Every year we adjust our schedule to meet our family’s growing needs. In the past, we’ve worked on a routine similar to that of a typical public school: Four quarters, nine weeks each, a total of 180 days. We had also chosen to do ‘summer school’, so the kids didn’t lose ground or get bored with an unstructured routine. This worked for quite a while, but, as our needs have changed, so has our schedule.
Now, we are working with an entirely new routine. After speaking with our kids, and getting their input, we have decided on the schedule attached in the following page.
Why the changes?
Instead of doing the extra work of planning summer school or taking the entire summer off, it made more sense to simply change our routine! Now, we have more breaks during our school year (which is highly desired), I am not doing the extra work of planning summer school, and the kids are not losing ground. It’s a win-win all around.
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We are currently doing a four weeks (mon-fri) on and one week off. Mainly for my sanity 😉
We keep this going until Christmas when we can have an extra week if we need it. I also like avoiding the public school holidays this way so we can enjoy quiet trips out to the beach, museums etc.
Heidi x
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It’s funny how we forget all the little holidays public schools celebrate. I never think to take off for President’s Day or Columbus Day; those are just greater opportunities for learning.
I like your four on-one off routine though. Having breaks more often certainly keeps things functional, doesn’t it?
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I used to do 4 weeks on and 1 week off because a friend of mine did that. I wanted to not have the kids forget their work during a long summer break. But as the kids got older there was more opportunity for them to play with friends during the summer months, and now I just focus on unschooling during the summer months and not doing any formal work. We take a lot more field trips and do different things. This past summer the kids and I hosted a week at a family camp and got to vacation and help some needier families (this was our 9th summer), I enrolled my younger girls in a day camp for 2 weeks and the older kids volunteered their time, we participated and volunteered another week at a local Vacation Bible School and one of my boys went away for 2 weeks working at an overnight camp for a small stipend. We also played tour guide for a week when my cousin and her daughter came to visit. I need the change of pace and so do they. Too many of my friends have given up homeschooling because they are burned out. And honestly, my kids were just getting too far ahead in their school work and I was afraid they would get too far advanced for their ages. We have to remember that the formal schooling is only part of their education and not to forget to just chill and enjoy each other 🙂
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It certainly sounds like this routine works for your family. It IS important to remember down time and relaxation. Even the kids need a moment to be still.
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