Hi,

I am thinking about schooling year round, verses schooling mid August through May, and was wondering if any TOGer out there could give me any tips, tricks, or hints on how they school year round? I know this is a personal preference for most and was hoping to glean as much input as possible! (I currently do not know of anyone who home schools year round, so this is a very interesting concept for me.)

Thanks in Advance!
Sabrina

Hi Sabrina,

We've enjoyed homeschooling year-round for several years now. I start a year plan in summer after a week or two off. We usually complete 2 units before December arrives with a 2 week vacation in October. December we work on a weak area of writing and Christmas crafts. I start the 3rd unit the last week in December. The year plan is usually done by mid May. I usually allow for 2 weeks vacation around Easter. And another week for being sick in Feb/ or March. The Extra weeks in May and/ or November we enjoy a science unit study with Sonlight's DVD's, and a Science ch book.

I have one, 9 yrold dd- LG with some UG reading and discussion, one 7 yrold DS -1/2 of LG, and a 5 yroldDS PREK. We're still really focused on the 3 R's most of the school day. But, I make time for the Unit celebrations making sure each child has a paragraph(s), storyboard, or project to tell about.

The greatest gift in year-round schooling has been that I don't feel panicked over the inevitable interruptions of illnesses, elder care, and visits to neighbors. The side benefit is not having to reteach everything that's forgotten in the 3months off, especially habits of discipline.
The strangest thing is that somehow my kids are changing grade level in Jan.

I just keep praying for wisdom to adapt.
Melody

We are leaning toward year-round schooling, too. I have two in private Christian school and I'm homeschooling the others, so I looked at the school schedule and discovered that if I homeschool for 3 weeks on and 1 week off starting on August 11, 2008 (yes, it already passed), then we will have off:

1. The first week of private school
2. Thanksgiving week
3. Christmas week
4. Easter week
5. Last week of private school
As well as others that don't necessarily fall on holidays.

This is great for us. I've already had my first week off and I love it. Three weeks seems like a breeze and then I have a week to print/photocopy/gather supplies for the next three weeks. So, there are 3 of these cycles per unit.

God Bless,
Christine
Wife to Larry
Mom to Kyle (17), Elisabeth (13), Christiana(6 - as of 9/11!), Charlotte Bell (4), Clara (2), Catherine (8 months)

I've been homeschooling year round with a 9yr.UG and a 7 yr.LG. We basically do 9 weeks and then take a couple weeks off before the next unit. It's been great to have those "flex" weeks in there to help us to spill over our 9 week window due to illness, field trips, or whatever messes up the schedule. The only downside I find is around April/May when everyone else is talking about being almost finished with their school year...I've still got a unit to go!!! Once I remind myself that they don't school year round...it's not so bad!

Diane

I'm new to TOG, but have been homeschooling my 3 kids from the beginning. They are now ages 13, 11, and 10. We have always homeschooled year-round.

During the school year, we use mornings for skills academics (reading, writing, math, etc.) and part of social studies and science. We do projects and/or activities in the afternoons. We do read-alouds in the evenings for literature, history, science, and Bible. We don't worry about when paperwork books are finished--each one takes their own pace. We do content areas together, so TOG should fit right in with our current routine.

We take "off" (which really means lighter and/or different activities) in December and August. Our current state doesn't require standardized testing, but our previous one did, so that is done in August, just so I can double check levels before we launch into a "new" school year.

During the summer months, the kids try to finish off any books that are mostly completed and continue in books that are slower paced for them. I don't give new levels until Sept. We continue to keep track of independent reading by making a reading list each month, but we've tried library incentive programs or done our own motivator to do pleasure reading in the summer months. We also use the summer months to do a more integrated unit study that the kids are really interested in. We have studied the Mississippi River with the Holling book, Minn of the Mississippi. One summer we studied Lewis & Clark. One summer we studied and visited Yellowstone National Park. One summer we studied Tide Pools and the Ocean before and during a trip to the Oregon coast for a family reunion. We try to tie in history, science, art, and as much of any other subject areas that go with the unit. I haven't finalized what we're doing this summer, but the kids really look forward to the change in routine. It also gives us the flexibility to schedule camps, visits to Grandparents, and of course, plenty of play time in the summer sunshine! )

I hope that helps in describing how we've used year-round school so that there isn't a regression factor from taking a long summer off. It also supports our belief that learning takes place all the time throughout our lives. I've asked our kids if they wish they had the summers "off" like most of the other kids. All 3 said, "No." They don't mind doing school throughout the year and would rather have our relaxed routine than having a longer school day and summer months off.

This last school year we did TOG Y1, math, and ASL during your "regular" school season. During the summer (currently) we have been doing science and grammar. We play math games to keep that all fresh in their memory, I have an incentive reading program for my oldest, and we talk about our history a little here and there or look through our binders to jog their memory. (I put together a binder w/sheet protectors of some of their best work from TOG.) I tried to keep it lighter in the summer because in Michigan you have to take advantage of the warm weather while you can! This has worked well for us this year-we had a lot of interruptions- we moved, lost a very close loved one, had Pneumonia... This coming fall we start year 2 and I will probably tweak our schedule again, but we will definitely keep going with at least a subject or two and memory joggers through the summer.