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 if you eliminate a lengthy three-month vacation period.
That said, one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling is it flexibility. There is no definitive right or wrong way to create a homeschooling schedule. How you choose to complete a 180-day curriculum is entirely up to you. The decision you make should fit your family’s unique circumstances. What’s more, you can be as creative as you want when designing a schedule that works best for you and your children.
For example, if your state requires 900 hours of elementary instruction per year, you could homeschool for three hours per day and still complete the curriculum in 300 days. This leaves you with 65 non-school days to enjoy all at once or you could scatter vacation periods throughout the year. Many families who homeschool year-round still take eight to ten weeks of vacation, but instead of burning through the time exclusively during the summer months, they spread out the breaks and enjoy time off in one to two week intervals at various times throughout the year.
Another option is to homeschool six hours per day for 180 days per year, so your child finishes two full curriculums. Or, you could take off every Friday and still end up with 28 days of vacation which can be used at your discretion at any point during the year.