Let's Talk
- ID = 7
- Category = General (1)
- Created = Jan 27, 2010
- Author = Kara
- Question = Q: How do I set up a schedule to school year round?
- Answer = A: (Kara) There are as many possibilities for setting up
year-round schooling as there are families who would like to do
so. Depending on the number of book-learning days that you would
like to accomplish, there are at least four basic possibilities.
Three Months On, One Month Off: Divide your year into trimesters.
For example, January through April can be one trimester, then May
through August, and September through December. This approaches
coordinates well with the Homeschooling Today magazine
publication schedule. Use January/February and March/April for
activity ideas and reading suggestions during your first
trimester, May/June and July/August for the second, and
September/October and November/December for the third trimester.
Three Weeks On, One Week Off: Actually, just three weeks (fifteen
days) each month will add up to 180 days of academic work over a
year’s time. When we had many young children, and I still
attempted to plan lessons, I prepared for fifteen days of
bookwork each month. As my children and family size grew, I found
that most of our independent learning materials were sequential
so the children worked in each of them for a specified amount
each day, continuing to the next level as they were completed.
Four Days Each Week: This is a popular approach, especially for
those who want a consistent errand or cleaning day on a weekday.
This schedule provides fathers with an available weekday, such as
pastors who take Mondays off, a full day to focus on their
children. Even with one weekday off each week, only forty-five
weeks of the year are needed to accomplish the average 180 day
school year.
Every Day that Works with Time Off as Needed: The first year our
family homeschooled, we lived in a state that required attendance
records. We did some type of bookwork fifty- one out of fifty-two
weeks that year! Frequent pregnancies, hospitality and family
visits, multiple businesses and projects, and service in our
church are foundational to our family life. These commitments
require a great deal of flexibility. (I know, all of you Type-A
moms are shuddering at the thought!)
One helpful suggestion if choosing this homeschooling method is
to have regular, planned times of evaluation. The Murphys re-
evaluate in August, January, and April or May. We look at our
family commitments, where each child is in his learning, what
materials or curriculum might be needed, what activities we want
to add or drop, and what character and discipline issues need to
be addressed.
Homeschooling provides a great deal of flexibility to tailor your
days, weeks, and months for the best use of your family’s time.
Year-round homeschooling may not be best for your family, but
don’t get stuck in an institutional school calendar simply
because "that’s the way we’ve always done it!" - Answered By = Kara
- Answered On = Jan 27, 2010
- Approved By = Kara
- Approved On = Jan 27, 2010
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