Anyone Else Doing Year Round School?

[wisdom4us]

This will be our first year of doing year round school. I'm really excited about it and found a schedule that looks like it will work well for us. Basically you go for 45 days (counting M-F) then break for 15 days (counting again M-F). So you get a 3 week fall break and a 3 week spring break and the 15 days for winter are broken up between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I'm just curious to see if anyone else here is doing a similar schedule. Friday is our last day then we'll start back first week of July. We live in Florida so the summer's are way too hot to do anything (unless you live close to the beach which we don't). But our fall and spring weather beckons us outside!

[oneofeach]

Yes, we school year round also. My husband teaches in the public schools so we used to try and follow his schedule. But then he really missed not participating in school with our kids. So we do a little school in the summer, too. And I completely agree, in GA too, if you aren't by the pool, summer is too hot and humid. We like to keep cool inside in July and August and play all day in late September and into October.

[Dorla]

We also do school year round - but without a schedule. If something comes up and we have to skip school it is OK.
During the month of July we will be in CA, so instead of starting with Bigger we will keep working on handwriting and Summer Bridge activities worksheet plus 20 minutes of reading. That will add up to about an hour of school on the days we are indoors and if we need to skip for any reason, that is also OK.
How we handle life is "Real School"...
Dorla

[inHistiming]

We will be doing year-round school. I had hoped to get everything done and have a long break, but that doesn't seem to fit with how our lives actually work! So, we will have 15 days of school each month, and that gets us our 180 days within a year. We will be taking off each Friday due to different things; my dh is off on Fridays in July and August, we have co-op on Fridays during the fall and winter (if we do it then), and various other things. We may use that as our field trip day sometimes too, or for errands like grocery shopping or for dr. appts. Our year will run from July 1-June 30. I have planned out all of our 'scheduled' vacation days, and we will still have some flexibility within our schedule for beautiful spring days or special opportunities. I works out to 3 weeks of schooling per month.

[Mom2Monkeys]

We're going to be schooling year round this year too. We finished up Pre-K and 2nd a little over a month ago and have been off since then for a trip to visit family in FL, moving, and now all-day morning sickness We'll pick back up with K and 3rd (Little Hearts and Bigger) as my morning sickness fades and do as much as possible until Thanksgiving (I'm due dec. 6th but tend to deliver early). Then we'll break til after New Years. So, to make up for all that time off, we'll be schooling through next summer as well.

I plan to get a little better spaced time off after that with most of the cooler spring and fall months spent with less school time, and hottest summer months with much more school. Arkansas gets HOT...and even being from Florida, I think it's just as bad or worse here many summers.

I'm all for your ideas for scheduling year round to keep your cooler months open for fun!

[Jessi]

I am doing year round as well. Nothing too fancy as she is only in K but I find everyone (including myself) does better not taking such a long break. Though I like to have a plan and schedule for what is going on in my life...sometimes things come up with little warning and it is nice to not panic and just go with the flow, take the time off that is needed and then start back in. And for me with my day care there are just some days where everyone is off kilter and I just know that we need to take a break that day. I don't stress about it yet.

[momontheprairie]

We have always schooled year round. We have moved 12(!) times for the military since 2001 and because of this I never know when I will be packing, preparing, etc. If we are home, we do school and then I don't feel guilty if I take a day off here and there. It is too hot here in AL too to be out during the summer. I prefer fall and winter for time off.

[icukirt]

I plan to school this summer (first time). My husband is returning to Active Duty so we have a move coming up to another house (staying in the area) at the end of June and then will be moving again to OK sometime in the fall or early winter. With both moves we will miss some time, so I plan to continue to school 2-3 times a week. I also believe doing "some school" over the summer keeps us in the mind-set.

I hope to do some fun trips around the DC area this summer before we leave...ie Pirate Ship, museums, National Parks, etc...all the things we've been putting off....we'll have fun and still keep on learning...

Kirstin

[wisdom4us]

I'm glad to hear from those of you that have been schooling year round. It's encouraging to know that it works! It just seems to make sense for us and to help keep our momentum. I am also planning on using those long break periods for make up days if need be but we definitely need a schedule or we loose focus and momentum. I'd love to be the type of mom who can just go w/out a plan/schedule and everything works out in the end but as much as I have tried, I am not one of those. That is one of the huge benefits of homeschool, we get to make our own plan/schedule or throw it out the window all together!

[funkmomma71]

I don't really have a plan for year round schooling, but I will say that we will continue reading and math review skills while we take a short break this summer. My dd is VERY eager to start on 1st grade asap, so as soon as I have everything planned and ready we will start. I won't plan breaks, mainly because it seems as if God has the plan for breaks already figured out, they seem to happen when I least expect them to. We will also pick up some ocean books and do a light study of the ocean and sea creatures while we are breaking form "regular" school.

[Mumkins]

I do school year round. Then I never sweat if I have to miss a day or a week, or even a month when I had the baby last year. If we want to go visit or someone pops by, it's ok. I find it lets us be more relaxed, we never really get out of school routine and it gives us something to do.

[Tree House Academy]

We school year round, but in the summer, we do basics only. This summer, my kids are doing phonics, math, reading, Language Arts, cursive practice, and writing/dictation. This breaks down to each child doing about 2-3 subjects a day (which takes each of them less than an hour). It keeps them sharp, keeps our education moving, and leaves PLENTY of time to enjoy the summer sun. Of course, school in the summer is very relaxed and if we miss a day, no biggie. In TN, we have 180 days of school to complete. Once those are finished, we do what we want as far as learning goes.

[jenntracy]

we do. like Dorla, we just take days off when we need them. it falls into place when the holidays are around and we live in Florida so it is sometimes just too hot to go out, even for the pool.

[water2wine]

We pretty much do this and like it actually because we also live in the South like you the weather is better. My kids like to play with some of the neighbor kids when they are off so we do usually take some time but it is usually just here and there time. I am kind on that schedule this year too. We took a month off at Christmas this year and had other times we took off out of need. I just like being able to take off when we want to and not having to stick to something strict. I think we will finish school this year the end of July and we will take some time off here and there but I like to start school and get in a month and then take a break in Sept/Oct when it is beautiful here and take advantage of that. This year I am feeling behind. I prefer to start our year around May and kind of work that way. But bottom line flexibility is a good thing. I also never let really long periods of time go without LA and Math so even when we are off we keep those skills going. I am not big into review. I prefer to keep it going and get to the good stuff. And that is a big advantage to keeping at least that part going. For us some sort of informal year round schedule seems works best. But for others they really like mimicking what the ps do near them. I tend to start out the year with two plans, one for year round and one for finishing early and then just sort of see how it goes which one wins out. That would not work for everyone but it works great for me.

[netpea]

This year we are schooling over the summer because I want to take time off when the baby comes. We will take off 3 or 4 weeks in June because of Dance Recital week, VBS, and a visiting niece. My sister lives with my parents and its a nice break for them when I take my niece for a few weeks in the summertime. After that I plan on schooling in the mornings and then hitting the beach or our water slide or a friend's pool in the afternoons. In Michigan you don't get much summer so you better take advantage of it when its here.