We essentially homeschool year-round.  The summers here are so sweltering that I don’t want the kids outside much.  Arianna gets overheated too quickly.  We like to wait until autumn to  take a couple weeks off before diving back into studies.  By this time I am usually hard at work  planningfor the new school year, but this year I just haven’t done it yet.  Not a big deal, I usually plan for so much more that actually doesn’t get completed.  We like to take rabbit trails when something comes up that is homeschool worthy.  Next thing I know, we are working for 3 weeks on something that normally takes only one or two.  Either it gets put to the side, or I think of something else to extend it.

After a discussion with Arianna about what wherefore in  "Wherefore art thou, Romeo" means, I decided we needed to study some Shakespeare.  So I chose Romeo and Juliet.  I’m not a huge fan of Shakespeare.  There is a lot of bawdiness in all of his plays, and it bothers me.  I love the wordsmithing  (is that a word?) he accomplished, and his plays have stood the test of time, but still, I’m not a big fan.  I’m using a Red Reader that has the unabridged version of Romeo & Juliet, but has modern notes in the margin.  It’s hilarious to read the notes, and I think Aric & Arianna are enjoying it.  I also checked out an audio version of the play performed by a cast of actors, including Kate Beckinsall.

I do that a lot during the year: just decide to teach them one more thing that isn’t in their curriculum but that I think they need to learn.  It’s a bit maddening, believe me, both for them and myself.  They probably have enough to do with their Switched On Schoolhouse!

This year I thought I’d give the two oldest time to catch up with their SOS lessons, which always go by the wayside when I added extra stuff to the mix.  I figure that when they take their fall break, I would get everything ready for next year.

Do you homeschool year-round?