This time a year is always a good time for me to reflect back upon the past several months. I look back on what we have done, what has been successful and what I would like to change for the upcoming year.
Our plan for the fall is to follow Laura Berquist's well laid plans for the children, as we have done in other years, but adding the special elements that have worked so beautifully for us and that add flavor to our learning. We will be notebooking certain subjects, as we have done this year. We will leave chunks of time for handcrafts, circle time and nature study. All of this has brought my children such happiness. The littles especially have enjoyed the rhythm of a day that looks similar to the one before it but is different enough to be interesting. :)
I've made a few guidlelines for myself regarding my computer time. Last summer, I cut back considerably and even stopped blogging altogether. I plan to cut back again this summer, but will continue to record our experiences and memories at A Gypsy Caravan. The difference will be, that instead of allowing myself time on the computer each day, I will do so on one weekend morning or evening. I will pre-publish posts that will appear throughout the week in my absence. Rather than posting them each day and being unavailable to my family, I will jot down things I'd like to post during the week in my notebook and will post them over the weekend when I have more time. I still plan to check my email each day, though the number of times I do that will be greatly reduced. I will allow myself time to read blogs on the weekend as well. I think these guidelines will help me to keep my family first and not to get sucked into spending too much time online.
Though my boys have baseball most evenings, the girls and I will only attend two games per week so as to cut down on the amount of time we are away from home. I will continue our decluttering efforts and will hopefully start the next school year with a lot less stuff. :) So, I look now with excitement on the year ahead and towards a slow paced, peaceful summer. Hopefully, this summer will be the segue into a wonderful schoolyear for our family.
