Why We Chose Year-Round School

When school let out for summer vacation this year, I remember seeing the panic for many parents as they wondered what they were going to do with their children for the next two months. I remember hearing how expensive it was to feed children, get them into programs (that the kids actually enjoyed), and just the overall struggle to raise kids for those 8 hours that we normally get off as parents.

I heard it, but I really didn’t understand it because my kids are in school year round. While there are moments that I think that I am doing them an injustice, I realize, I only have to worry about summer break for 2 weeks instead of 2 months, and that is enough to lull me to sleep each night.  Other than the lack of planning, I will explain why we love Year Round Schooling!

1. As a working mom, I need them to be somewhere, all most of the time. My job requires me to be at work year round, so that means that my children need a safe place to go during the day. The thought of having to plan for 2 months off, and not being in a position where I could take 2 months off with them literally terrified me. It honestly drove me crazy trying to plan for 2 weeks. To all the moms out there figuring this out for 2 months, you’re the real MVP!!
2. The feeling of knowing that I am paying for actual education is amazing! I was so against paying for daycare because the cost was so high for someone to babysit my child. I felt I needed to find somewhere that would develop my child mentally, physically, and religiously in my preference. When choosing the school, I knew that I was getting everything that I wanted along with the added assurance that 12 months out of the year, they would be fed mentally.
3. You develop a different bond with the teachers. Every teacher that my kids have had pretty much had to put up with me for 12 months. You develop a special bond when 5 days a week, you interact with this person who has such a huge effect on your kids. And generally, when I pick the kids up, I have to stop back by old teachers classrooms so that my kids can say hello. You become part of a year-round school family. We are family.

Will I ever switch to traditional schooling? I’m not sure. Right now, year-round school works, and I’m blessed to have some of the best educational professionals (in my opinion) feeding the minds of my two children. What’s great is having the options to experience traditional vs non-traditional and do what’s best for your family. My children love school, and since they have been in year round since they were 18 months, it is all they know. I figure one day I will have to deal with questions on why someone is out so much longer than they are, but until that day, I am going to enjoy the convenience of small scheduled breaks in the 12 month school year.