Year-Round Homeschool Schedules

Year Round Homeschooling

While I never technically labeled our family as year-round homeschoolers, we have always kind of been year-rounders at heart.

Shortly after starting our homeschool journey, we began practicing a 3-day homeschool week August-May, followed by a few weeks off, and then jumped into a lighter schedule for June & July. 

I didn’t consider it year-round homeschooling because we always had planned start and end dates that aligned with our local school district and our summer lessons were light and few.

With that said, we’ve more or less been year-rounding it since the beginning — even if I wasn’t quite ready to admit it yet.

Reverse Year Round Homeschooling

While our homeschool journey began with our family homeschooling by following the typical school calendar year, our recent RV adventures have caused us to switch things up a bit.

I call our current situation reverse schooling.

Since we live full-time in our RV and travel the US part-time, our school schedule is always changing.

Strangely, summer has become our main learning time because that tends to be the time of year that we are stationary the longest.

Roadschooling has become our new reality and homeschooling in summer is a huge part of that.

Year-Round Homeschool Schedules

With that said, our personal year-round homeschool schedule changes as our travel plans change.

For example, the past 2 years we took a large break in the fall to travel, homeschooled sporadically through the winter and spring while traveling off and on, and then finished off our year by homeschooling 3 days a week over the summer months while stationary.

This year, however, we are mixing things up a bit.

Since our fall travel plans fell through this time around and we will continue to be stationary for the next 6+ months, it’s the perfect time to rearrange our typical reverse schedule and homeschool during the traditional school year instead!

My kiddo will be working 3-4 days October – July, taking multiple decent-sized breaks along the way — including a month-long break in December!

All that said, there are so many schedule options for homeschooling year-round and that is what makes it one of the most versatile ways to homeschool!

Traditional Year-Round Homeschool Schedule

One of the most popular year-round homeschool schedules is the 6 weeks on, 1-2 weeks off rotation.

Many year-round homeschoolers homeschool 3-5 days a week for a 6-week block, followed by 1-2 weeks of unschooling or free time.

If you crave structure and prefer the feeling of homeschooling all year, this is a great option for you!

Utilizing lesson pacing guides and advanced homeschool prep, you can easily create a year-round homeschool schedule with the 6 weeks on, 2 weeks off method.

For example, there are 52 weeks in a calendar year and 36 weeks in a typical school calendar.

If you homeschooled with the 6 on 2 off method, it will leave you with 4 weeks to play with.

These extra days off are perfect for impromptu trips to the park, sick days, snow days, or for simply stretching a 2 week break into 3!

With that said, there is no rule that says you have to use those 4 extra weeks.

Some year-round homeschoolers prefer going straight into their new curriculum without stopping and that is totally doable, you guys!

Back-to-Back Year-Round Homeschooling

To piggyback off my last point, going from one year’s curriculum to the next without stopping is what I like to call back-to-back year-round homeschooling.

As I briefly mentioned above many homeschoolers choose to dive right into a new curriculum when finishing their current year.

While yes, technically any year-round method can be done back-to-back, this particular method for year-round homeschooling varies greatly from the 6-week to 2-week off method.

Most homeschoolers who follow the back-to-back method prefer not to live by a schedule.

Homeschooling continuously means you do school when you feel like it, take days off at random, finish different subjects at different times, and grades simply run into one another.

This is a great method for unschoolers or homeschoolers who prefer child-led learning.

With that said, you can totally homeschool year-round using the back-to-back while staying semi-structured — simply set goals instead of making schedules.

For example, our language arts and math curriculum typically has 120 lessons each, and homeschooling year-round means we only have to complete 10 lessons (of each subject) a month!

Setting a goal of 10 lessons a month instead of planning 3-4 lessons a week keeps things simple and relaxed.

Another benefit to homeschooling year-round with the back-to-back, semi-structured method is the ability to take extended or month-long breaks for traveling purposes, camping trips, and holiday seasons.

Backward Year-Round Homeschool Schedule

This right here, this is our life, you guys!

While we have dabbled in all three of these year-round homeschooling methods, this is the one that tends to stick the most.

With that said, this method isn’t only for roadschoolers.

As I briefly mentioned above, we do what I like to call reverse (or backward) year-round homeschooling.

This works best for our family as we travel part-time. However, it can be great for traditional families as well.

For example, if you enjoy utilizing standard school hours to hit the grocery store, take the kids to the zoo, or visit the library so you can avoid crowds (like me) saving the summer for your more structured learning can be a great go-to option!

If backward schooling is something you’d like to try in your homeschool, consider these simple tips.

• Plan light school days throughout the traditional school year (Aug-May)
• Only plan 1-3 days of structured learning each week during that time frame
• Enjoy lots of hands-on learning through play and experiences
• Take extended breaks, plan mid-year vacations, and soak up all the field trip-type learning you can
• Then, school at least 3-4 days each week during the summer months with a more rigid plan

Not going to lie, I absolutely love this method, you guys!

Summer is just not my favorite time of year. It’s crowded and it’s hot.

I prefer to spend my summer at home with the books.

Homeschooling Year-Round in Every State

As much as I’d love to say homeschooling year-round is a fit-all method, it definitely isn’t.

Some parents have to homeschool around corporate work schedules and lean on online learning options with strict class times.

Plus, location matters!

From the best homeschooling states to the least homeschool-friendly states.

Depending on the state you dwell in, homeschooling year-round may not be your best option simply because homeschool laws vary by location.

To get started on your year-round homeschooling journey, check out the homeschool laws for your state first!

Some states have specific subject and hour requirements, while others require nothing at all.

With that said, there are so many methods for year-round homeschooling and I’ve barely scratched the surface, you guys!

More than likely, you will utilize one of the above methods that has been tweaked to better fit your lifestyle and that is what it’s all about!

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