes and moving on to the next level right now. It's amazing how far ahead you can get, just by doing it for a year~ We do the core subjects every day, and fill in with the extras throughout the year. After one year of it, I'm hooked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PariSarah Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We generally give ds time off at the end of our semesters, when we've got huge grading responsibilities, but otherwise, we school year round. We do shift to more experiential science when weather permits, too. I would say that it probably lets us homeschool for shorter hours during the day, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Our longest break is over Christmas. It can be anywhere from 3-8 weeks depending on how I feel about where we are academically that year. Other than that we school year round. We take small breaks when we want them, but we don't take a long summer break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteB Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We school all year, too. Astronomy is a fun part of our summer study most years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We go year round and take breaks when we need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We started a 6 weeks on / 2 weeks off schedule last July with the intent to go year round from then on. It's working well - although I switched to 4 weeks on 1 week off after Christmas. 2 weeks off was too long and the children created trouble lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainforest mama Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We take April, August and December off every year. That way we get a good break every three months, but it is not long enough for DD to forget everything she has learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithseed Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We school all year for the flexibility. Spring and fall are pretty busy places around the farm, so we tend to take more time off during those seasons anyway to work as a family. Plus, days here and there as we want or need them. As for what we study when, that totally depends on what the needs are. Sometimes we dive right into the next year's math, but sometimes we take a break and only do review sheets for a bit. If it is a real short break, then nothing at all. More reading for history and lit get done as a family in the winter, more science gets done in the summer. We try to be a fluid as possible. By reassessing where we are during the year, I'm able to adjust as necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We've schooled through the last 2 summers, and I plan to again this summer. We took 1 month off last year, August, our hottest and best month for "summer fun". I plan to do the same this year. June & July here are still not very summery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest janainaz Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We do year-round of 3 weeks on and one off (one week a month). We take longer breaks at Christmas, spring break, etc. We also do a 4-day week and leave Friday for reading library books, field trips, etc. We do all our subjects every day: Math, History, Science, FLL, WWE, Spelling and Latin. I love our schedule and can't imagine taking 3 months off, but I imagine it just would not work for some people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddhabelly Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 (edited) We only have to do reports to the homeschooling organization during the "school year" (quarterly work samples plus progress reports - ugh), but we keep up the studies all year. Our town has a "fine arts camp" in June that is usually pretty top notch. Last year my son did this in the mornings (photography, Shakespearean acting, and digital animation) and sometimes we didn't do anything else in the afternoon if the weather was nice or he had an arrangement to play with someone after camp. But it works out nicely, because we don't do much "fine arts" in our homeschool. I find that with Latin and Math (and now Greek), any more than four weeks off is just.....a bad idea. :001_smile: Also, I advance him a grade (in my mind) every January, because that's when he usually progresses developmentally. But on paper (and for required testing) he is just regular' old vanilla, er I mean fourth grade. Julie Edited March 7, 2009 by buddhabelly grade level Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We're going year round. I don't like the idea of a long summer break when Becca forgets things after a day off. It allows us more flexibility to take breaks when we do need them. And, as you (OP) pointed out, there's more freedom for weather-dependent experiments and projects! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We school most of the year too, taking a break in late summer and again during December/January. Summer is when we might get into a good unit study or some fun lapbooks, and we are also more into science in the summer. It is a great time to take reading books outside into a tent and have a more leisurely learning time. One big plus I have found is that summer is a great fill in time for catching up on things that are behind or that got pushed aside during the cooler months. Best of all, though, is the fact that we can go at a less intense pace during the whole year than we would have only schooling during the traditional school year. It works for us very well. Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Double post, sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We do too, for many of the reasons others mentioned. I also work from home, so we have a flexible schedule in order to accommodate difficult work weeks, illnesses, etc. Plus, my kids don't really have any idea that schoolkids have the entire summer off, so schooling the way we do is normal to them (granted, they're young still :lol:). But mainly, I like the flexibility that we get out of not having to rush to finish the school year by a certain point. My plan this year is to finish up what we can by summer, run the rest on as long as it takes, and add in some summer art appreciation. I also school all week long too, because our schedule's so wacky (DH works weekends and has two weekdays off). It's normal for us because the kids have no basis for comparison! