Yearly "School" Calendar

After I have contemplated the Course of Study and made that plan, I typically decide on our "school calendar". Our state requires that we have a formal start and stop date. I have chosen July 1st for the last several years. Even if we do not officially do much in July, we include all of our studies during that month (books read, fieldtrips, classes, etc.) in our education hours. Some states require specific start dates, so check with your state laws before you determine a date to make sure you are in compliance.

Again, I like donnayoung.org for her free forms. Here is a link to all the calendars she has available. I personally like the 12 month ruled calendar that fits all on one page. I place it in the beginning of my binder right after the Course of Study and before the weekly planner. I write in and/or circle the dates that we are "off" as a kind of attendance record. I am not required to send in attendance records, so this system makes it easy for me to give an accounting of days attended if we are ever asked. We school year round take two annual breaks a year, typically June and December. This year we are taking July off instead of June because of various camps and things we had going on.

Here is a picture of last year's calendar.