Homeschooling provides the flexibility to schedule your school year in a way that works best for your family. Some families enjoy following a traditional school year schedule while other families thrive better doing year-round homeschooling. Most of us are familiar with the traditional school year model but what are the pros and cons of year-round homeschooling? Let’s take a look and see if homeschooling year-round might work for your family.
Year-Round Homeschooling
Year-round homeschooling just means that you and your kids are learning all year long. Instead of taking the typical summer break, you continue your children’s education throughout the summer.
This does not mean that you are doing school work 365 days of the year. What it does mean is that you spread your breaks and vacations out over the entire year. Your family is still getting in the same number of school days as those who follow a traditional school schedule but you are choosing to take shorter, more frequent breaks throughout the year.
Pros of Year-Round Homeschooling
Let’s start by looking at some of the benefits of year-round homeschooling.
Children Retain Information Better
Year-round homeschooling provides a seamless education for kids. This helps kids to retain what they have learned from one year to the next. Kids who have a long summer break spend the first few weeks of school reviewing the previous year’s material. On the other hand, year-round homeschool students can easily move from one grade level to the other, often skipping the review lessons at the beginning of the new curriculum.
No Summertime Boredom
Long summer breaks often lead to boredom. However, when you homeschool year-round, you can take shorter breaks and start back up with your lessons before your kids have time to get bored.
Consistent Routines
One of the reasons for summertime boredom is a lack of routine. Kids have difficulty when there isn’t any structure to their days. Homeschooling year-round keeps routines consistent over the year. Younger kids usually benefit from consistent routines as it provides them with a sense of security and limits the frustrations that come with not knowing what is expected of them.
Vacations When Everyone Else is in School
When you homeschool year-round, you can take vacations when everyone else is back in school. That usually means cheaper hotels, cooler weather and less crowds!
Frequent Breaks Can Save Everyone’s Sanity
Homeschooling throughout the year allows you to take more frequent breaks. This can save your sanity as a parent and lower your children’s frustration level. When you or your kids are starting to feel run down from homeschooling, you have the time in your schedule to set aside the school work and do something enjoyable.
Allows Opportunities to Take Detours in Learning
When you have the entire year to educate your kids, you are able to take more detours and dive into areas that really interest your kids. Some people count these detours as school days. Others set the formal school work aside and allow their kids time to explore the things they love.
Easier on Moms with New Babies or Little Ones
Homeschooling year-round was a huge sanity saver for me when I had a lot of little ones. It was difficult to get homeschooling and housework done while caring for a preschooler, toddler and baby. Homeschooling all year meant I could focus on homeschooling for a few weeks and then take an entire week off to tackle housework and field trips.
It also meant less stress on those days when my little ones needed more of my time and energy. We could take those day off from school, knowing that we would complete the lessons on another day.
More help for moms homeschooling with a little one underfoot:
- Homeschooling with Little Ones: There’s more to it than just keeping them quiet
- 11 Tips for Homeschooling Older Children with Little Ones Around
- How to Homeschool with a Baby
- 5 Simple Solutions for Homeschooling Big Kids with Little Ones Underfoot
Cons of Year-Round Homeschooling
Homeschooling throughout the year has numerous benefits but there are also some drawbacks. Let’s take a look at some of the cons of year-round homeschooling.
Don’t Get a Long Summer Break
Our society is used to the traditional school year schedule. Kids usually look forward to a long summer break and the freedom it brings to play without the worries of school. For many families, summer break brings back fond memories of family vacations and summer camps.
Many homeschool families look forward to a long summer break to tackle projects or just relax. Thoughts of a summer, free of school work, may also motivate moms and kids to diligently complete their school lessons during the school year so that they can have the whole summer off.
Doing School When Others Are on Vacation
Another downside to homeschooling year-round is knowing that you are doing school work when everyone else seems to be having fun or going on vacations. This can be especially hard for kids whose friends are in public school. They can see their friends playing outside all day long while they are inside homeschooling.
It can also be difficult for homeschool families who like to visit or take vacations with their extended family members. Extended family members are probably planning their trips over the summer which means your family may not be able to participate in all of the family events happening over the summer.
No Long Break for Mom to Recharge and Tackle Projects
Some moms prefer shorter, more frequent breaks while others enjoy a long summer break to wrap up the previous year, plan for the new homeschool year and recharge. If you homeschool year round, there isn’t a long break to tackle larger projects and take longer vacations. For some women, it takes a few days or weeks to unwind and really begin relaxing. Year-round homeschooling might be more stressful for these moms who need longer breaks to recharge for the new homeschool year.
School Days May Get Neglected
When it comes to year-round homeschooling, you may be surprised by how many days of school you haven’t done. It’s easy to get into the mindset that you have an entire year to complete work so it’s okay to take a day off here and there. This could turn into more days off than you realize if you aren’t careful to keep track of your progress. My homeschool planning sheets pack includes two types of calendars to help you keep track of your school days. You might also find the weekly checklists for kids useful as well.
Those are some of the pros and cons of year-round homeschooling. Does your family homeschool year-round or do you prefer to follow a traditional school year schedule?
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