How Do You... Decide When to Take a Day Off From School?

How do you decide if it's okay to take a day off from homeschool?

alternately titled:   Do you "school" 5 days a week? {submitted by Michelle}

making "cookies" with homemade play dough

Our scheduled school week is five days-- Monday through Friday.  However, there are weeks when we only hit the books four days, or even three.  Sick days come up... or invitations to lunch... or a field trip...and suddenly we've left the pencils and math books on the shelf.  In our state, by law we do not have to report a count of our school days, but even if we did, I bet we'd have more than we think. 

Who says going to the library is not school? 
Why can't riding his bicycle for an hour count as gym class?
Can't a weekend trip away be considered an educational field trip? 

Sometime, though, it's okay to take a break for no reason other than we need a break.  Our brains need  rest from subtracting decimals and sounding out new words.  I've found that when we take a day or two (or longer!) off from our formal studies,  when we resume, a difficult skill has clicked for one of the children.  I'll never forget that Gavin learned to read during a winter break after struggling with phonics for months! 

I have to remind myself that education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.  Learning never stops, even when we're not "doing school." 

*****

How often do you take school breaks?  Do you school 5 days a week? 
Let us know in the comments.

If you have a question for a future "How Do You...?" post,
share that in the comments, too, or send me an e-mail!