This is my fifth year homeschooling, and for the first time I felt ready and prepared. It felt great to wake up and start the day knowing that I have the whole school year already planned out and ready to go. You might be asking, "Well, don't you always do that?" Quite frankly, I can't say yes. Each school year would start off with a bang but would quickly fizzle out by the end of the week. Yes! By.the.end.of.the.week! We would quickly get frustrated and see that our schedule wasn't working.
You know those moms who work all summer long to create the "perfect" schedule? These moms make a minute-by-minute schedule of their entire day, and it would take a full wall in their house to write out the schedule for all the family members for just one day's worth of activities. I've read those books. I've seen those planners. I've even considered buying one of those planners just because I thought if I paid the money, I would use it. If I used it, I would follow it. If I followed it, everything would be "perfect." Bahahahaha! I realized THIS homeschooling family can't stay on a schedule, and I have come to the conclusion that it's okay. We don't have to have a set time to wake up, or to eat lunch, or to go to bed. I know most parents would cringe at that idea but it's what works for our family. Instead of a set time, I like to look at it as a "round about" timeframe. Yes, we do have things that are at a set time on our schedule, such as doctor appointments, and we are diligent to follow those set times but all the other things in life, we work best by following a "round about" timeframe. And, yes, this is part of what has made this year of homeschooling different.
I didn't start the school year off with some crazy time schedule posted on the bulletin board or start out with picking and choosing the days we would do school. I've done that, and see how it doesn't work for our family. It only causes frustration if we can't follow a schedule. Frustration leads to tension. Tension leads to an unhappy momma. "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." That sums up the last few years of homeschooling.
I've been determined to do things differently this school year. We even schooled right through the summer because we tend to change curriculum mid-year simply because I think that is the problem. It only puts us further behind. Luckily with four years of homeschooling under my belt, I finally feel I'm getting the hang of it. It was never the curriculum's fault. It was a fault of my own. That fault is called a lack of organization. This is the first year I can really say I am organized and ready for the school year, and IT FEELS SO GOOD!
Do I know which days we plan to take off for holidays? Nope. Do I know when the last day of school will be? Nope. But I'm organized. In my opinion, being organized and having a schedule are two different things. Yes, you can have both and it work out fine but if you think that having a fancy schedule posted on the wall is going to make everything fall into place...well, momma, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but without the organization, that beautiful schedule on your wall is doom to fail.
If you read this and thought I must have been a fly on your wall at home...immediately run to that fancy schedule on your wall and rip it down. It's okay. You'll still make it through the school year. Rather than concentrating on the clock and running your homeschool similar to a public school day, enjoy it. Sit back, cuddle with the kids while reading a book, and enjoy your homeschooling days.
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