Homeschool Methods: Our Year Round Learning

I’ll forever appreciate the flexibility that comes with educating my children at home. Ask any other family that does so, and they’re sure to say the same. Having the autonomy to structure our days in a way that best fits our family’s lifestyle and current life dealings is a treat, and that holds no less value when planning out our year of learning in its entirety. And moreover, that flexibility we have been given offers us a freedom to truly live out each day and not be bound by coursework and checklists…a simple reminder that learning takes place whether we plan for it or not through living.

THE PERKS OF A YEAR ROUND HOME-ED

The perks of a year round home ed: breaks when we need rest (whether tired or ill), no pressure to finish for the sake of finishing, more opportunity to take a pause and practice skills as needed, focusing on family time during holidays and scheduling in more travel (see a recent blog post highlighting our trip back to Missouri), along with tailoring a lesson schedule that fits and varies for your individual learners. It also deconstructs the notion that learning must always be measurable and planned by emphasizing lifestyle over lesson plans. 

I’ll highlight our current season of summer learning plans below, but be sure to read to the end for some encouragement if a year round approach is a model placed on your heart. 

As a recovering type-a, not having deadlines was super daunting for me when I ditched the tradition start/stop season, but truth be told, I don't miss that. I stopped following start dates/end dates a while back. I can thank my six year old son for that area of personal growth while we were navigating his autism diagnosis. I quickly realized through his journey that I could follow his lead versus my own sometimes rigid plans, and that poured over into my philosophy in general as a home educator. Add three back to back pregnancies to the mix in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, and I grew accustomed to being flexible with our plans. That flexibility was something I longed for, and it was one of the reasons I was attracted to homeschooling...I just needed my heart to grow in looser plans.  As we grew more into year round homeschooling, the firm dates didn’t matter as much. I released the pressure to start new levels in September and be finished by June. The guilt for needing rest (both myself and my children) dissipated. I stopped worrying about when we did things in the lens of being inflexible and began actually enjoying our gift of freedom.
Note: We live in a state with no homeschool regulation, but even so, our number of instructional days exceed the annual requirement of other states, as well as public schools. Some seasons, our days just happen to look a little different.

WHAT CAN YEAR ROUND HOME-ED LOOK LIKE?

OUR NON-NEGOTIABLE SUBJECTS  
Core subjects no matter the time of year for us remain: Bible and Reading. Bible shifts for us; sometimes catechisms, scripture memorization, or devotionals. We are currently practicing the Ten Commandments for our Summer schedule. Reading can be as light as read aloud time aand independent reading, or might include phonics, grammar, and/or writing instruction, too. No matter the time of year, our Reading time doesn’t typically shift as it is covered in multiple subjects of ours, and is something we prioritize over any other coursework for the day. Whether I am reading to my children, or they pick up a book on their own, reading happens in some fashion daily- even if we don’t get to any other subject.

NATURE STUDY
Seasonal Nature Studies are another subject we typically run through January-December. We might take some weeks off here and there, but overall we implement this subject each season. We also use a daily Morning Menu no matter the season and a separate menu folder for our Nature Study containing poetry, art observations, and music. In comfortable weather, it is also a priority for my family to spend as much of the day outside as we can. We begin each day with a morning nature walk, stopping to smell the flowers (quite literally my almost two year old) and feeling the ground through our bare feet. Nature study is as much as an immersive practice as it is a subject to learn. 

MATH
Currently, my oldest son is finishing up his Math course. He uses Math with Confidence level 3 by Kate Snow. Historically, he has finished this subject in May, but we did take our time with Math this year, even taking off around Christmas, Easter, and during our travels. We also used all of the enrichment lessons, which prolonged the course a bit, too. I’m really happy though that we took our time without a firm deadline because I have found for him that too long of a break (ahem, summer), sometimes files what he has learned in the hard to reach part of his memory. Once he finishes his current level of Math, we will jump right into the next level as to not lose too many skills. My six year old son is taking his own pace with Math with Confidence level 2. He began his course book more routinely around his sixth birthday and skipped a few levels because his is gifted with hyperlexia. Autism gives him superpowers in academics, and has shown me how I can truly adapt course work to both his needs and gifts.

