I will be homeschooling my daughter in September and I have a question.?

Question

I will be homeschooling my daughter in September and no comments about homeschooling please because it has already been decided. My husband wants my daughter to do schoolwork a couple of hours a day throughout the summer for a trial run to make sure that it is going to work. I know it will. The problem is that I don't think she should have to do any work. It is summer. She worked really hard this year and made honor roll. Why won't he just let her enjoy the summer? Who's right?

Answer 1

meh, it's only a couple hours a day and she would be ahead anyways for when the fall starts...I think it's a good idea.

Answer 2

I think giving your daughter a break over the summer is fine. If your husband really wants you to give it a test run now, start now and take a break in the fall.  One of the beauties of homeschool is that we can break whenever we want.  Where I live it is so hot during the summer we rarely go to the park or anything so we break for a while in the fall to get outside and enjoy the weather when it's not 120 degrees outside.  I don't think anyone is "right" in this situation.  More than likely your husband is a little nervous about switching over and would like to see that this will work so he can stop worrying.  It is a big step to take, although it can be the best decision you make for your child, it has been for us.  Good luck.

Answer 3

I don't think that she would mind a few days of practice in a workbook or something, or a training instruction video. Every day is too much though.

Answer 4

Well, we have always done year-round schooling, which basically means we take off when we want to.  Probably your daughter's school day will only take 2-4 hrs [depending on the grade she is in],so if you did 2 hrs/day all summer long, you'd be waaay ahead in the fall.

You don't want to fight with your husband over this - you need his agreement and support!  What you could do is, spend 2 hrs/day with your daughter - you could: read together, do art, sing for music, and do PE.  This would all be fun stuff that you might want to do with her anyway.  Now, if you wanted, you could also just start her school books and actually be ahead in September.  Most kids don't really want 3 months unoccupied anyway and get bored.

Answer 5

We homeschool year round and just take a day or two , occasional week off, as we have activities planned or need time off.

Answer 6

Even though its summer a little work wont hurt but not a couple of hours worth. Maybe like 10 mins if she has nothing better to do. But its not necessarily needed. Especially if shes an honor student.

But I see where hes coming from. If it doesnt work out in sptember, then it doesnt work. No need to experiment with it now.

Answer 7

I say compromise. A little bit wouldn't hurt. And she could get ahead. I think she should still have some fun though.

Answer 8

Both of you are right.  Homeschooling is not just doing worksheets and paperwork.  In fact, few families spend two hours a day doing paperwork every day. Learning takes place everywhere at all times.  

A summer day spent at the beach is full of learning opportunities.  Collect shells, sort them, go home and research them, make a poster about them showing each animal they came from, etc. Young children could count them, make patterns from them, break them up into tiny bits and make Mosaics like the typical Art from Indonesia, etc.  That is learning.  And learning is what homeschooling is all about.

What about a trip to the zoo?  You could take pictures (digital) of each animal.  Go home and load them onto your computer.  Sort them into groups of "where" they are from.  Create maps of each "where". Make a whole report on them.  Or sort them into groups of carnivores, herbivores, birds, amphibians, reptiles, etc.  You can spend time at the zoo, then come home and use that time as a jump-off for fun learning.  

Homeschooling is not about filling out papers.   The people who have the most limited view of learning are the ones who give up.  You and your hubby are both right.  But you need to enlarge your view of "WHAT" school really is.  Homeschooling is learning. It is not doing pen/paper work for hours each day. Learning achieved in any way counts. And it does take place in summer too, even in the midst of fun.

Answer 9

i'ld say test it for a week at most just to be safe, but if you are really really sure you shouldn't do it, don't.

Answer 10

You're right.School Is hard and Summer Is a time to relax for the year.September will be fine to start school again.good luck.

Answer 11

See if he will compromise.  Instead of a couple of hours a day, how about one lesson in one subject each day.  The next day cover another subject.  The day after either cover a third subject or do another lesson on the subject you covered on day one.  Most lessons will take an hour or less.

Answer 12

It's not a matter of right or wrong as far as the schoolwork goes.   It is right for you to co-operate with your husband.  If you pull against each other in this situation,  you may not pull together in situations that are important.

You need his support.  If you don't have his support, you will be discouraged and he will tell you to send her back to school.  With his support, you will have him encouraging you on those 'bad days'.

