Simple Hobby Homesteading

As a homeschooling parent, you may have heard of the concept of year-round education and wondered whether it’s worth considering. You may wonder if these “year-round wackos” are gluttons for punishment and misery. “I NEED THAT LONG SUMMER BREAK”… I hear it all the time. Parents claim it protects their sanity, gives them downtime, allows for awesome family vacations, and helps to rejuvenate for the following school year. I hear ya but I think those folks might not understand what peace the year-round school year brings. Let me show you…

While the traditional school calendar might dictate long summer breaks, year-round homeschooling offers a compelling alternative that comes with a host of benefits. Let’s explore ten advantages of educating your children year-round.

• Consistent Learning Progress: Year-round homeschooling provides a consistent learning routine, reducing the potential for knowledge gaps that can occur during extended breaks. We all know it’s true… kids spend a good chunk of time retraining their brains after a long summer break… not only in the academic department but also with Amy routines, schedules, and discipline. 

• Flexibility: With a year-round schedule, you have the freedom to plan vacations, field trips, and breaks at times that best suit your family’s needs, without being tied to a traditional academic calendar. No one is saying you can’t head to Florida with all the other summer birds but let me tell ya, those typical vacation spots can be even more beautiful, relaxing, and enjoyable off peak seasons (even if it’s just by a week or two)! We’ve gotten some of our best cruise deals in September and October for the Caribbean! 

• Continuous Skill Development: By maintaining a steady learning pace, children have the opportunity to deepen their understanding and skills without the need for lengthy review periods at the start of each school year.

• Individualized Learning: Year-round education allows you to tailor your teaching approach to each child’s unique learning style and pace, fostering a more personalized and effective learning experience. You may find that kids want to be inside more in harsh winters so you get more traditional academic work done then while your summers are better spent with outside, less structured and more play based learning. Spring is the perfect time for those biology lessons of growth and rejuvenation! 

• Retained Knowledge: Shorter breaks between learning sessions help students retain information better, reducing the need to spend excessive time relearning material.

• Reduced Burnout: Year-round education helps prevent burnout that can arise from intense periods of studying followed by long breaks, promoting a healthier approach to learning. This is the one most people don’t realize! Year-round education really does take away the burnout because it’s a schedule that works off of life’s seasons (literally and figuratively) which allows you to get into a natural flow and rhythm of life that every body, mind, and spirit craves.

• Real-world Application: A continuous learning schedule mirrors the real world, where knowledge is acquired and applied year-round, helping children adapt to a lifelong learning mindset. We often talk about “preparing our kids for the real world”… how many of you get two to three months in a row off in your job? It’s just not normal for most and for those that do have that kind of work schedule (oil rig workers? Sailors? Public school teachers? Crab fisherman? Ooh I love the show “Deadliest Catch”… is it still on?) It lends itself to huge adjustment periods when they leave for their “break” and when they go back from their break. Talk about stressful!  No thanks, give me the steadiness of regular work/learning with smaller breaks whenever needed! 

• Enhanced Focus: Speaking of breaks… did you know that regular, shorter breaks help maintain children’s focus and motivation, leading to improved concentration and engagement during learning sessions? True!

• Opportunities for Exploration: Year-round homeschooling allows for more in-depth exploration of subjects, fostering a deeper understanding and passion for learning. You don’t have to fit everything into nine months and totally skip the learning that best happens in the warm summer months! Take your time, stress less, know that the time table of year-round is MUCH more forgiving! Growing a garden is a treasure trove of practical, hands on learning that will stick with your kid(s) for life! Adding academic things to garden growing is such a natural fit… making charts for growth, journaling hypothesis after hypothesis on plant needs, growth etc, cooking with all your yummy veggies and herbs, and drawing/painting the beauty of God’s creation just scratches the surface of what is in store for you!

• Smooth Transitions: Moving from one grade level to the next becomes a smoother process as the transitions are more gradual, easing any potential anxieties associated with drastic changes.

There ya have it… year-round homeschooling offers a multitude of advantages that can contribute to a more effective and enjoyable learning experience for your children. There are a ton more but these cares one if the big o es for me. From consistent progress and personalized learning to reduced burnout and improved focus, the benefits of educating year-round are compelling. By embracing this approach, you’re not only nurturing your child’s intellectual growth but also preparing them for a lifetime of continuous learning and success.