A Summer of Learning

For many kids, summer is filled with swimming, swinging, sunning and very little studying.  However, if you are homeschooling year-round this is not the case.  Of course, just because you decide to keep the lessons going throughout the summer, doesn’t mean your kids will suffer from academic burnout. Some families decide to homeschool year-round for the sake of consistency.  By keeping with a set school schedule without a break during the summer months you avoid the “learning gap.”  In other words, your kids are far less apt to forget the material they’ve learned during the first half of the year … Continue reading

Reasons I am Glad We Homeschool: Year Round School

I was surprised to hear on the news that a handful of local schools are doing year round schooling. The children have classes for 45 days (6 weeks) weeks and then 15 days off. It might surprise you that I am not at all in favor of year round schooling since I homeschool and my family can be found teaching and learning year round. The problem I have with year round school is that it controls the life of the families that goes to the school. It is already abundantly clear that teachers and schools frown upon any missed school … Continue reading

Dilemna: What Do You Do When Kids Have The Day Off From School?

When I was a kid I looked forward to early dismissals and days off. As a parent I have a whole different perspective on the matter. Take today for instance, all public schools in Mobile County dismissed students at 11:50 for some type of teacher in-service training. Seems like I had just dropped Tyler off when it was time to return to get him. And while I certainly think teachers need on-going training in order to be more effective teachers this did throw a monkey wrench into my work plans. But I shouldn’t complain, I work from home and the … Continue reading