SOCIAL STUDIES
We completed our Social Studies/History course late Spring of this year, and despite my oldest son’s attempts to convince me to go through the next level all through summer, I decided we needed a little break (we=me). And that’s mainly because I have been writing my own History unit studies! You can check out some upcoming releases here. While we tried to start the next program, we got through 1-2 lessons and I knew my brain needed rest from instructing. History was our most enjoyed subject last year, and I did not want to overdue it and hinder that enjoyment for any of us. After some time off, we spent three days learning in depth about Independence Day. Next week we will begin an Election Unit Study that I wrote! The course is ten weeks or 40 lessons long, but we are getting a little jump start, so we can take time off for travel without it affecting certain lessons for the week of the Election. Starting something new mid summer probably would have stressed me out years ago because it didn’t fit the mold of a traditional school year, but now I find it so exciting! 

SCIENCE
During our time off from history, we picked a few science unit studies at the interest of my children. We do this every year in the summer and it’s a good way for us to balance our official plans and their curiosity. We also do a Safety course each year during the Summer. You can read about a science unit study we have done in the past here. The children look forward to these studies of their choice, and it’s a treat from their regular courses to spend in depth time in them over the summer.  

HOLIDAY STUDIES  
Once winter rolls around this year, we will likely take off history and nature study for Christmas School aka THE Best Time of Year. We focus on the story of Jesus's birth, warm and cozy read alouds, festive recipes, and gift-making. Last year we took the whole month of December to do this, and as a parent I had no regrets about it. It was just the rest and happy we needed while prioritizing family togetherness and the giving nature of December.

THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF YEAR ROUND HOMESCHOOLING

THE DO’S

• Create a rhythm that is custom to your home and current life season
• Look at each child individually and allow them to pause or move on at their pace, not just because their sibling is moving on (this one hit me)
• Welcome breaks for rest and leisure 
• Incorporate child-led interests 
• Balance subjects throughout the year 
• Enjoy the flexibility to change things up
• Remember that you decide what is best for your family
• Feel free to begin new studies in January, September or whenever…it’s really that simple!
• Be encouraged that you can stop, pause, start anew at any time  

THE DON’TS

• Be rigid in your plans with firm deadlines that cause stress 
• Rush through coursework for the sake of finishing by a certain date
• Plan your lessons around another homeschool family to be on the same schedule 
• Feel guilty about changes to your child’s course load or family schedule 
• Forget to give yourself grace in slower seasons 
• Over plan your day by cramming too many subjects together
• Slip into a slump of redundancy that feels tedious
• Hold off on a study your child enjoys or any review your child needs due to the calendar 
• Limit the measure of learning to being in one place; the world is your classroom and it all counts! 

WANT TO DITCH THE TRAD SCHOOL YEAR?

STATE LAWS    
Check your state’s laws for homeschooling. You’ll want to be sure to track the number of instructional days in your homeschool to meet the legal requirements. You can simply number each day in your planner to keep track for any reporting.

COURSE OUTLINES  
Have a general understanding of the number of lessons in the courses you are including in your homeschool. All parent guides will break down the number of units and lessons, as well as the total lesson number in each course. Take breaks as needed in between units or schedule review within to fill in time.

SWITCH THINGS UP  
Taking a pause from regular lessons to add in fun holiday studies or subjects that interest your child add excitement to the days and seasons. Ask your child what they’d like to learn about and make time for those lessons. What’s a new hobby they’d like to learn that you can read about together and out into practice? You can also take breaks to test out new curriculum samples to see if it’s time to make a switch without feeling like you’re on a strict timeline. The only timeline you’re on is your family’s, and that's a beautiful freedom!

Have questions about year round homeschooling? Let's chat in the comments!

__________________________________________

RESOURCES PICTURED: 
10 Commandment Cards by Pip & J Papery 
Morning Menu by Various   
Independent Readers by The Good & Beautiful
Nature Study by Treehouse Schoolhouse 
Math with Confidence by Kate Snow  
Early American History by Beautiful Feet Books 
Health and the Physical Body by The Good & Beautiful 
A Connected Christmas by Treehouse Schoolhouse