Why We (Used to) Start Our School Year in January

Back in the day when I was a young girl in Colombia, my school followed one of two (or three?) calendars the country had for educational institutions: I think we were on Calendar “A,” which meant we went year-round, from January to November/December, with our big break and the chance to get school supplies and everything occurring at the end of each calendar year. A competing school was on the “B” calendar, which I think meant their school year began every August or September.

(After 22+ years in the States, I still haven’t adapted to the typical tradition of buying supplies, books, and uniforms in July/August, but that’s neither here nor there. I also haven’t adapted to frigid Winters, but again, I digress.)

My husband works full-time and he takes every December off. We love having him all to ourselves and he values having that break to get to spend all his free time with us. Naturally, not much schooling happens during that time because we’re all just hanging out or out and about.

But once he’s back to work in January, we’re also back in full swing, as are practically all homeschooling families as well. So what’s the difference?

Because my husband takes off every December, as opposed to the random week or so here and there in the Summer like he’d have to if our kids attended brick-and-mortar school/daycare, that means he’s working through the Summer as well.

So why wouldn’t we as well?

Homeschooling affords us the possibility of educating our kids whenever we please, so it lets us all have the SAME time off.

If Dad takes the day off, that means we’re all off doing something together as a family, instead of having him be stuck at work while the kids are on vacation and away from him and our potential bonding time for weeks at a time.

And because he works from home, it’s an even bigger blessing because it means the kids get to see him throughout the day, thus affording us even more time to grow as a family.

Break-wise, we’ll more than likely do school for five weeks, and take a break on the sixth week. This lets us have some of November, all of December, and some of January off.. Which is the perfect time to stay in, relax, and really rest.

Starting in January makes a lot of sense, and so far, it’s been fantastic. The only downside I’ve experienced is our inability to go look at wildflowers, for instance, when a curriculum calls for it because our yard’s covered in snow. But a Pro of that is it represents something we don’t have to do and fill our time with. Aside from that, things haven’t been any different than they were when I went to school in this country, and I’m motivated to continue on like this.

It’s our homeschool and we’ll do what we want to, when we want to.

What schedule do you follow?

This post, in its entirety (originally titled, Debunking Homeschooling Myths), appeared first on my blog, Imperfectly Grateful.