The great dilemma was addressed in my last post.....burn-out. I get tired of going to the table for school and doing the same thing four days a week. I know I can mix it up, and I do----but somehow by February I'm ready to shut er down! SO after speaking with my principal the discussion of year-round school comes up....
WHAT????????? Year round school? Are you crazy? Did you hear what I said? I can't hardly make it to February, how am I going to do it year round?????
(To which the small reply of "Um, Marla- it was YOUR idea." was given.)
Oh, uhhhh.....you're right. It was.
So why might I consider schooling year round? Let me count the
I am considering schooling year round because......
1) Once my children get out of sync, it is so hard to get them back. After 3 months of summer vacation it takes a huge theatrical build up for weeks to get them excited about starting school. Then they are gung-ho for about 2 weeks, then ask what all the hype was about. This leaves me feeling disappointed and inadequate.
2) There are seasons in a year when I'd rather not worry too much about school. For example, collection week in November for Operation Christmas Child is a very stressful time for me. (For those of you who don't know, I'm the Birmingham Area Co-ordinator) Also, there is a week the end of September/beginning of October that is spent preparing/working events for OCC. Throughout the year Andy travels for work and we like to join him when we can. It would be nice to be so flexible that if a week came up when we needed a break then we wouldn't have to give it a second thought.
3) This goes along with #2- if we school year round we can adopt a three weeks on/one week off schedule while still getting a substantial break in the summer (or Christmas). This would allow me and the kids to have refresh weeks. We could visit Grandma, Aunt Beth, Nonny....go to Atlanta or Chattanooga, work on projects at home. The idea of spreading our summer out into mini-vacays all year sounds very appealing.
4) Lastly, I like the idea of teaching my children to always be in a learning mode- that they don't need to switch their brain off for three months and veg before starting the next school-year. There is always the opportunity to learn, and if they close themselves off to that way of thinking, then I fear they might miss the amazing and incredible right infront of them!
Do you school year-round? If not, have you ever considered it? What schedule do you follow? And lastly, got any pointers?
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1 comment:
Good thoughts, Marla. . . .I have considered year-round before, but two things have stopped me:
1. Until recently, hubby worked a traditional school schedule. That was a pretty big deterrent, as we liked being off when Daddy was off!
2. Summer activities. We're involved in quite a few - and now run science camps - so it's easier to just "go with the flow".
I have known friends who do year-round, and I've often wished I could, for the very reasons you list. Let me know what you decide!
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