Embrace Intentional slowness
How to love spending time with your kids
Friday, July 28, 2023
From 2018 - 2022, we followed a traditional schooling calendar - usually the exact one provided by whatever county we were living in at the time. We would break for a few days in the fall, take off a few weeks for Christmas, break again in the spring, and then take 2-3 months off for the summer. It was agonizing for everyone. Every time we took a significant amount of time off, we’d have to work so hard to get back into a groove again. But we just went with it because it felt easier not to fight the norm.
The first time I suggested year round schooling to Ethan was in the very beginning - 2018 - and he was passionately opposed. He wanted the kids to be free to do all the summer time things without having to fit any sort of formal learning time into the schedule. It wasn’t until January of 2022 when we had a serious conversation about it. We were all feeling some winter blues, and the desire fell on my heart to start schooling with the seasons to make winter feel beautiful to us. As we discussed what that might look like, the idea of year round schooling felt natural and right to both of us.
Throughout this past school year, we’ve adopted a 3 weeks on / 1 week off calendar. We get to take regular breaks from the norm, which prevents burnout and fatigue, but it’s not long enough to really disrupt our routine. During our weeks off from formal lessons, I take time to catch up on all the things for the business side of the farm: update the website, write blogs, put together videos, update listings for bunny sales. Since I spend so much extra time not totally focused on the littles during this week, I set aside one on one time for each of them. Undivided, uninterrupted, just the two of us, doing anything they choose. They look forward to this time all month long, and plan out exactly what they’ll do with me during our “mommy time” when it comes around.
You might be wondering about Christmas time, and family vacations, and whether we schedule our week off around those sorts of things. We don’t. We don’t alter our calendar for anything. If you’ve been here for a bit, you know that we believe that to live is to learn. We actually love being able to focus our attention on learning during those special times. We don’t have to be sitting with pen to paper for it to count as “school”. It’s such a gift to be able to find learning experiences and absorb knowledge in any situation.
Baking Christmas cookies with grandma?...math, science, and home ec. all in one... totally counts. Mapping out the Christmas caroling route...that counts too. Identifying shells and rocks found on the beach, reading books in the cabin, learning about each state we drive through...geography, literature, geology, zoology.
While I acknowledge that we’re still just wrapping up year one of year round schooling, I haven’t regretted it for even one second. None of us have. So far this summer they’ve been able to participate in church camp, catch lizards and frogs in our backyard, hang a swing - completely independently - from a tree, enjoy days on the river, run in the rain. We’ve had friends visit from other states, and we just draw them right into the flow of our life. We’re not missing out on a single opportunity because we’ve chosen to school year round. I cannot recommend it enough.
My way is not the only way to do it. I have a friend who schools through summer, but takes October - December off. I’ve seen at least a dozen other ways to organize the calendar. The best news is that you don’t even have to do any of those ways either. You can invent your own calendar that works well for your family.
You are in total control.
Watch the video here:
