How to Plan for Days Off

[DawnO]

This may seem like a silly question but here goes! We are using HOD for the first time this year. This will be the first time I have used a curriculum that is scheduled out for the week for you. I am not sure how to plan for days off. For example: If I am planning the 3rd week in October and the last 2 days of the week are Fall Break, what do I do about the assignments for the rest of the week? If I just do them the following week, we will be a few days off. Does this make sense? I know I am probably making it harder than it is, but I would welcome any feedback! Thanks!

[Mumkins]

We just do the next box. That just means Monday isn't always Day 1. It took me awhile to get comfortable with that. But it's freeing once you let go of the stress to fit a unit in perfectly each week.

[Samuel'sMommy]

I agree, we just take the day off and then pick up where we left off. We are almost never on Day 1 on a Monday. At the beginning of the school year I get a calendar and plan out our holidays, breaks, etc. DH works for the state and gets most holidays off so I try to make those days off for us also. Then I mark off our spring break, Christmas break and anything else I know we have scheduled. Then I figure out our start and end date and count how many days are available to do school. So after all our breaks, etc we may end up with 200 available days or something like that. I know the guide (we're doing Bigger) has 170 days so I know I have 30 days I can use throughout the year for sick days, or just fun days when things come up. Then we just start school on our start date and keep moving forward paying no attention to what day of the unit we are on.

[Rice]

That's why HOD calls them Units and not Weeks. When you're doing Unit 1 it's not specifically Monday - Thursday. The first few weeks we'll go 1/2 speed until everyone knows what is expected so a Unit will take more than a week. Later we may school 5 days a week sometimes, moving us one day "ahead" each week we do that. That way, we can make up extra time for breaks whenever they are needed.

And welcome to the Newbie club!

Blessings,

[StephanieU]

I am one that tries to squeeze it in somehow, so a unit is a week for most of the year. Now, in the case of taking a few days off in October, think about November. What are you going to take off for Thanksgiving? Can you get back to Day 1 being a Monday by the new year? Right now we are a few days off, but I know we will have a few days we have to take off soon, so I just keep going. But, come September, we will be to the point of having Day 1 on Monday every week until Thanksgiving.

[MomtoJGJE]

We just take off when we take off... I do not worry in the slightest about where we are in the guide. For instance right now Jayden is about to start a new guide in a couple of weeks, Grace is on unit 10 day 2, and Julianna is on unit 7 day 5.

[Nealewill]

StephanieU - I used to squeeze but now that my kids have gotten older, I can't do it anymore LOL With my youngest, yes I still can (and sometimes do try) but the other 2 have too much school to bust through.

And I am SO glad HOD numbers the lessons by units instead of days. I used to feel terrible not completing one week's worth of work in one week's time. Now, I don't even give it second chance. I addition, I used to even some what struggle with going slowly. But again, not a problem now. I do have the lesson one day and the other half the next

So if we are taking time off, I use stop on whatever lesson we are on and then pick it back up when we return. There are times though - like if I am going to be gone for a week or more, I do like to try and end on a unit or at least keep day 1 through day 3 together. With the units, at least for Preparing and for CTC, there is an independent History Project that the kids complete. That is schedule from day 1 through day 3 and they work on a little bit of it each of those days. So I like try and not have TOO much time off in the middle of that. Plus with CTC, my dd is loving the painting and she struggles with waiting to complete Poetry day 3 if she has already completed day 2 (the watercolor painting itself is split over 2 days). But if I am only taking off a couple of days and not a full week, I abruptly stop on which ever unit/day I was on and pick it back up when school resumes. They younger 3 guides are a little different set up. It seems like with Little Hearts, Beyond and Bigger, I have not problem stopping on any of those days and pick it back up whenever I come back to it. It doesn't seem like my lessons have had any unfinished projects at the end of any days.

[DawnO]

Thanks SO much for all the responses! Totally makes sense! I feel much better now in planning and in knowing what to do when we need a day off!! Yay! We started school today and I have LOVED it! The kids seem really jazzed too!!

[Nealewill]

Very glad to read that your kids had a great first day!

[my3sons]

Hooray for a great first day!!! Way to go, DawnO and kiddos!

In Christ,
Julie