Homeschooling During School Holidays

I think my eldest child was in grade 1 when I first had the thought that perhaps he’d be better off being homeschooled. He was performing well above the expected academic levels and really thriving at a school that I thought highly of. Yet I wondered if perhaps both he and I were missing an opportunity to bond, learn and grow together.

These thoughts started when he’d come home from school and tell me about watching a feature-length movie, that he’d already seen at home. I’d think to myself that I should have kept him home that day and done something ‘more’ – such as go to the zoo or a farm, or play outdoors or read books. I was also following a few homeschoolers on social media, reverencing their energy and dedication to the cause of their kids’ education.

I must have been crazy because at that time I had 3 pre-schoolers. But perhaps that played a part too. I had spent 5.5 years training him, dealing with his tantrums and preferences as I tried to mold him into a kid who was kind, curious, and capable. Now that he was slightly independent with more rational and interesting ideas, I was sending him off to school every day where someone else could take the credit for his progress and learning.

COVID lockdowns have cured me of the illusion that I could have successfully homeschooled my kids and kept my sanity. I know that during lockdowns we had additional stress and restrictions that normal homeschooling families don’t have to deal with, but I still grasped how splendidly I would have failed and how drained I would have been if I had committed to year after year of homeschool.

I applaud every parent who takes on the homeschooling lifestyle and I see the rich benefits it offers to those who embrace it. I just also know for sure that it wasn’t right for us.

Whilst I couldn’t adopt the homeschooling lifestyle year round, I decided I could ‘homeschool’ my kids during their school holidays. Well, we could at least do the fun stuff of homeschooling, not the curriculum stuff. I started being purposeful and planning the time off from school. I wanted to feel like we were using the time to do the things we wanted to and live the life we wanted.

I started putting more effort into the preparation for the school holidays. I asked the kids for input as to what we might do and made a calendar. I contacted friends in advance so that we could collaborate and coordinate.

Being a modest one-income family it wasn’t in the scope of our lives to be galavanting around the globe every school holiday period, even local trips were moderate. But travel wasn’t really my purpose anyway and is always daunting with a toddler.

What I wanted was for us to be in our community and see new things. Things we’ve enjoyed include trips to museums, galleries, farms, zoos and local theatre. We pick fun (usually free) activities from local library holiday programs. We’ve roadtested new playgrounds, and in summer we try to keep cool at the beach, pool, or river.

As more of my kids started school and our family got busier during the term with activities, I realised that the school holidays are when we have extended time we have to do the hobbies and activities that our family really loves like bike rides, long Lego sessions, crafting, rollerskating, gardening, or baking. We watch family movies, play games, and do projects.

We also use the school holidays to purposefully catch up with people we really want to spend time with. This means we get to see good friends who don’t live in our neighbourhood, and extended time or sleepovers with cousins.

As the kids grow up (we’re staring down the barrel of high school next year) it’s clear that the days of outings and activities will begin to fade. During the last school holidays, a trip to a farm showed me that my girls are now way too big for pony rides. And Jude wouldn’t have enjoyed ‘Farmer for a Day’ if his mates hadn’t been with him. I hope my kids will look back on our ‘homeschooling’ holidays as times of education, entertainment, living life, and building memories.

As we look forward perhaps there will be more opportunities for travel. With more independent kids surely it will be easier to manage road trips or even flights. Perhaps our school holiday ‘homeschooling’ will take a broader approach, perhaps national or even global.