How long do you take a break for?

[momof3kids]

Hi all,
Just a question about how long everyone takes off....
My oldest finished Beyond, and we took a week off last week.
We did take almost all of May off..... And I am due with new baby in September....so, I was thinking we would jump on into Bigger, at half speed for a bit....
My second son has completed 2 units of Little Hearts....we started it At half speed about a month ago.
We school 4 days a week....kinda year round....this is only our second year...

So, should I give him more than a week off in between guides?
I thought I should save our long break for Sept.... Figured we may need a month or so off with new baby...?
Would love any thoughts from you experienced mamas....
Trying to avoid stress of getting behind when baby comes....

Thanks again

[amysconfections]

I do what works for our family at the time. Currently I take about a month off in the spring. Then school through summer. We took about a week off after finishing our last years work. The previous school year we had finished by spring. So we took off for our month break then. In your case I would jump right back in and take your time off in September. It also depends on where you live. Don't spend so much time indoors if summer is your best weather. For us summer is torture. So we live up spring and fall when it is pretty. Unless we are swimming we don't spend lots of daytime outside in the summer so it makes sense to school.

[Nealewill]

Agree with Amy, everyone is different. We take off from Mid June through when I get my annual major work project completed over the summer. I work part time from home throughout the year but every summer, I have to work on filing my business' 990 (annual IRS filing for non-profits). This report is massive and a pain in the butt. So I stop school by mid June so I can work 40-60 hours a week to finish this report. I am finishing it up now. My kids want to start back up and I told them we could in 1 week. Once we start though, we only go half speed for another few weeks.

[TrueGRIT]

Every family is going to be different like previous posters said.
We only took off 2 weeks after our baby was born. Then because I had to take it easy, & out weather was less than ideal, we started back to school. I sat & rested while I taught and we are on a more relaxed schedule. We take turns with history readings, etc while doing math, grammar, phonics & reading daily.
I made up a couple plans for afterwards and it took actually having the baby to see what would work for us at this time.
So, I would say to have a goal to shoot for before and an idea or two for after, but wait to see what you are actually able to do when the time comes.

For us personally I found my children do not do well with more than a 3 week break. They need the routine and plans. Right now baby sleeps through most of school. We will take a longer break this fall when weather is nicer and baby is awake more.

Hope this gives you an idea or two. Congrats on your new baby.

[momof3kids]

Thanks ladies,
I kinda had in my mind it would be best to go ahead and start, if nothing else to relieve some pressure later on....
Guess I was feeling guilty about not giving them a "summer break"....(some outside family members helped with that...)
So, good to know others make it work through the summer as well.

They played outside while cooler in the early morning, then we did school before lunch, the some more after rest time and it worked pretty well. My oldest did over half a lesson in Bigger and is really excited, I think we will love it...he wanted me to keep reading the history book.....

So, going to finish lesson today and try out DITHOR.....he already read 2 chapters in his first book yesterday.....was only going to do 3 days a week......but he is such a reader....maybe everyday? But that's another topic I guess

I think it will be nicer to have time off in the fall when weather is cooler..... Seems like others think though you have to have that summer break, and it is terrible "making" children do school.......maybe it's just cause I'm still pretty new to this.....?

Anyway, thanks for the input

[momof3kids]

By the way Trugrit,
Congrats on your baby as well.....
Looks like your family is similar to ours.....

Good to know you only took two weeks off, I was thinking I would need many weeks off with new baby! Lol

[MelInKansas]

Yeah I would say keep on going. That gives you the freedom to take time off later if you need it. And also don't worry about finishing a guide each year. But also, it's not too hard to school with a newborn. You are sitting on the couch nursing or feeding the baby however, you read books (or have your child read). Easy. I find it so much easier to school with a newborn in the house (my exhaustion level notwithstanding) than a 1 year old. A sling or moby wrap were great help to me with a young baby who could just fall asleep in there all snuggled tight and no worries.

My theory is, do school when the weather is "bad" or at least not as enjoyable and take off when the weather is nice. Right when kids go back to school and nice fall weather kicks in, take days off to go on field trips and explore the outdoors.