This is a post from Jacqueline Forrer of My Blessings Homeschool
It’s June already! Are you done with your school year or still wrapping up? Do you feel burnt out and dread the idea of starting another year? This is the way I felt a few years ago. We struggled through May and into June to attempt to wrap up our school work. I felt burnt out, my daughter didn’t want to do anymore work and it just wasn’t a fun, happy end to our school year. After two years of doing things this way I began to think about and look into the benefits of year round schooling.
I had heard of people schooling year round and wondered how it worked. I found quite quickly that there are a LOT of different ways to set up a year round schedule for your homeschool. A friend of mine does school three days a week with a week or two off here and there. Some school for three months and take one off. We do three weeks of school, one off and June and December off. Sarah Avila shares how she schools year round and why here. These are just a few of the ways it’s done but now to the point of this post.
Benefits of Year Round Schooling
1. No More Burnt Out Mom
As I mentioned above, by the end of nine months many, homeschool moms end up feeling very burnt out. Spreading the school year out resolves this problem because mom and kiddos both get more frequent breaks from the school routine.
2. No More Summer Learning Loss
Studies have shown, and I’m sure you’ve seen it in your own children, that when three months are spent off of school at one time, kids forget a LOT of stuff. I’ve heard it said that teachers spend the first three months reteaching skills taught from the previous year. Even if you have your children reading and doing occasional practice worksheets they are going to forget things you’d taught them. It’s frustrating for both kids and mom alike.
3. Increased Flexibility
When your school year is spread out more you have a lot more freedom to maneuver around things that crop up on you. If you need a day or two off
due to illnesses or if a special field trip comes up, you can move days around to suit your schedule. When you have more flexibility it makes you more relaxed because you aren’t worrying about missing a day for whatever reason.
4. More Opportunities for Variety
If you are schooling in the summer there are things you can do that you can’t do during cooler months (at least here in Ohio anyway!). You can learn about plants and let the kids plant a garden. You can take tehm outside to learn about the size of the sun or follow a map of the yard or whatever may tickle your fancy at the moment. Kids love getting outside for whatever reason and you can even take your school work outside when it’s warmer!
What year round schooling means is that you won’t feel drained each May; you have more flexibility for your schedule and your kiddos won’t forget near as much as they do with the entire summer off. It doesn’t mean that kids don’t get a summer. We still have plenty of fun days, activities, sleep overs, catching fireflies and playing outside. If something comes up and they want to spend the night at a friends, we do that! One day we may decide to take a trip to the zoo or a child wants to go to a camp, we can do that too! That’s the beauty and benefit of year round schooling!