How to Homeschool Year-Round
Who says you have to start school in August? Your school year is what you make it! Here is how to successfully homeschool year-round.
Homeschooling Year Round
Homeschooling year-round has distinct benefits.
You have more flexibility to take breaks, travel, and move at your child’s natural pace of learning.
Without the large summer break, you can prevent the summer slide from happening (where students magically forget what they learned the grade before).
With frequent breaks, you can keep academic fatigue at bay.
Before you jump into year-round schooling, make sure it is the right choice for your family.
Then follow these steps to get started.
How to Homeschool Year-Round
Homeschooling year-round can be a perfect fit for your family. Here is how to get started.
Pick a “Beginning of the School Year”
Whether you homeschool year-round or with a traditional academic calendar, pick a homeschooling start date.
Not only is this necessary to comply with your county and state homeschooling laws, this start date will help keep you on track.
If you homeschooling a preschooler or kindergartner, check out this article on how to start homeschooling.
If your child was in a traditional school, read this article on how to transition to homeschooling.
Whether your school year starts in January or June, keep this date on the calendar for any annual assessments and paperwork.
It’s also a designated time to set goals for the upcoming year.
Make an Academic Calendar
As a homeschooler, most states require you to log 180 days of homeschooling.
Which days will you choose? Plan them before the school year begins.
A master plan you can edit as needed will help you stay on track during the year.
Divvy up Your Curriculum
Once you have a start of the year and an academic calendar, you can divvy up your curriculum across your homeschooling days.
A teacher planner designed especially for homeschool moms can help you stay organized.
Make sure you distribute your curriculum to align with your academic goals for each child.
You will also want to schedule unit studies between your school breaks.
Align with Classes and Activities
Do you want your child to take any online or in-person classes? These typically run on a traditional school calendar.
Plan in advance how you will participate in these classes and activities so they are compatible with your year-round homeschool calendar.
Homeschooling year-round will occasionally present you with a scheduling conundrum since most students observe the traditional academic year.
The temptation is to barrel through and scratch out your breaks to accommodate the classes and activities that run from August to May.
You do not want to eliminate the breaks in your homeschool! Everyone needs a time of refreshment.
You should preferably pick activities and classes that offer flexibility and work with your school calendar.
Complete Scheduled Assessments
The traditional school calendar is two semesters folded around the Christmas holidays.
This creates two natural points to assess progress: December and May.
When you homeschool year-round, you will need to pick the times of year when you will do a global assessment of your student’s progress.
How is your child doing with the goals and objectives you made at the beginning of the year?
Is your curriculum working or do you need to make adjustments?
If you keep a homeschool portfolio, these two times of year are the perfect time to organize this.
You can also complete various forms of assessment and evaluation of your child’s work and skills.
Celebrate Milestones
When you homeschool year-round, one grade level slides into the next. When did sixth grade end and seventh grade begin?
Compounding the issue is that, depending on the subject, your child may be completing work across multiple grade levels at once.
This is why it is so important to celebrate milestones in year-round homeschooling.
This helps your child see they are making progress and meeting goals. It motivates them to keep working.
You can celebrate milestones by making certificates, taking photos, going out for a special treat, and scheduling breaks at milestone moments.
FInd Your Support Group
The myth about homeschooling is that you do it all by yourself.
You can homeschool with just your family, but it is lonely.
Everyone needs support, advice, friendships, and teammates.
If possible, connect with other families who homeschool year-round.
Check out local homeschooling groups, online forums, and homeschooling events.
Ask for word-of-mouth referrals or network through social media.
Take Advantage of Your Schedule
The flexibility of homeschooling year-round allows you to homeschool out-of-the-box.
Take field trips.
Deep dive into extra-curriculars for a season.
Roadschool.
Follow your child’s interests.
Spend time with extended family.
Pursue hands-on learning.
For more ideas, read this article on tips for year-round homeschooling.
Homeschooling Year-Round
If you want to homeschool year-round, you will need to be intentional, organized, and ready for adventure!
Follow these steps to make homeschooling year-round a rousing success.