Why We School Through Summer
I am only one year into my personal homeschool journey of homeschooling my children (I was homeschooled all my life) so we're still finding our groove. And I have to say after our first year I thought I would be clawing my way to the finish line every year; if we managed to continue at all.
But once I found the right curriculum for us and we started finding our stride everything changed. We've actually been having so much fun with our current curriculum and flexing to make homeschool work for us, that I find that I want to continue; yes! Even in the summer!
Sounds crazy right? But hear me out!
Why we school through the summer is so we can have more flexibility throughout the year!
This past year brought a lot of changes for our family.
My sister and her kids (aka our besties) moved cross-country to TN so we made two trips down there to visit.
In May I found out I was pregnant with baby number 5 and she arrived in the middle of January.
It also was the first year I was teaching to children; so we worked to find our groove together.
Jeremy and I went on an earned trip to a Young Living farm.
My family also traveled up to visit us a time or two.
I could go on...
But the point is we had a lot of stuff.
...So we took a lot of breaks!
Because we're using a curriculum that is based off anti study, our segments last for 20 lessons, so we could easily accommodate multiple little breaks during the school year.
Now of course each state has a minimum amount of days that you have to do school, so we also were mindful of this, but one of the reasons I chose to get started with homeschooling in the first place was to allow our family freedom.
Freedom to do what we wanted, go where we wanted, takes breaks if we wanted; all of it!
As a general rule we don't so school on birthdays; because who needs that?
But we usually do school on minor holidays that other kids get off; Memorial Day, Presidents Day, Labor Day, etc.
So really what it comes down to and why we school through the summer is because it works for us! That's the beauty of homeschooling; you do what works for your family!
Oh! And I forgot, another big reason why we school through the summer is heaven knows my kids need to be challenged! I always say that if they're not being (mentally) challenged, they'll challenge you.
I find that my kids thrive under routine and when they're being mentally stimulated, so we like to keep up with that; even in the summer.
We also usually choose to just school lightly through the summer and pick a unit that we can do a lot of exploring/outside activities with. This summer it just happens to be Creepy Crawlies!
So while the reasons why we school through summer may seem trivial, they mean a lot to our family. With my husband's sometimes unpredictable schedule as a price officer we love the freedom of being able to take the day -or week!- off whenever.
In my opinion learning should fit your family and your lifestyle 🙌🏻
With Love,
