Here comes the holidays !

Now we are in the season for the mass school exodus for the long summer holiday. But, do children have too many breaks and are they just too long?

Historians at Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum that recreates an 1830s New England farming village, say not. According to the web site and headmistress there, farm children went to school from December to March and from mid-May to August. Adults and children alike helped with planting and harvesting in the spring and autumn. The schools in the 1800s also lacked the long summer break modern people take for granted. Like working families today, new immigrant families needed a safe and affordable place for children to stay while parents worked. In large cities, children of parents who worked in factories, shops, or mills learned English and other subjects during an 11-month school year.

Short school years with long holidays are not the norm in Europe, Asia, or South America either. Children in most industrialized countries go to school more days per year and more hours per day than in America. While just sitting in a classroom longer does not necessarily ensure children will learn more, many American teachers spend weeks every autumn just reminding kids of what they forgot over the summer. Some teachers,  parents, and children believe strongly that a six or seven week break hurts children, fragments education, and wastes tax payers money. Since the early 1900s, school boards around the country have offered a longer school break or a school calendar of multiple short terms interspersed with many short breaks. Other parents feel just as strongly that short school years and long summer vacations are essential to growing up.

One popular alternative calendar is the "45-15" type, by which nine-week terms alternate with three-week breaks throughout the year. Kids start school in "waves", rather than all on the same day. In this system, one group is always on holiday during any given week. Schools are less crowded, with fewer students in attendance at once, but still serve the same number of children.

To help free some time for you during the breaks, contact Iron Maids at iron-maids.co.uk or call 01622 870111. We can fold your clothing if requested to save you time when packing.