As I was planning the upcoming school year earlier this summer my anticipation steadily grew with every new box of curriculum and every new entry into my favorite planner, The Well Planned Day Homeschool Planner. I had dreams of picture perfect, conflict free hours around the kitchen table. Fantasies of every lesson completed just as I had planned. Visions of intricate and highly planned lessons filled my head. I had every reason to dream. The past two years of homeschooling were anything but complete, far from easy, and wrought with life distractions. Now that life has settled down I saw this new school year as a rebirth for our homeschooling journey. A chance to redeem myself as a home educator and an opportunity for my children and I to return to the glory days of homeschool year number 1.
What was I thinking? August 1st was the first day of school for the new year here in our house. Reality quickly collided head on with my picture perfect dreams. My school age children were no more ready to start school than I was. My beautiful school lessons were too much and overwhelming right out of the gate. Not only that, but I have irish triplets of which the older 2 are only 19 months. Not only were my lesson plans too much too soon but I didn't take into account all the time and effort needed to care for my younger 3. I can not sit down for long stretches of time to teach a length lesson. God blessed my family and now I need to learn to work within those blessings and make this the best school year that I can.
I erased a LOT of lesson plans.
Now that my dreams and visions of grandeur are behind me I am beginning to settle into reality. I have rearranged the lesson schedule, made lesson instructions shorter, and taught my children that Mom can teach them anywhere, not just at the kitchen table like usual. Most importantly though, I have come face to face with the fact that it isn't all about how much schoolwork we get done in a day. Teaching my older children to keep the house and care for one another is of first and foremost importance. These are formative years in my young family, caring for one another and the blessings around us in crucial. There will always be time for a math lesson or a science experiment, they don't have to happen exactly when I have them "scheduled" in my planner.
We are enjoying school, loving each other, and loving life. Isn't that why I started homeschooling in the first place?
I will post our curriculum and my early impressions in the coming days.
Here's to a wonderful new school year!! May your home be blessed!!
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