a gypsy caravan

please don't...

...feel guilty if you are not writing your own homeschooling curriculum for the upcoming schoolyear.  If you are doing "school in a box", do not think you are a bad mommy.  If you ordered all your books and syllabi in May and are enjoying the last days of summer by going camping, hiking or sitting poolside without a curriculum catalog in sight, take heart. Your children will turn out normal and smart (and will be good swimmers to boot).  Or if you have many children and did not order any books because you are planning to use the same old, faithful, well read books that have been passed down from brother to sister to brother again, do not despair that you are not buying the most up and coming, trendy materials. Your children will learn and flourish nonetheless.  

If you are using the same curriculum provider you used last year and the year before and the year before that, don't hang your head in shame because you are not being creative enough or because you aren't tailoring your entire curriculum to the fancies of each of your children.  The key to success is to be steadfast and to stick to the basics while allowing much free time in the afternoons for things that interest your family members.  A little bit done well every day is better than a school year of feast and famine, taking much time off and then catching up quickly in desperation.  

I was recently talking with a college friend who is a veteran homeschooling mom.  She shared her fears that she has every summer that she might plan or choose the wrong curriculum.  She second guesses herself every year because she compares her plans and ideas to others around her.  After all, there is so much out there.  Many experienced moms do this, they spend the summer months spinning their wheels, writing elaborate plans that are only used for a few weeks.  They often continue their search and change their plans even after the school year has begun. They spend hundreds of dollars on supplies and books, often times to quit midyear because they can't get it all done or because they are plagued with self doubt.  It is the never ending search for the perfect curriculum.  

The perfect curriculum for our family is simple and doable.  That doesn't mean it is academically easy.   It is one that can be done day in and day out, even when mom is sick or in the months after a baby is born.  Our family spent a lot of time spinning its wheels in recent years because I overplanned all summer long and expected too many subjects to be completed during the school year.  Now we mainly focus on math, reading and writing.  (And reading encompasses a wide variety of subjects because one can read books about history, religion, science, art, music, nature and more.)  The rest is gravy and there is plenty of time for gravy in our home when the core work is done.  In fact, my daughter learned to knit, my son learned to carve wood, not because I scheduled it onto a calender but because we got the core subjects done and there was plenty of time left for them to pursue their own interests.  

Let go of your guilt that you are not doing enough if you are only doing the basics.  Stop reading books or visiting sites online that feed your feeling of homeschooling inadequacy. Plan as much as you need to have a successful year.  No more, no less. Just because someone in your homeschooling group wants to plan their entire day down to each half hour segment or wants to study twelve different unrelated subjects each year doesn't mean you need to do the same.  And resist the temptation to schedule every waking hour of your day with school work.  You will burn out and so will your children.  

Many subjects can be "farmed out".  Maybe your kids are in scouts and can learn science while completing a merit badge.  Music can be covered by the piano teacher.  Physical fitness can be covered by team sports if your children play them.  It doesn't have to be up to you to cover every possible subject.   

And, really, there is more to life than homeschooling, isn't there?   Just have the children get to the basics on a daily basis and allow lots of time for whatever floats their boats.  Many of our fall and winter afternoons are spent around the fireplace with everyone together even if doing something different.  The littlest may be lying on the floor drawing pictures.  Another might be knitting, another reading a book or practicing an instrument.  Someone else might be baking something in the kitchen.  These are not things I schedule but things that happen because parents and children spend time together, live together, play and work together.

I have missed many a sunset,  game of catch and good conversation with my family because I used to spend my entire summer overplanning, overtalking and overthinking the upcoming school year.  Then I spent a lot of time during the schoolyear being frustrated that my elaborate plans were not being fulfilled. 

Our value as homeschooling mothers does not come from the plans we write or don't write, the books we use or don't use, the schedules we create or don't create.  It comes from loving and caring for our family's needs, teaching them the important things and spending time with them.  This requires looking into their eyes, not staring at a computer screen, color coding and scheduling our life while our children memorize the back of our head. Turn around and look at those beauties.  They will remember your face and the time you spent with them far more than the plans you write or the schedules you create. 

at the beach

 

 

 

 

seven quick takes

~1~

My home is clean.  Now, my goal is to keep it that way indefinitely! :) It makes me happy to walk from room to room and not trip on anything, to wake up in the morning and enter a room and find it clean.  It is clean because I have been spending less time online (see number two) and working my tail off.  In my home, there is a direct correlation.

~2~

I have recently become horribly convicted at the amount of time I have wasted online over the years.  I mean, I completely squandered that time.  I justified it because I thought if it was spent discussing homeschooling or issues of faith, it certainly couldn't be wasted.  Well, it was, at least the majority of it.  It was a huge distraction from what I should have been doing. The more time I spend offline, the more I realize that God put me in this family for a reason, to nurture it, not to escape it.  Real life is much more interesting than the goings on and happenings of strangers.  And my family is worth it.  I got that clue many times over the years but I ignored it and second guessed it so I didn't have to change my ways. Stubborn girl that I am.  So if you hear that same voice and have for years on end, listen to it.

~3~

I am not writing a book. :) I thought that was noteworthy because it seems that everyone and their brother is writing a book these days.  How they find the time, I don't know, especially if they have a full time day job or a family to raise.  I find it challenging to keep the house clean and give the people in it the attention they need. And really, I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said by someone much wiser.  I am also not sure how I feel about the trend to self publish nowadays. A person can pretty much write anything and have it printed.  I'm not saying all self published books aren't worth reading, not at all.  Just that not everyone who can write for the general public, should.  Still mulling the whole thing over.

~4~

The kids and I have been spending quite a bit of time outside: playing catch, eating fudgecicles, running through the sprinkler, writing on the sidewalk with chalk.  The little kitty is a constant outdoor playmate for the girls.  She is growing and loves to climb trees.  Sometimes she climbs much higher than we can reach and mews loudly to be rescued.  

~5~

I  am not writing lesson plans.  It is such an odd feeling since it has been such a huge part of my summer for so many years. We are just going to do essentially the same as last year with some very minor adjustments.  It was our best year ever,  mainly because we kept it simple and I stopped looking to everyone else for ideas.  I am finally content in my homeschooling. 

~6~

There was a coyote on our deck last weekend.  My mother saw him while she was making coffee.  She stays on the weekends fairly often.  Anyhow, the other night I heard two coyotes howling in the woods. Still haven't seen them yet but hope to snag a photo if they come around again.

~7~

I am taking the kids to the beach today.  :) The weather has been unseasonably cool this summer and we haven't gone nearly as often as we normally do.  I am hoping to find some excellent beach glass.  Catch you later!

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stream stomp

The kids and I took a creek walk the other day.  When we do this, we wear clothes and shoes that can get wet and walk down the middle of the stream as far as we feel like going. We have no agenda or goal to reach, we simply enjoy one another and the beauty around us.

 

 

Later the same day, we took another creek walk. That evening, Christopher said to me, "Mom this is the greatest day I have had in a long, long time."

this kitten who followed me home last week

is not staying here.  Nope, not staying.  Go home kitty.  Hurry along.

Go on now. 

happy birthday to the boy who made me a mother

  

an afternoon at the botanical garden