Year Round Homeschooling – A New Adventure

When you think of a typical school year, most people think of September through June. We picture kids taking the summers off and may even reminisce about our own summer vacations. Lots of free time, hanging out with friends, and enjoying the warm, long days.

Yet, for homeschoolers, there is nothing typical about a school year at all. In fact, many homeschoolers have adopted a less-than-traditional school year. Many homeschoolers opt for a year-round school year.

The Case for Year-Round Homeschooling

If you ask most homeschoolers why they homeschool year-round, the answers are going to vary greatly.

For some, they learn year-round so they can have a four-day school week.

Others choose year-round learning so they can one week off several times throughout the year. Six weeks on and one week off, for example, or four on, one off are both common routines.

Still, others enjoy the freedom and the ability to take time off at various times of the year for vacations, doctor’s appointments, travel, or even to accommodate an a-typical work schedule.

A large number of homeschool families, however, chose to homeschool throughout the summer because they want to avoid summer learning loss known as the summer slide. This a time when kids can lose up to one month’s learning simply by taking an extended break.

And I can completely relate to this. I know that my kids can finish up a new skill, and learn it quite well in the spring.

Yet, by the time we review it in the fall, they have forgotten parts if not all of it.

As a student myself, I can remember sitting in a classroom and spending the first few weeks back in a new grade reviewing items from the previous grade.

All of this loss and all of this extra review can add up significantly over the years. At a rate of one month’s learning per year, it can compile to almost a full school year. That’s a lot of loss for a summer vacation.

So when parents choose to homeschool through the summer, they are actually giving their children an advantage over their vacationing peers. Allowing them to keep new skills fresh in their minds, review some concepts that were a little more challenging, and be a little more prepared come fall.

The Case For Summer’s Off

If you are like me, you looked forward to summer vacation as a kid. Lazy days free from tests and learning. A time to sleep in and plenty of time to do whatever struck your fancy.

If you are like my kids, you really, really look forward to summer vacation.

And I can’t say as if I blame them. During our school year, we work really hard to cover what we consider the basics and add in all the extras – or as many as we can.

These are the items that interest them, that allow them to follow their passions and interests. The things they really look forward to.

And after about 10 months of hard work you are looking forward to a change of pace.

For the kids, this doesn’t necessarily mean lazy days though. While my kids don’t have school obligations, they do fill their time with other things like summer camps, extra-time friends, exploring outside, and so many other things.

For me, I use the summer months to review the previous school year. I analyze and look over what we did, how it went, and what changes I need to make. I order new homeschool curriculum, make plans for the upcoming year, and get us ready to tackle another yea of learning.

I also use it as a time to get caught up on a myriad of other tasks. I tend to fill my summers with big organization projects and other house-related tasks that I just cannot complete during the school year. This is also the time I really put a lot of focus and energy into my blog and online business.

These 10 or so weeks are jam-packed with summer fun for both the kids and myself and never seem long enough.

And even though every year I say we are going to work, even just a little over the summer, we rarely do. No more flashcards or maps. No more grammar lessons or learning to tell time. Just a whirlwind of non-academic related tasks to fill our long summer days.

Finding A Compromise

This year is going to have to be different though. This year, as I have already told my kids, we are going to have to work a little during the summer. I’m trying to keep it light and refreshing, optimistic, and positive. “It’s a good thing,” I tell them trying to convince my very skeptical audience.

This change though is multifaceted. It’s partly because we took some much-needed time off this past school year to work on some things at home.

Partly so we can continue reviewing curriculum and better aid you in your homeschooling journey.

Partly so we can enjoy a more relaxed school year all year long.

And finally, partly nothing more than a simple desire to prevent some of that summer learning loss. To help my kids retain more of what they have learned and be more prepared to start a new school year.

Mostly, though, to continue instilling a love for learning in my children. To show them they can learn any time of the year.

Like many homeschoolers who choose a year-round approach, we are planning a much lighter schedule. Instead of our days being primarily focused on school work, they will look a lot more laid back. A lesson here, a book there. Rather than a full schedule of core and elective items, we will work mostly on math and Language Arts and of course, all the fun stuff. The unit studies, the outside learning, the out-of-the-box stuff that you only have a small window to do here in the NorthEast.

The reality is, that the benefits of year-round homeschooling are many. Rarely do you hear of homeschoolers who made the switch and then regretted it. Instead, you hear of the benefits, the flexibility, and the newfound freedom to be even more flexible with all of the other tasks that life demands.

It’s a big change for us, but this past year has been full of change. Full of doing things differently, adapting to new ideas, and trying new things.

But change is good. It allows us to grow and see if we like other things. We may find that we like this. We may find that year-round schooling is not for us.

One thing is for sure though, we won’t know if we don’t try.

Now it’s your turn! Let me know in the comments how you plan and run your homeschool year.