Summer Vacation?

[bdavis337]

Do you take a summer vacation, or do you keep going? If you do keep going, do you keep a full schedule or not? What are your reasons for either?

I'm not sure how we'll keep our momentum going this summer - we're about to move into the next grade level in a few areas and I don't really want to stop mid-grade year and take a giant break, you know?

[zjande]

Really, I think it's up to the individual family & what works best for you & your munchkin(s). I personally prefer to follow the public school year, do structured schoolwork during the year, & take the whole summer off. We fill our summer with park days & other activities with our local homeschool groups. If I didn't take the summer off, I'd totally burn out, as would my kids I think. I get so excited for our summer break beginning in early May. It's like a fun vacation for me. And the kids.

[One_Girl]

I am planning on continuing math throughout most of the summer so my dd doesn't lose any of the skills she has gained. It has been hard to bring her up in math and I don't want her going backwards.

[StormySar]

We school year-round with a 4-day school week. This allows me an extra day per week to get things done, relax and prevents the kids from burning out. We take holidays, but not anything lik 2 weeks for christmas/new years. We take the days off we need for family events and whatnot, but still fit school in there.

I do take time off (a few weeks) when we welcome a new baby in the family, and I usually take a week or two off during canning season. If life happens and we can't do school a few days in a row, I don't panic because we just took a 2 month vacation, I figure th time will be made up when we can fit it in and because we keep plodding through the year I dont see us falling 'behind.'

[DaughterOfKali]

We'll do a lighter version with some time off here and there. I don't want to stop completely.

[justthinkn]

I'm just imagining for the future, but I like the idea of going year-round for a few reasons...

(1) For the freedom of taking a week or half-week off throughout the year whenever it's needed, without feeling "behind"
(2) So DH, who is a teacher on the traditional public school calendar, can be more involved with homeschooling over the summer
(3) B/c right now, even with a little one, the days seem so much better with just a little structure, something new to read and think about, and I don't anticipate "formal" school stuff taking so long it would crowd out summer fun
(4) So skills/ground gained aren't lost - not only the academic thing, but just that sense of basic routine, which I love & crave but can easily lose

[cappuccinosmom]

We keep going through the summer. Only we stay a little more flexible with routine and if they have VBS week, no school at all.

The thing is, the actual hours we do schoolwork any day throughout the year are pretty minimal. So my kids have hours and hours of time to play outside and learn on their own through the year. Summer means their friends are around more, so some days are given over to sunshine and fun, but I still try to work through a few lessons a week.

[ambersrose]

We plan to take a month off in August when my oldest daughter goes to stay with my parents. She will learn a lot during her visit with her grandparents too I like the idea of doing formal schooling when you can and filling the rest in with real world learning.

[AAK]

The kids def. think of it as their time off, but really it is when the "good" learning comes into play. I feel unrestricted in a good sense to be completely unschooly and to learn from the world. I keep getting more and more unschooly during the school year, but I am not an "unschooler" yet. Maybe someday, but for now, I do specifically present stuff with the intention of teaching it during the school year. During the summer they absorb life!

Amy

[GiantGi]

I was going to ask this on the other site B. Thanks for asking!! I Think we are leaning towards year round.

[Lillian J]

I think summertime brings its own precious opportunities in other ways. For my son and his friends, now grown and well educated, just having the long, dreamy, days with both neighbors and other friends - to spend in whatever way they chose - was invaluable and led to unexpected pleasures and learning, as well as time to daydream and have relaxed conversations and experiences of all kinds. I don't think using that time for anything but enjoyment will make for a better education in any way. Lillian

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by AAK

During the summer they absorb life!

Well put! My son describes his childhood (meaning well into the teens) as "idyllic," and those long summers playing with friends and neighbors, as well as spending lots of relaxed independent time, are a great big part of that memory. - Lillian

[moominmamma]

We're in the middle of summer vacation right now, actually. Sort of. Dh got 10 days off work, we took an impulsive family holiday, dd(11) burst her appendix on Day 1 of it, we parents spent the time shuttling back and forth to hospital, the other kids were left mostly to their own devices, there was a car accident somewhere in the middle of that and all the auto and medical insurance hassles, then we came home, exhausted, spent five days recuperating from the stress and then got hit by a nasty virus. Today some of us are feeling better and the weather is nice and you can bet we're outside in the sunshine, not hitting the books.

Our schooling schedule is totally organic. It flows with our lives. If we feel like doing some structured learning, we do. If other stuff comes up, we do that instead. Our summers tend to be big on hiking and other physical stuff, but the kids also enjoy afternoons in the hammock reading or sometimes doing math, and we do tons of instrumental music workshops, preparation, performing and classes.

Miranda

[linclane]

We won't take a real Summer vacation. It doesn't make sense to me to stop for 2 - 3 months.

We follow, loosely, a year-round schedule. I like that it allows us to take shorter breaks throughout the year with no worries.

And as so many others have said, we spend such a short time on doing real "school" stuff, that there's plenty of time to play and enjoy the Summer. And this Summer we plan to do "fun" stuff on insects and water and incorporate outside time into learning time.