School Holidays

We are often asked if we stop doing school work during the school holidays, or some version of 'Do you let the kids have a break in the holidays'/'Does Mum give you time off in the holidays?' and the answer is not really a simple one.

We don't do formal or structured lessons that look like what most people imagine when they think of school. We learn (myself, Tony and the kids) all day every day, doing things that interest us or are important at the time. So we don't stop that during the holidays. Every day we learn from what is going on around us and from the activities that we all choose to do.

On the other hand, we do get a bit of a break during the holidays, because most of our regular activities stop for that time. So our week can be a bit more relaxed, a lot less wanting to be somewhere at a particular time. We can spend more time at home, catching up on activities we've wanted to do, or watching movies or playing games - we do all this during the term as well, but I find that being able to do it for a few days in a row without interruptions to go out and do other things, gets us all to a point where the learning becomes deeper and more connections can flow. We can really explore whatever it is we're looking at, rather than doing it for a few hours then being called away and possibly not coming back to it. Or we can spend more time visiting friends - we often use this time to see the kids' schooled friends, who often don't have so much time for visiting during term. Or having longer visits with our homeschooled friends, without either family having other commitments on the day.

One thing we do do less of during school holidays is going to public venues - we'll still go to the park in Yarra Glen or Healesville, although they are usually much busier than during term (except for yesterday when it was raining and we were the only people there) - we do avoid places like the zoo, museum, indoor play centres, shopping centres and so on. We'd much prefer to go during the week once school has gone back, and not be overwhelmed by crowds. Occasionally we are enticed by some of the school holiday activities that are offered by places and we do go along, but it is a much more exhausting and overwhelming day than our usual mid-term outings - so the activity only appeals if it is a particularly special one or something that is highly relevant to our interests.

So yes, we do do things differently during the school holidays, although probably in a different way than most people are thinking when they ask the question.