Make the school work fun and have summer academy.  If you have your curriculum,  it will be great to do a 'trial run' to make sure the style fits your style of teaching and your daughter's style for learning.    It may keep you from encountering surprises when your regular school year starts.

Answer 13

You both have your daughter's best interest in mind.

Perhaps a compromise is in order.

Couple of thoughts

- instead of regular bookwork, have your daughter take on a fun (but educational) project.  Keep in mind that a common "mistake" is to be too much like bricks and mortar school during the first year and getting burned out.

- instead of 2 hours a day, perhaps you could suggest 4 hours on one day of the week.  Your daughter would still get quite a summer break 6 days a week and your husband would get his trial run.

Who is right? You both are.

Answer 14

No one is 'right' per se.  Honestly, my family always did math and english all year round and we never had a problem with 'missing' summer break cause when you homeschool you can take as many break s during the school year as you want.  We always went on vacation during the school year because it's so much cheaper and less crowded no matter where you go.  I don't see what's wrong with doing school work during the summer.  Then again, I like the idea of focusing on sports, fine arts, or attending camps during the summer too.  Whatever you decide, make sure you, your husband, and your daughter all agree and understand what it is expected.

Answer 15

FWIW, we've HS'ed for 5.5 years and school year-round.  The only reason "summer" was given in public schools when they started was so that students could help out on their family farms.  There is *no* reason for education to stop in the summer.  Sure, we lighten the load, but my DS has at least one subject daily.  It really helps in the fall because he doesn't have to spend weeks on end getting used to doing school work again.  Also, *I* don't have to get used to an entirely new routine.

The majority of the first couple of months in a B&M school each fall is reviewing the material from the previous year since kids' brains go to "mush" over the summer.  We don't have to do that, as DS doesn't forget by learning year round (with many breaks at other times - like most subjects "off" during Thanksgiving-New Years).

I think it's an excellent idea to wean into HS'ing slowly.  It is a *huge* transition for the entire family.  It's a whole new lifestyle.

You can spend the summer trying out various curricula, or doing fun learning like labs, journals, neat crafts, etc.  It doesn't have to be drudgery or busywork.

You can still enjoy the summer while learning.  Learning is FUN!

Answer 16

Honestly, her entire school day during the year probably won't stretch much more than 2-3 hours - homeschooling takes much less time each day than a classroom would, simply because she won't have to deal with the distractions and administrative tasks.

I think easing into it is a good idea, but 2 hours a day might be a bit of overload.  You may want to compromise with him and pick a subject to focus on, or a unit study to enjoy, and do that for a bit of time each day.  This will serve two purposes - first, it will ease both of you into homeschooling, and second, it will give your husband the peace of mind that he needs.

Answer 17

You could just try out a 5 day school week thing, maybe one subject/lesson for each day.

Answer 18

Ultimately, and I know this is controversial, I would submit to your husband. Also, I homeschool and have found that I need a good 2 weeks to get my kids in the "school state of mind" so is it possible to compromise and possibly only school for an hour or 2 3 days a week in August?  Make certain that you express to her how proud you are of her accomplishments throughout the last schoolyear and this is in no way punishment- just working out the kinks of a new system!  Good luck!

Answer 19

I side with you, yet I know plenty of people who did just that to make sure it'd work and their summers went just fine. Furthermore, more and more schools are expecting at least reading throughout the summer, some even some writing assignments (as part of what the kids are reading). So, I'd say if he won't budge on this--the idea that she deserves a bit of a break--make the 2 hours easy and enjoyable. Have her read for 30-60 minutes, then write and maybe a little math. Or some days, just spend those 2 hours on a cool art or science project. Another day, trace and colour maps together. Make it a fun, relaxed learning time rather than something super strict and not only will you both enjoy it, your husband will have his fears allayed. (Understand that that's what this is about--is not about right or wrong in opinions, it's about he's afraid it won't work and just wants to make sure.)

Answer 20

We do homeschool year round.  I find that my children would just forget too much if we took the summer off, and this way we can take off when we need to...

Having said that, I know I have seen recommended many times in homeschooling books that kids that go from school to homeschool should have some kind of decompression time.  It is almost a time to get out of the way they have been working with school and enjoy learning again.  Some advocate taking a month for every year in school.  I don't know if that is needed or not, but that is what several suggest.  

Why not compromise.  Don't do traditional school work during the summer, but unschool.  I'm not an unschooler myself, but I think that would be a great transition for the summer.  She could choose to follow areas that might interest her!