Thursday, August 6, 2009

Do You Homeschool in the Summer?

Some people choose to homeschool during regular public school time, other school year-round. What do you do?

Here at Yet To Be Named Private School (in CA homeschools actually register as private schools -- however as my son is only just compulsory school age this fall, we haven't needed to file until this year. The forms are accepted in October, and I have no idea what we will name it yet!), we decided to school, well, whenever. We have no real given timeline for school.

We reserve beautiful days for going outside and playing. During rainy season, we tend to stay in more and do more school-type stuff. Last summer, we did quite a bit of work simply because it was 100 degrees every day and no one wanted to be out in that. So this year I fully expected to get a lot done this summer. We took a big break to move over the winter, and took a big break last october to go on two big trips to see family (including a funeral). We took a break for weeks while I was in the horrors of intense morning sickness. And now... we're still on a bit of a break. See, every day has been 70 degrees out. Beautiful! And we have lovely neighbors next door that the children love to play with for hours every day.

So I actually cheered this morning when it began to rain here in Silicon Valley. It never rains in August. Our rainy season is fall and winter, and it rains nearly every day for several months. Summer does not have rain at all, hence why we have all those great fires.

But rain! Today! In August! Let's have school!!

3 comments:

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said...

Hello! Found you through Darren's blog. We homeschool in the summer, mostly because my son "Elf" is on the autism spectrum and appreciates routine. I do find that the children are less "rusty" if they homeschool in the summer. Public schools have to spend about a month getting to know the kids and doing "review." You will find your time used much more efficiently.

Congrats on your pregnancy! I wish I had good advice for you, but I wouldn't presume to offer any as I was never quite that sick. We would do all our work in the early morning and I would try to rest on the couch a bit after lunch. (Notice I didn't even try to type "sleep" there...)

Our homeschool is called the Happy Elf Homeschool, but we are not required to register the name, etc. in Missouri.

RWW said...

It seems counterproductive to take several weeks at a time off from active learning. I think the fact that public schools currently do so is largely connected to the whims of the unions.

RWW said...

(By the way, I came here from the Mises Blog's current schooling thread, and also happen to live in Missourah.)