School Breaks

By Rebecca Kelliher

I Need a Break!

The school year is planned. You know how many days are required, and you have scheduled in breaks for your own sanity. But what happens when you need an unscheduled break? An unexpected interruption, the flu, a crisis, or simply the need for a break can creep into the nicely-planned school year at any time. How can we take those extra little breaks without losing all hope of ever finishing the school year?

Plan Your Breaks

Leave some wiggle room in the beginning. Plan your breaks, but leave an additional week or two of time for unexpected days off.

Consolidate Lessons

Pick half of the activities from one day’s assignments and half from the next, combine them, and let the rest slide, buying you an extra day.

Don’t Try to Do It All!

Here’s a news flash many of us need to remember: we do not have to finish every single assignment. It really will be okay! In fact, many textbooks and lesson plans build in extra review lessons, especially at the beginning and end of the year, with the expectation that the book will not be completed. Take advantage of those extras.

Living Books

Replace a school day with a living book. This especially works if you have to be on the road, in the hospital, or in the sick bed. A good story can teach much—sometimes better than those lesson plans!

Get Help!

Call in reinforcements to divide and conquer. Find someone who can help you by reading to one child while you are working with another.

On Their Own

Have an “Independent Day” plan. If you need a break but the kids can work, have a system for automatically defaulting to what they can either do independently or by helping one another.

Rebecca Keliher is a homeschool mom just like you. She put her love of scrapbooking to work and turned a homeschool newsletter into the beautiful Family Magazine. Also known as the Well Planned Gal, Rebecca used her eye for design and knack for organization to create the original homeschool planner, Well Planned Day. As you peruse wellplannedgal.com, Rebecca hopes you'll be encouraged, inspired, and equipped for your homeschool journey.

Reprinted with permission: hedua.com/blog/school-breaks