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamasteff Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I always "start" my school year on July 1, for record keeping purposes. Our state doesn't require a certain number of days, but dh teaches in a ps and students attend 180 days, so I try to make sure we do that many. Starting in July gives us time for flexibility - taking time off when dh is off, sick days, summer camp or "Camp Grandma" when dd heads to Grandma's for a week of piano lessons, cooking lessons, and trips to the museum in her city (I LOVE Camp Grandma and think everyone should have one!). As others have said, I also work from home and sometimes need some time when I focus on work and not on lessons that day. This week we had 2 days off due to state writing tests I had to administer to my other students. All that said - we generally hit 180 days in early May, but I continue lessons until at least mid-June. Other friends are still schooling anyway, and if she's not complaining, I'll keep her busy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We've schooled through the last 2 summers, and I plan to again this summer. We took 1 month off last year, August, our hottest and best month for "summer fun". I plan to do the same this year. June & July here are still not very summery. This made me chuckle. Here in TN August is not a summery fun month. August is the month of despair. March-June and the Oct and November, those are OUR fun months!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiebug_1976 Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 This made me chuckle. Here in TN August is not a summery fun month. August is the month of despair. March-June and the Oct and November, those are OUR fun months!!! I grew up in northwest Washington State, and thought the summer was great! Not too hot, but hot enough to go swimming or play in the sprinkler. Then I got married and moved to Oklahoma. WOW what a culture shock! After 12 years I'm still adjusting. Usually by April/May it's hotter than WA in August! Thank you all for your opinions of schooling all year. I have thought about doing it for the last couple years, but life has a way of messing up my plans sometimes. This is our 4th year of homeschooling, and I think I'm finally letting go of the typical "school stuff" and breaking out on my own. I think this year is our turning point and hopefully the stress level will continue to go down. I really appreciate having so many other moms, homeschooling or not, to talk to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We've just started, but the plan is the school year round based on a calendar year ... Jan through Thanksgiving with breaks as needed throughout. We don't have to report for 2 more years, so we're playing with it now (and practicing, scheduled days aren't really my thing), but my intention is to stay on the calendar year plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymainemom Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We do a traditional school year, but try to do lots of reading, keep up with our math facts and do lots of work in the garden. DD does 12-16 hours of gymnastics during the week...usually 3-4 days a week. And the other days we spend at the beach or with friends. There really doesn't end up being a lot of time with the gymnastics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We school year round. We started because I didn't want Ariel forgetting half of what she learned the previous year over the summer, and she likes doing school, with occasional days off. We take off about 3 weeks in December and about a month in July/August when it's so blisteringly hot we don't have the energy to do anything but sit around and fan ourselves. It works well because it keeps me from getting stressed about not meeting the PS schedule, so if we need a day off, we take it, or if we need to spend several days learning a concept, there's so much less (self-induced) pressure. Too bad the public schools don't go year-round. There would be such a reduction in the summer troublemaking kids get into when they're bored, and the teachers wouldn't have to spend 20% of their time reteaching previous material. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 August is the month of despair. :smilielol5: This is one of the big things that keeps me from moving further south. This is how I think of August in New Jersey...and it's NEW JERSEY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 This made me chuckle. Here in TN August is not a summery fun month. August is the month of despair. March-June and the Oct and November, those are OUR fun months!!! :lol::lol::lol: Amen!!! August is just....miserable here. We haven't reached our first year mark yet, but we do plan to go year round with lots of smaller breaks worked in. The kids groaned at the idea until they actually SAW the schedule I made up and realized that they'd have a week off nearly every month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We school year round, but we also just hit the basics in the summer to keep those little brains sharp. Since we grow a garden, Science is all around us in the summer...but we do not set aside those for just summer learning. My oldest loves history WAY too much to only do it 3 months a year. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I plan on schooling year-round, and we did last year. My grand plan was 6 wks on, 1 wk off. Maybe it's the age/stage of mine, but my ds6 does NOT do so well without the structure of school in the am. I think we will keep on truckin' with spelling and math unless we are deathly ill or traveling or something. I will still take breaks for history/science though - so I can plan at least. I plan on doing more fun nature study stuffs when the weather cooperates. ...of course, subject to change without notice:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Year round. 5 days/week. 3 weeks on-1 week off. We have to do 180 days, so we still have 4 weeks that we can take off whenever needed, as well as the 1 week we have off each month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We do. The Summer months are for focusing on those subject that didn't get the TLC they should have during the year, kinda a catch up. This summer's focus will be grammar I'm thinking, maybe a little Latin & Spanish. One dd will continue with math too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristineinKS Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We're new to homeschooling this year but also plan to go year-round so that we can take a day off here & there as needed, plus extra time at Christmas. Already we've had some nice spring weather this week & it's been fun to do school outside! