Why we do year-round schooling...

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the flexibility.   We have the ability to say when the school day starts, when it ends, where we learn, what we learn and what we don't want to teach.     With Hubby's schedule, having a different set of days-off each week, it's been a blessing and a challenge at times.    One of the perks of being in Texas is that we're blessed to not have Compulsory Attendance laws for homeschoolers.  Meaning, while the local public schools have to do 160 +/- days a year, we can double up on work, or take longer to fit the needs of our own children.   

Last year, we started Xman's 1st grade in early August, before most of the public school's around here started.  Then, we left at the end of August for our 2 1/2 week trip.    We were still able to finish his entire curriculum by March, which was the "technical" end of our school year.    So, when he finished his required subjects and we saw that a housing move was on the horizon, we decided to go ahead and stop the year.   We have been on our break during all of April and we will stay on break through May.  In June, he will be starting his 2nd grade year.   Then we'll take a break in August because that's a busy month for us!  It's our 10 year anniversary ceremony and trip, then Hubby's sister's wedding, then Little Man and Hubby have birthdays...whew!  I'm worn out just thinking about it.  

Next year, we're implementing a little bit more routine into our days, because we see that our boys need the structure.  When they know what's coming up next, they seem to focus better.   So, within our year-round schedule, we'll have steady days of learning and then days of errands or whatever is needed.    Overall, I really like to keep it flexible and relaxed, learning flows so much better that way!