Back to School September Vacation

In the middle of August this homeschool mother’s thoughts turn toward – vacations?

Yes, it’s true. For many years we’ve vacationed the first two weeks of September.

Lest you think we’ve completely lost our minds, we usually begin school the middle of August. After two weeks I find that I know what needs to be tweaked in our schedule and curriculum choices. Those two weeks have been a nice time to “try” out our plan. Then I have two weeks of vacation to mull over, and discuss with my husband, what changes need to be made, how to make them, and opportunities to get his valuable input. It’s nice to know that when the school year begins mid-August, we all know it’s only for two weeks – then its vacation time! Somehow that always makes starting easier for all of us.

We’ve found September to be an ideal time of year to travel. Labor Day weekend is usually busy, so we plan those as travel days or days to stop and spend with friends on the way to our destination. After Labor Day everyone goes home, and we are left to enjoy what we’ve planned, minus the crowds. Many National Parks are almost empty. We were once the only campers at the campground at the Black Hills. Imagine no lines in the bathrooms or showers, quiet evenings around the campfire, and freedom to roam wherever we want. Not to mention the end-of-season sales!

We enjoy the solitude of the less busy time of year. In addition, it’s usually a bit cooler, which always makes travel with a family a bit easier.

[Tweet “So while most people we know are back at school we’ve been getting ready for our fall vacation.”] Are children are all young adults now, but we still have three at home in various stages of study and/or work. We all still try to keep the first two weeks of September open. Last year Eric was in the middle of a class, but he spent hours in the van studying during travel time and with diligence he was able to keep up with his classes and lessons.

This year we are going to explore Michigan. Our plan is to leave Sunday at 4 AM. We haven’t spent much time there before – just drove across the UP on our way back to Minnesota from Niagara Falls. Another first for us is taking along four bikes. Everyone except me is taking up biking so we plan to do some bike trips. I will stay with Captain – the dog, fix picnic lunches, and pick up those who want to quit along the way. I don’t handle Captain much so I could use prayers as I attempt to keep 66 pounds of puppy under control.

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