To break or not to break, that is the question.
While not as resonating as Shakespeare’s version, many home schooling families wonder whether a fall break messes with the just-established schedule or offers a needed respite. I have to admit–I tend to fall into the camp of “we school from Labor Day to Memorial Day.” We break for Thanksgiving and 3 weeks at Christmas (mostly because I could never get everything done otherwise). Otherwise, we stick to the books. We do this because our farm requires a lot of work in the spring and we love summer. To protect those days, I stick to a strict schedule during the school year. But, I’m learning there are benefits to a few days off as we go.
Breaks remind us, “We’re still a family.” I don’t know about others, but–especially as our children get older–between church and kid activities, evenings become full and fragmented. Thus, we’re together primarily during school. While we love schooling together, the school focus means we’re “down to business” during the day. With people headed to activities at night, we lose the time to just “be” as a family. Breaks recapture these moments. Whether we hunker down at home to a backyard bonfire and nights of Scrabble or take a short camping trip that gets us hiking together, taking three days away can bring some much-needed together-fun .
Breaks provide rest. How many families find a perfect pace? No matter how closely we guard white space for our families, it seems most of us feel stretched. God knows we need regular rest times. He planned Sabbaths and Jubilee years to institutionalize rest. Rather than stealing precious lesson time, a fall break can actually recharge everyone to take full advantage of the enrichment of school rather than it feeling like drudgery.
Breaks provide a different education. Just the other day we went to Angel Mounds in Evansville. We learned the richness of our state’s history through the small museum and touring the mounds. More, I was surprised by how uncomfortable my youngest children were by the statues of Native Americans. Instead of engaging, they were scared. Troubling for me as I’m part Cherokee. We took the older children to pow-wows with my grandparents when the children were younger, but with grandparents passing–younger children haven’t experienced this side of life.
Though we talk often in our history lessons about the importance of valuing everyone as made in the image of God and accepting them, the trip to the Mounds provided a concrete setting to put those lessons into practice. When we break from the routine of school and explore something else–a hike in the woods, a trip to a museum, a visit downtown–we open our children to new experiences and we discover gaps in our children’s ability to apply the values we teach. Filling those gaps may be the most important education we do.
Stoic educator that I am, I’m learning the value of breaks. Rather than a distraction to school–they may prove to be the perfect complement. Who knows–we might actually take a spring break this year!
Tess Worrell writes and speaks to groups regarding issues of family life and living as a Godly woman. She and husband, Mike Worrell, live in Madison, Indiana, where they are in their 14th year of home schooling. She would love to hear your insights. Leave your comments here. #parenting #homeschooling