By now, most of us have started our school year again. We started back just after Labor Day, which is a little later than we usually begin, but one of the biggest perks of homeschooling is setting your own schedule, and this year that's what worked best for us.
You might remember that back in the spring I laid out my summer goals for getting ready for the school year. How'd I do? Pretty awful, to be honest. The first part of June was a blur of birthdays and Vacation Bible School and right after that we decided to get our house ready to sell, so the rest of the summer has been consumed with packing and blueprints. My kids have been getting a real life education in what a pain moving can be, and I'm hoping they take what they've learned and settle down near us when they're adults and stay put!
Truthfully, I feel like I didn't get much done this summer, but I think as moms, we spend a lot of time looking at everything we don't get done and don't focus on what we have accomplished. So what did we do?
Geography: We read tons of books about the different states and worked on United States geography together. We'll still be reviewing this through the year to make sure it sticks, but we had a good time reading and learning together!
Organizing: Because we're storing lots of things while our current house is on the market, I really had to think about what books and supplies I needed to keep out and what I could pack. I took the time to sketch an outline of what we were going to cover so I could make sure I kept out the appropriate materials. This was a HUGE task, but it is nice to have less stuff in the school room!
Math: We kept up with math over the summer, much to my son's chagrin. It has been nice not to begin the school year with a need for lots of review, though, so I'm glad we did it!
Fun: We traveled some, swam a lot, and made good memories this summer as a family and I'm so glad that we have the opportunity to do those kinds of things the entire year!
So if you didn't get everything done you had hoped to, take heart, Mom! Take a deep breath and chip away at those goals each day and you will be amazed at the progress you'll make, even if your plans take a crazy turn. I hope you all have a wonderful school year and I'm looking forward to sharing more with you!