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We always hsed year round, 'cuz *life* is year round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We always hsed year round, 'cuz *life* is year round. I love that statement, very philosophical. But, we do it because we are playing major catchup for high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We have previously taken summers off, but this year I am switching us to year round because we are WAY behind where I wanted to be by this point in our journey. They will get a week off for family camp and a week off for bible camp but otherwise it will be school everyday right through the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 DS said yesterday "I don't get summer off". I pointed out to him that he gets days off ALL of the time... We go year-round simply because every week is interrupted in some way (appointments, tired, grumpy, growth-spurt, dad gets a sudden day off...) We would never get it "done" without just powering through. All of you with actual schedules... wow. We've never been able to have a strict schedule - our life won't allow it. asta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We homeschool year round taking off time at Christmas and our summer vacation. We do the same subjects all year round and do a four day week but have playgroup and co-op on Fridays. We've schooled like this from the beginning and it has worked very well for us.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phathui5 Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We homeschool year round, so that we can take off days when we want to and not feel a need to make it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 We do, but it doesn't play out as burn-out causing as it sounds. Running all year enables us to easily ditch days or weeks (or December!) for random purposes. Homeschooling is our lifestyle. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 What do you think about schooling like this? We school year round. . . not like that. I don't ever dump English or Math. I like it because it affords me the opportunity to just do a little bit every day, I don't have to feel like "we're behind" (as we move directly from one level to the next as we finish them), and (more importantly, because we are military) I can take breaks as we need them. Last year, the boys asked for the summer off. So, for the first time in 5 years we had "summer vacation". We've all decided we can do without one of those ever again. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 If papa is at work, we have learning time. Plus we also take random days here and there. We also only do 4 days/week year-round. We love this schedule. I don't schedule weeks off at any particular time, just whenever we decide to go on vacation! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamalotsoftots Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 This is my first year, but I intend to do year round schooling so that when we hit road blocks during the regular school year we can take the time we need to off without fear of not having it all done. Less stress. for me anyways! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 We school year round for the flexibility. That, and I find that when it is in the 90s and humid as heck, we don't feel like being outside all day long anyway. So, we might as well. It is great to be able to take off when needed and not ever feel like we are behind. This is our first year, but our plan is to school year round, for the exact same reason. Once it gets humid enough to swim through the air, summer vacation gets moved indoors anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kzdaisy Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 We do year round but summer is more low key and we do more projects and outdoor things.Nature walks, swimming lessons, baseball, and the projects that got put on the back burner but we still want to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 We don't have to report anything yet, but we have already started with the year-round thing. It was lovely to sit and calmly get work done when it was sweltering last summer, then have the run of all the parks and museums when the ps kids went back in September! I toned down the seatwork in the summer, and we mainly focused on math and oral reading. This took so little time, yet it made all the difference. Simply working on the library's reading program resulted in a full grade-level gain for DD, and there was no loss of math skills. When I taught ps, September through November was pretty much just for playing catch up, and we skipped all of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 This is only our third full year, but so far we've been schooling year round even though I hadn't planned on it. I do think I'm going to continue, at least for a couple more years. With so many youngers, there are just a lot of days where hardly anything gets done, and so I end up 'way behind' schedule, and go through the summer to 'catch up'.....but I really like it, actually.....this year, knowing I'm going through the summer has helped me not feel so guilty about getting behind, but I have to still remember to stay somewhat on track so we can finish up....I try to have everything done by the end of July so we can take the whole month of August off and have a slight break, and that really helps me gear up for the next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 We school year round for the flexibility. That, and I find that when it is in the 90s and humid as heck, we don't feel like being outside all day long anyway. So, we might as well. It is great to be able to take off when needed and not ever feel like we are behind. We school year round for this reason too. If it's an awful outside day in the summer we can do school and when it's a great day in the winter early spring we can go outside and not do school. It works really well for us. It is also good if mom needs a mental health day :tongue_smilie: or week. Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Year-round here too! Probably for the same reasons that you've already read. I love the flexibility it gives me. It means the difference between school working for us and us working around school. We can build in breaks when we want to and not feel pressured to not be able to get it all done by May 31st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elohcin Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 We school year round, but take July off (it's the nicest month to be outside and at the lake). For us, schooling year round gives us the opportunity to plan vacations when others are in school and to not be a slave to the calendar. We have flexibility to plow forward when needed and take breaks when needed. We do have a schedule so that we do not get off task, but it helps to know that if we need an unscheduled break we can take it-or a scheduled one like Disneyworld for a week at the end of the month! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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