This is the time of year when I start to feel like I could get in my car and drive over a cliff overwhelmed. It's when the "clock" of the present school year seems to move faster and faster. And where I begin to feel like I can't keep up the pace. It's where I begin to notice just how behind in Math we are and how many books we didn't get to on the shelf.
Combine that with the tick-tock of the '10-'11 school year that has already started to gnaw at my brain. Oh, and if you are still adding things, go ahead and top it all off with the fact that this Fall I will officially have a FRESHMAN in High School!!!! Which means not only thinking about this coming year BUT putting the next FOUR years together like a huge puzzle that you have all the pieces to but no idea exactly what the finished picture is supposed to look like. Did I mention that when you realize you have a rising Freshman in your home that you also begin to hear another clock ticking away in your head...the one that tells you that you don't have much time left with them. Where's my car and could you point me towards the nearest cliff please? Thankyouverymuch.
This is the time of year where I begin to realize that I am the ONLY one responsible for this...no teacher to blame it on...no school system to declare faulty. Just me. And if not careful, this is where I can get bound up in the fear of the unknown and allow myself to meander down "what if" lane...you know, what if I'm not doing this "right"...what if they aren't learning enough...what if I haven't set them up for success...what if they never master mulitplication?!?!?
This is where I can very easily lose sight of "why" we even Homeschool.
Not to check off the booklists. Not to say we "finished" all of our Math for the year. Not to master any one task within a certain amount of time based on someone else's standard. Not to have off the chart test scores. All of these things are wonderful don't get me wrong...but our whole purpose of Homeschooling was to know that we were raising our kids to be sold out for Christ...to fear the Lord...to be kind and compassionate towards all of humanity...to honor and respect authority...to spend time together as a family...to love the word of God...to build character and integrity in their formative years...to learn life skills...to pursue their passions...to develop a love of learning that could never be quenched by having a diploma placed in their hands.
And dare I forget...to have FUN along the way!
Take this week for example. Aidan and I didn't just "read"...or "study" about measurements in Math...
Combine that with the tick-tock of the '10-'11 school year that has already started to gnaw at my brain. Oh, and if you are still adding things, go ahead and top it all off with the fact that this Fall I will officially have a FRESHMAN in High School!!!! Which means not only thinking about this coming year BUT putting the next FOUR years together like a huge puzzle that you have all the pieces to but no idea exactly what the finished picture is supposed to look like. Did I mention that when you realize you have a rising Freshman in your home that you also begin to hear another clock ticking away in your head...the one that tells you that you don't have much time left with them. Where's my car and could you point me towards the nearest cliff please? Thankyouverymuch.
This is the time of year where I begin to realize that I am the ONLY one responsible for this...no teacher to blame it on...no school system to declare faulty. Just me. And if not careful, this is where I can get bound up in the fear of the unknown and allow myself to meander down "what if" lane...you know, what if I'm not doing this "right"...what if they aren't learning enough...what if I haven't set them up for success...what if they never master mulitplication?!?!?
This is where I can very easily lose sight of "why" we even Homeschool.
Not to check off the booklists. Not to say we "finished" all of our Math for the year. Not to master any one task within a certain amount of time based on someone else's standard. Not to have off the chart test scores. All of these things are wonderful don't get me wrong...but our whole purpose of Homeschooling was to know that we were raising our kids to be sold out for Christ...to fear the Lord...to be kind and compassionate towards all of humanity...to honor and respect authority...to spend time together as a family...to love the word of God...to build character and integrity in their formative years...to learn life skills...to pursue their passions...to develop a love of learning that could never be quenched by having a diploma placed in their hands.
And dare I forget...to have FUN along the way!
Take this week for example. Aidan and I didn't just "read"...or "study" about measurements in Math...
Boy were they good! Think apple cake.
This week is "Spring Break" at our house...so while I will be knee deep in cleaning out bookshelves, making lists of what we need for next year, and making a game plan for our visit to the Curriculum fair. I will also be knee deep in reflection. I will not allow the enemy to woo me down "what if" lane...I will not doubt God's calling on our family...I will not doubt that I can do ALL things through Him...I will instead choose to trust in His power...rely solely on His strength...realize and remember that my children have their entire lives to learn...and that these are the years I have been called to "train them up". I will focus on all that we have accomplished this year, and let what we have not fall into "the gap" (all education has one)...the gap that I must trust that God alone will fill.
"And whatever I do, may it always bring Glory to You"
