The Learning Umbrella

It’s that time of year again – when it seems that everyone else in the whole world is about to embark on some idyllic, lazy summer and we’re still stuck with our books.  The neighbor kids are loose.  We have our windows open and we can hear laughter and the song from the ice cream truck.

So, why don’t we join in the summer revelry?

When I was a kid, summer break was a huge mystery to me.  We never got a summer break.  On the other hand, we got breaks whenever they were convenient to our family: remodeling-the-house break is an example.  My mom would explain her reasons for the lack of summer break whenever we asked:

1.  You don’t take breaks from life, and school is just part of life.

2.  This way, we don’t have to waste time reviewing and re-learning stuff you forgot over the summer.

3.  We can afford to take breaks at other times in the year.

4.  I still have to work, and you still have to help me, so you can’t go out anyway.

Although they could be irritating, these arguments were strong enough to put down major mutiny.  And we were always “relaxed” homeschoolers anyway, so the amount of work we had to do in the summer really wasn’t that bad.

We also benefited from living in a state that had no requirement for number of school days for homeschoolers.  All we had to do to comply with the law was to be tested annually.  And that requirement was hollow, because there was no clear structure for getting tested and no one who cared to see the results.  So, we were really on our own as to how much we wanted to work.  If it was December, and we’d just taken the last three months off because Dad needed our help on a construction project or because Mom was pregnant and we were helping her with the daycare, that was fine.

Now that I’m the one in charge of the schedule, I’ve managed to become my mother.  I still have to work – so why mess with a routine that works?  We can’t do anything special on these summer days – no beach days during the week – so why stop doing school?  And, “school” is pretty laid back anyway.  Carbon just spends 1/2 – 1 hour sitting down with me each day for official schoolwork (sometimes a puzzle or boardgame, sometimes handwriting sheets or Bob books), gets two read aloud stories, one art project or science experiment, and either a geography, music, or Spanish “lesson” (frequently a video or CD, sometimes a book, game, or craft project).  Even that sounds more organized than I am on some days, and I like to combine things – maybe the art project can happen at the same time we listen to music and discuss the style or the composer.

We still have lots of time to go outside and garden, or play with the sprinkler, ride bikes, play ball, or just sit in the shade and have a popsicle.  I don’t think they are deprived of exposure to summer, to sun, or to the outdoors.

Maybe I don’t see the big deal because I never had that summer break.  It seems to have mythological proportions for some folks – the magic days of summer.  It’s just another season to me.  Not my favorite one, because I don’t like being hot.  Spring is prettier, fall is more comfortable, winter is OK too.  There are fun things to do all year-round, just like there is work to do all year round.

I know some people do year-round schooling because they are trying to get ahead.  That’s one reason I don’t agree with, because I firmly believe that children’s brains need time to grow and mature, just like their bodies do.  Extra exercise isn’t going to make my son grow taller any faster, and I don’t think extra school work will do anything but, possibly, add more factoids to his files.  Real development will still take time.

No, the real reason I do year-round schooling is habit.  Habit, that I formed as a child, to see the work of life as ongoing and integrated in to that life itself.  And a habit that I want to instill in my children, that learning happens for your whole life, whether it is summer or whether you have “graduated” or whether you have “retired”.