The Basics of Year Round Homeschooling

Now, I hate to sound wishy washy, but here is the rub:  you have many options and basically the world is your oyster.  Some start the school year in January while others chose June and still others chose July.  Just pick a “J” month….got ya…you can pick whatever month works best for you…even traditional ole September.

Now, since you will not take three solid months off you will schedule weeks off based on your preference.  You can take one week off every 3 weeks.  You can take one week off every 6 weeks.  Is your head spinning yet?  The traditional school  year lasts 36 weeks.  That leaves 16 weeks of play.  So, your term could be 6 weeks on, 1 week off, and 10 weeks to schedule throughout the year for mini breaks.  Okay, now your head is spinning.

Let’s break it down:

Term #1:  6 weeks/1 week off

Term #2:  6 weeks/1 week off

Term #3:  6 weeks/1 week off

Term #4:  6 weeks/1 week off

Term #5:  6 weeks/1 week off

Term #6:  6 weeks/1 week off

10 weeks left to scatter but taking no more than 2-3 weeks at a time.

If you decided to take a week break every 3 weeks, then you would have 5 weeks to scatter as you see fit.

• Routine stays in place.
• Review does not take up valuable school time.
• Routine breaks help with avoiding burnout.
• Freedom to schedule breaks as it benefits your family.

Disadvantages of Year Round Homeschooling

• Summer is broken up just like the rest of the year and may not be conducive to summer camps, vacations, and such.  Basically it may interfere with the rest of the world’s definition of scheduling.
• Some find year round schooling overwhelming and leads to burnout.
• Some feel they “run out” of material and then provide busy work.