Sabbath School

 

 Yes, we have completed the first six weeks of school and are taking this week off- a Sabbath week.

Named after the day of rest that the Lord commanded in the Bible, a Sabbath week of school is just that- a week off to rest and regroup after six weeks of school.  Give or take a week! ;)  For example, the next six weeks will bring us to just a week shy of the week of Thanksgiving, which I prefer to take off.  Therefore, our next grouping of school weeks will actually be seven, rather than six weeks, before the next break. shhhh, don't tell!

 

WHY DO SABBATH SCHOOLING?

For several reasons-

We tend to not take many breaks otherwise.  Unlike traditional school, I do not take a day off for things like President's Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday etc.  We do address those holidays as a mini history lesson of why they are observed, but I do not feel they all necessarily are due a day off.

We like the idea of work hard and then play hard.  I try to plan a few fun activities over our week's break to celebrate our hard work and give us time to work off steam.

Fewer little breaks allow us bigger breaks when it counts.  Like a week at Thanksgiving, often 3-4 weeks at Christmas, a week of vacation, etc.  At one point our girls were in college and we would schedule our Sabbath breaks around their school breaks so we could just spend time together as a family when they were home with no school books around.  Now that my husband teaches at a University, we will schedule breaks around his school schedule to maximize "vacation" time. 

It gives me a built in teacher planning time.  I like schedules and tend to plan way ahead.  Taking a force time out after six weeks or so allows me to assess what we have been doing, and what has worked or not worked, and then plan ahead accordingly.  Let's face it, sometimes the most well planned plans can go south and changes need to be made.  (Like the year I went to online ABeka Academy for my sanity!)

It allows us to school year round with fewer stress.  Yes, I am THAT mom who schools year round.  Each summer looks a little different depending on our past move schedule or vacation time, but we tend to do some form of school in the summer.  But taking a week off here and there makes it more bearable.

No matter what schedule you decide to follow, don't become a slave to it.  Make it work for you, be flexible, and allow your children to take breaks when needed.  It makes for a more relaxed student, a less stressed teacher, (that's YOU!) and a better school year!

What does your schedule look like?  How have you made it work for you?

Blessings,