Last year I posted about what made our school year really great. We have had some good years, one really truly bad year (The Year I Wanted to Quit) and some meh years. I get reflective as a school year draws to a close and I've concluded this year has been very good. So, some take-aways for me (and maybe you):
1. Not everything in our school (our home) can depend on me. In fact, if they do, they won't happen. That's why I have chosen a lot of curricula that are DVD driven (Teaching Textbooks, Essentials in Writing, Atelier Art). The kids watch the lesson that is assigned and then do the assignment. It's the same with some of the workbooks we use for spelling and vocabulary. I assign the work, they do it. If it depends on me to dictate a spelling word list every day, it won't happen. I won't find time to teach writing every day. I have chosen my teaching priorities, and that is what I spend the brunt of my time on. I adore these programs that teach for me!
2. Some part of our day needs to be good. The Three Rs, in general, are not fun. They just need to be done. But for us, our "morning time" routine is the good stuff: Bible, history or science, and then read-aloud time. No one complains about this part of our day. It is the good stuff, the stuff that I pray my kids look back on as adults and say "homeschool rocked."
3. I'm a mom first, then a teacher. Relationships with my kids need to be more important than what is happening in our school.
4. Preteens, teens, puberty- oh my! We are officially there! I will say I don't think it's as bad as it could be. Bad isn't the right word. Just new territory. But I think what they need is lots of grace, extra sleep, extra protein, and a listening ear. And permission to skip something hard every now and then.
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| She's not a teen, or a preteen... so she's still pretty excited about school! |
5. There is no right or wrong way to homeschool. We get to do what we want. I can read any book I want to my children, whether it's in the history cycle or not. Or if it's in next year's cycle but I want to read it now. There is no best math product or writing product or any product. We get to do what works for us.
6. Adapt to the kids' schedules if possible. I have an early bird and a very late riser. I am an early bird. I would love to get started pronto and get our work done by early afternoon. But this doesn't work for one kiddo, so I'm trying to adapt and accept that as long as it gets done, it's good.
7. Fill out weekly assignments on Sunday night in an assignment book. Revolutionary for my older kids! If it requires me to help them, I make a note of it. Otherwise, they can see at a glance what they have to do for the day. A step in the right direction to independence.
8.Turn off social media on my phone each morning. It's too easy to constantly check my notifications and really distracts me from my kiddos. I sign out of Facebook on my phone each morning, but I still get private messages which tend to be more important.
9.On the rough days, I need to pan out and see the big picture. I tend to zoom in and see that one character problem or continuing behavior issue or the still-struggling student. But when I zoom out, I see so much growth and that we really are making progress.
10.The Lord provides. He just does. Resources, strength, joy, connections I could never make. He is here. A recent example: In history, we read a little blurb about the Battle of Dunkirk. That very same day, in our read-aloud, the characters experience the Battle of Dunkirk first hand. Powerful and memorable. Keep in mind that I'm planning my own curriculum this year, not following an Instructor's Guide... but who is really guiding this whole thing? He is faithful! This stuff happens all the time.
11. They're my kids- enjoy them! And enjoy their education! I get to give them the childhood and education I want them to have. That doesn't mean I have every resource or ability to do everything I want, but I get to choose so much! I want my kids to have a literature rich education and that is what I give them. I want to give them more travel, more experience, more of the outdoors, but literature is my priority. Some families want their kids to have a strong STEM education, or an outdoorsy education, or an artsy education. I think it's fabulous that we get to choose and then give our kids what we value.
12. Stop comparing, stop feeling guilty for not being like everyone else, stop judging everyone for not being like me. There is no place in the body of Christ for this. None.
13. Even though I am trying to adapt to my kids' schedules, I also need a point in the day when I am done. No more teaching, no more tutoring. I am "off the clock". For me, that is three o'clock. Anything they haven't completed by then still needs to be done and checked by dad when he gets home.
I will write my annual end-of-the-year post, but I these are things *I* keep reminding myself of, things I don't want to forget. Because this. Is. A. Marathon. Not a sprint. The days are long, but the years are short. And I'm feeling it. I want to enjoy each and every day that I get to do this.
