This weeks Blog Cruise question is Do you do school in the summer and why? This is not a question that usually comes up unless someone asks me when our last day of school is. My answer? We don’t stop for the summer. I have found, after almost 6 years of homeschooling, that going year round works really well for our family. Our state requires 900 hours of school time each year. We love to do school 1/2 days sometimes. By going year round, we are able to do this. We also like to take days off for different reasons. In the winter, we like to play in the snow. In the spring, we like to go outside and take nature walk, play at the beach, go fishing and lots of other stuff. Our weather in Ohio in the summer is HOT. So, instead of taking off when it is too hot to go outside and play, we like to take time off during the other seasons. There is nothing better than taking a walk in the fall and collecting leaves. We enjoy watching the same tree in all seasons. The kids draw the tree during each of it’s phases.
We also have found that it is much easier to retain information if there is no long interval of “no school”. Math facts remain in my children’s minds so much easier if they are practiced weekly.
Because our school days are fun and interesting all year round, the kids don’t mind doing it in the summer. All of the above stuff I have mentioned doesn’t really sound like school but it is an interval part of our learning adventure. Nature walks are great ways to learn science. We also learn about fish and water on our trips to our nearby beach. Collecting leaves and drawing is a definite “school” task.
We do math, reading, Bible and LA every day. We sometimes even do it on Saturdays if we have skipped a day during the week. We are getting ready to start a new year in My Father’s World and they kids are excited to get to learn about American History. They want to start now instead of waiting until next year. This is one of the things I love about homeschooling. I have never heard a child who goes to public school say they want to continue school instead of having a summer break. Homeschooling for our family is such an integrated part of our lives, my children don’t always know we are learning. Isn’t that how it should be? We should never stop learning even as adults.
Have a great summer whether you choose to continue school or take an extended break. This is another great thing about being in control of your child’s education; you get to choose what is best for them and your family. Please check out what the other crew members have to say about Summer School.
Happy Homeschooling and God Bless.
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4 comments:
Great post! We are similar here, though we do take a few weeks' break between school years.
This is our first year homeschooling, and we will be going until the end of June. What I love is that we were able to take the whole month of December off to spend with my husband before he deployed Jan.1st. Yes, it put us behind in the "normal" school year schedule, but it will be way too hot anyways come June to play outside. I am looking forward to the little break 6 weeks then starting back up again in mid-Aug. Great post!
We school every day all day, for life. Why? There's always an opportunity to learn. We've found the best "learning" doesn't happen at the table/desk with a text.
I totally agree, Debbie.
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