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Hope to start our school year soon, but summer gets in the way!
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Hey all! I’m finding it difficult to even think of starting school, and yet I don’t want to wait until September for various reasons. This past winter we were sick A LOT and I want to get some out of the way just in case we need to miss in the winter for some reason or just need a break or two. Unfortunately, my extended family doesn’t get this at all! My sister homeschools as well, but with a very traditional school year. So every time I think it may be a good time to do some school I’ll get a phone call saying her family is doing ‘so and so, can we come, too?’ I love going there and being with them, but I also want to get “this show on the road” as far as school is concerned. Plus there’s my folks who want help on their hobby farm that is just too much for them to handle any more, and of course I want to help them! And there’s swimming lessons and tennis lessons (we like to play as a family but we’re no good at all so the kids are taking lessons for two weeks to try to learn some skills). Anyway, summer is just BUSY!
Thanks for listening. I’ll tell you, I have basically no one to speak of these things to in real life. It really does help to talk to you other homeschool mamas.
You’re right. They are, aren’t they?
Of course, I can’t see past their writing, spelling and math skills that I’m dreaming of polishing up. I guess I need to relax and see the value in all that we are doing. I agree with your last statement: “I guess I need to relax and see the value in all that we are doing.” Just because you’re not formally book learning right now does not mean you and your children aren’t learning something. Tennis and swimming lessons, time having fun as a family, and taking field trips are all wonderfully enriching activities that many children never participate in.
I would encourage you to take advantage of this season to have some fun, recharge your batteries, and get your whole family physically and mentally prepared for the coming school year. There’s really only a couple of months of summer left, so enjoy them!
Blessings,
Lindsey
We butchered chickens on Tuesday and my 8yo was in the thick of it. I told him this counted as a school day. He said, “No way! REALLY??” I said, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? OF COURSE it does!” I explained to him that education is learning LIFE. We learn math, picture study, and butchering chickens. We learn history, violin and milking cows. He said, “Now THAT’S cool.”
I can sure relate to that, Stornghold7!! My husband is going to college and last year when we tried to do another week of school after his Christmas break started it was terrible. DD didn’t want to do school because Daddy was home. So this year I decided to start a week earlier and let her have the whole 3 weeks off with him. Now I just discovered because New Years is on a Sunday, he will end up with an extra week of break. 4 weeks this year. Now I need to start another week earlier!! I don’t know if that is possible! This summer has been crazy and will continue to be so. My husband is working out of town for the summer. We found a place to house sit for half the time so we can all stay together (except I keep having to go places!!) the girls and I will just be getting home 4 days before I need to start school if we’ll have 4 weeks at Christmas. Plus I have 2 moves during the school year that I haven’t planned time for. One will be back to where the college is at and the second is when he finishes in March, then we have to move wherever the job is and it isn’t looking like it will be back at home. =( And, of course, somehow we have to have time to put up all the fruit and veggies this summer.
I’ve decided that I’ll just have to be flexible and go with life. If I can start early I will, if not I’ll have to figure it out as we go. I don’t want to plan to add time at the end of the year since I don’t know how much the moves will knock us off schedule, but I might have to. I know that the kids learn from other things, but I also want enough time to finish their other books. I don’t like not getting to the end and then either skipping it or having to finish it the next year.
You could try starting a couple of weeks earlier than planned but only doing 1-3 days of school those weeks. That would pick up a couple days. I was going to do that, but then discovered that I wouldn’t be home in time to do that. I’ll have 4 days to get home, settled, get all my books together (trying to remember where I put some of them) and be ready to start.
Whoa! I thought I was busy this summer but you win by a mile:) Just my two cents worth, but I can say that we always take 4 weeks at Christmas, kids home, Dad home, plus we plan and organize a community Christmas dinner on Christmas Day which takes time and energy. I have 3 kids finished, all doing well, one more set to graduate next year, and I can honestly tell you- and our life has been NUTS 🙂 In the future you and your kids will remember and count as most valuable the times you spent together, helping, moving, blessing and loving each other. You won’t remember or care which books you didn’t finish or which units only got two thirds done. Not that consistency isn’t important, but, take it from me, the family development and care you take now will pay off in rewards unimagineable that have nothing to do with bookwork. When my family was growing we took a lot of flak from a lot of well meaning folks about how ‘family oriented’ we were, how the kids always had to check with us first before they could commit to anything- Christmas season was sacred 😉 and now we get comments like “it’s just SO amazing how well balanced and wonderful your adult children are” …go figure
I agree that you need to be flexible. When we went to Alaska to live on a shrimp boat for three months, flexibility was my middle name. I was sure the kids would have to redo so much since space and books were limited but it was another affirmation from God- just live life with what He gives you and trust Him to hold it all together!
Well said Heidi! (your children are amazing persons) I totally agree with family time being a priority because in it, is a learning lifestyle! savor your summer and observe how much they are growing as people. Last night my children took their new Pathways readers to bed and I listened to the older teach the younger a few words here and there. I told the when the books arrived that they were for next year but they were for the enjoyment of reading and they could have them if they wanted them now. That reading and conversation is locked in my heart. I want to remember the giggles and whispers. I want to remember that I want our learning to be THAT way, unfolding, shared, enjoyed. if that happens in my well planned schedule or at 9:39 pm, so be it. They will remember making cupcakes with me, not that I secretly watched them figure out the measurements correctly ( YES! Fractions are in there! Lol. ). we caught a butterfly today, dd was given a set of crochet hooks, and I wonder what will happen tomorrow….
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