10 Great Reasons to Try Year-Round Homeschooling

Have you been considering year-round homeschooling? When I first began homeschooling 20 years ago, I didn’t know much about homeschooling. I thought I needed to start my homeschool year at the traditional time (in August or September) and end it at the traditional time (in May). I didn’t really know that I had the option of fitting my homeschool year to my own family’s schedule and needs. But the longer I homeschool, the more I realize it’s such a blessing to be able to structure my school year in a way that best suits my students and my family!

Here are 10 great reasons to give year-round homeschooling a try!

10 Great Reasons to Try Year-Round Homeschooling

If you’re considering homeschooling year-round but aren’t quite sure about it yet, here are 10 reasons to consider it!

#1. It ends the need to spend the first few weeks of each school year reviewing what they learned last year.

I’ve found that I generally spend at least the first 2 or 3 weeks of each school year reviewing what my children learned the previous year. It’s normal for them to forget some of what they learned the previous year, but in some subjects, it’s necessary for them to build on what they previously learned, so it’s also necessary to review and re-learn skills from last year. Year-round homeschooling puts an end to this!

#2. My children and I enjoy taking breaks from school throughout the year instead of spending the majority of our break time over the summer.

The school year seems so long when it stretches from August through May! When we do school year-round, we can do school for 6 weeks and take a week off, or we can do school 4 days a week instead of 5. Or we can choose to take off the last 2 weeks of November and all of December in order to spend time with family and do holiday activities without worrying about falling behind. In other words, homeschooling year-round gives us a much more flexible schedule!

#3. We have the option of doing school 4 days a week.

For most of my children’s school years, we’ve done school 4 days a week. We love the ability to take one day a week off to visit with friends, spend a day cooking and cleaning, or take a day off to enjoy nice weather and spend some time outside. In other words, doing school 4 days a week allows us to have a more flexible schedule!

#4. We can take 1 week off at Thanksgiving and 3 weeks off at Christmas to enjoy family time.

It’s so hard to get school done during the holidays! It usually takes several days to get the cooking and cleaning done before Thanksgiving, so we don’t get much school done that week anyway. And it often takes us the entire month of December to clean, decorate, finish shopping, cook, have family get-togethers, and all of the other things we do during the holidays. Again, we usually need 3 weeks off at Christmas anyway, so we often get behind during the holidays and then dread getting back to school (and catching up on all that extra work!) in January. Schooling year-round keeps us from falling behind during the holidays!

#5. We don’t dread getting back to school after the holidays because we aren’t behind!

So many years we dreaded getting back to school after the holidays! After taking several weeks off, we knew we would have to really work hard to catch up and get back on track. Homeschooling year-round allows us to take time off during the holidays without falling behind.

#6. We all suffer less from burnout each spring if we’ve had time off throughout the school year.

Spring is typically a “burnout” season for us (and many other homeschoolers as well), and I think spreading our breaks out is a great way to be able to hang in there because a break will always be right around the corner.

#7. We can vacation during the “off-season”!

My husband travels a good bit for work, and we like to go with him now and then. Year-round homeschooling is a great way of allowing your family to vacation any time of the year! It’s great to be able to vacation during the off-season in order to save money and enjoy smaller crowds wherever you go!

#8. Shorter breaks lead to less boredom.

My kiddos will never admit this, but they do get bored over the long summer break. It’s really hot where we live in the South, so much of the summer (at least the afternoons) has to be spent indoors. Taking shorter breaks now and then is a good way to give them a chance to do things outside that they may not be able to do during the summer because of the heat. And it doesn’t give them so much time off each summer that they get bored and cranky.

#9. My children have a hard time getting back to school if we take off a long time during the summer.

Even though many students (mine included) get bored during a long summer break, it can still be hard to get back to a routine and back to work after a long summer off. I have a hard time with big transitions like that too, so I understand how they feel!

#10. There is more time for my children to pursue their interests and passions.

Homeschooling year-round allows students more time to do what they love! Not being behind all the time eliminates the need to constantly have to catch up on work that was missed or work that won’t be done by the end of the school year. It allows for a more relaxed schedule. One of the things I love the most about homeschooling is that homeschooled students are able to spend time doing what they personally love. They’re able to draw, dance, read, babysit, start a business, sing, spend time with friends, help around the house, do yard work, build, run, or whatever other interests they have!

So no matter what your year-round homeschool looks like, it can be adjusted to fit your style and your schedule. And it’s just one more reason why homeschooling is such a wonderful educational option!

Do you homeschool year-round? If so, why? How does year-round homeschooling work for your family? 
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One Comment

  1. Thank you for this article. We have friends that think we are crazy and mean for deciding to go year around and take breaks during off seasons. I shared it on my Facebook for others to read. We in the past had such a hard time with burn out and getting back into school work after holidays. A lot of fussing and crying about schoolwork after such a long summer break. This will be our first year doing the new schedule of year around school. My kids are excited about the change.

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