To Break or Not to Break?

To break or not to break? Every kid on the block will be running free next week. Does that mean your family should call a time-out, too? What factors should we consider when setting up our families’ yearly school schedule?

First of all, we must always remind ourselves that we have taken our children out of school, and the constraints of that system don’t apply to our situation at home. The school board must consider the needs of thousands of students, parents and teachers when making decisions about vacation times. We, thankfully, have only our own families to allow for.

Because of this, we can enjoy the freedom to take breaks whenever we choose. We can even opt to schedule our days off slowly throughout the school year. Our family usually took a break in March like the schools did, but when a trip to visit Grandma in April came up one year, we chose to shut down our school at that time instead. Another year we took advantage of the cool weather in the winter months to take off Fridays for several weeks. When my son needed extensive follow-up after surgery in San Antonio, we used extra days for travel and doctor visits, using the trips as an opportunity to also enjoy some fun in a new city.

We are required to be good stewards of the time we are given with our children, so planning days off ahead of time is an important practice. No one wants to get to the end of the year and realize they haven’t completed the goals they set out to achieve. But also remember the schedule is not your master and neither is the calendar of the school down the street.

Let your family’s interests, and needs be your guide when deciding when to take a breather and when to keeping plugging.