Homeschool Year Round?

Do you homeschool year round or do you and your family have summer/winter breaks or whatever? And if you do, how long of breaks do you take? Also, do you homeschool only Monday through Friday, or do you school on weekends, too?

Diane's Reply:

Great questions!

No, we don't homeschool year round. I always have good intentions to keep the math going, but then summer arrives and we take a break!

We do take breaks, like a day for Thanksgiving, or Easter, or Christmas. But we don't take a whole week off during those holidays. We'd rather have the freedom to do other things at other times of the year if and when something comes up. As long as we get our required 875 hours/year in (our Wisconsin law), we can be as flexible as we want!

How long are our breaks?

We've taken trips a week or two long here and there. Laura went with me to Texas once and took her algebra along. She actually finished both algebra and geometry that year. So, don't worry about NOT getting things done. Because homeschoolers can move along at their own pace, they typically WANT to finish early and often do.

I will say that when they were in 4-H, I had them complete their record books on school time during the summer. Not that they wanted to, but it had to get done! But then we would start a little later in the fall.

Yes, we homeschool Monday through Friday, never on the weekends. And there is no such thing as a "Snow Day" here in our Wisconsin homeschool, either! =)

We have done some traveling in the fall and the spring. That is my favorite time to vacation...when it's not so crowded. That is another advantage of homeschooling, being able to do things when the public school kids are in school!

This is just how WE choose to do it!