Now, I realize not everyone participates in year round schooling. This post is geared more toward those who have chosen to educate their children all throughout the year rather than schooling during traditional months, taking summer off.
Realize that end of grade level accomplishments should be celebrated for you and for your children. Thi might be a good time to also take off a week so the children have a sense of completion before starting the next level of school. We want to give our children the accolades they have earned, certainly, while preparing for the next school year that may begin as soon as a week or a month later.
When children are younger, they don't necessarily understand that traditional schools have a summer break, so that is an advantage for you with younger children. With older children, they likely will have noticed the local neighborhood children playing everyday while they sit at the dining room table doing school. This is a great time to remind them of why you chose to school year round. Was it so they could complete school sooner? Maybe they have plans for their lives and you simply decided this was the best course to get them on their way with those plans. Whatever your reason for choosing to school year round, make sure you share that with your older children. Include them in the reason you came up with that decision. They will more often than not understand and will be on board with that choice.
Finally, make a party and celebration day of it! Do something you don't normally do. Take a drive to the beach, the mountains, a farm, a popular children's activity like a museum! There is no reason that you can't celebrate even a one day, one week or one month break from school! For us, we usually celebrate with my sister's 5th grade class at the local charter school in some way or another. This year, we're going to the park!
How do you plan to celebrate the end of the year when it's not the last day of school for the summer?
Lyn~
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