Here we are, six weeks into the school year.
How's it going? How are YOU doing?
Me...let's see. The thing about homeschooling is that it's hard. But...you know what? So are most things in life. At least the things that you want to be good, or great. If you send your kids to school everyday, they still come home, get off the bus or out of the car after going to soccer or church or scouts and you have school work to do. You could not let them get it done because you're both tired, but should you?
That's where I am. I'm working three nights per week. My sister's wedding is soon to come up. I'm the new Tiger den leader this year. And I'm homeschooling. And I have a house. It needs to stay/get clean. There are clothes to wash. Clothes to fold. Clothes to pull out from the attic and give away. There are tests to grade, lesson plans to make, art projects to do (because art is fun...and we need to have fun in homeschooling) and dentist and hair appointments. Bills to pay. Library books to return. Whew.
This is my life right now. And I want to do it well. I really do. I don't always succeed. I don't. I often fail at this. But I take a deep breath. I remind myself of the ways in which life is going well. I remind myself that my children are why I do this. What's the point otherwise? They are mine, entrusted to me and my husband by God. I can't stop trying.
Tonight I actually wrote out a schedule, because I don't have time not to be on top of things. Really. Maybe in a month when we've watched Leila get hitched, but not now. So, schedule. It includes time for coffee and porch sitting in the mornings (because the weather finally turned and is glorious). There is time blocked out for school work with each boy and time to fold clothes.
I promise to write a further post next week about Georgia Cyber Academy and how it's working out (hint: hard, but not bad). In the meantime, homeschooling moms will appreciate the fact that I was blown away today by my 12 and 10 year old who WROTE A SCRIPT for an upcoming video that they will be doing with monster makeup. Typed it up using a template they found for scripts. No one told them to do this. They just did it.
That, right there is the essence of homeschooling. Off the cuff learning and collaboration. If only more schools allowed time for that. Made my day.