Listen, homeschooling is tough. Nothing in my life feels more right or more important than homeschooling my kids. But, no question, it’s also one of the most difficult and exhausting things I’ve ever tried to do.
Homeschooling requires a level of trust in God and commitment to others, (in this case, my children,) that nothing else I do demands. And of course such an intense dedication of willpower and brainpower will take its toll after a few months! January and February are especially tough. I get a little bounce in the spring from homeschool conventions, and then by May I’m counting the days on the calendar like a kid awaiting Christmas. I see the finish line in view and hobble my way toward it.
Almost…there. Just a little….further. If…I can…just…..make it……
Then something begins to happen. It starts with this mournful little feeling that the kids and I are going our separate directions too much, and I realize I miss the nice, orderly way we start our mornings together during the school year.
By late July/early August, the heat and humidity is miserable and the bugs are even worse. The kids are bored, and when they’re bored, they argue more.
Suddenly I have a renewed interest in the books I’ve already purchased for the coming school year. I might pick one up and flip through it. Which reminds me of the book I meant to buy and never did. Then I’m scouring Amazon. And Rainbow Resources. And Christian Book. And Rainbow Resources again.
And what was that book I wanted to use for read aloud? I remember and jot it down. And I jot down others. And I make another note. And another. All about homeschooling.
Then I notice my school supplies. Do I have enough pencils? Because I need about 300. What about cap erasers? Have the stores started their back-to-school sales? I need more notebooks. And I need to rearrange things. I jot myself another note.
And I find myself beginning to… gulp… miss my structure.
It doesn’t happen overnight; there are a few weeks of recovery time necessary in-between, but I never cease to be amazed how the very practice that has me so expended and exhausted in late spring is the same thing that excites and motivates me in late summer. The strength that was depleted is renewed. The inspiration that was drained revives. The peace and the purpose return and I find myself looking at another school year, not with the dread I might have felt in late May or even June, but with all the excitement and enthusiasm of a new beginning and a new day set in August.
I call it the “Ready to Get Back to Homeschooling Phenomenon.” It’s a colossal change of heart. A burst of hope. A special gift of grace.
Without it, I couldn’t do this.
But with it, I can tell you I’m ready, and EXCITED, to get back to homeschooling.
I've experienced the very thing you described … ready for summer … ready for school. And what's interesting, I've heard my boys say those very same things. By the time the summer is ending, we all seem to be ready to get back on the school schedule. I think that's what it is …the schedule, the structure. It's comforting & secure-feeling in some odd way. Hope your year is fantastic. This is my final year in homeschooling. Riley is a senior!
Your LAST year! That hardly seems possible. I start my first high schooler this year, so I'm a little apprehensive, but excited at the same time. It is amazing the kind of grace God gives when it's time to start rolling again. As happy as I am to be free of the structure, I always, ALWAYS miss it.
Thank you so much for reading, Angie!
I also love summer breaks and I reserve the freedom to have year around school with 5 weeks off in summer, lol! Also, I find going into my 2nd year of homeschooling and looking forward that every year will change depending on my kid's needs and our family dynamics at the time. This year is a longer school year, last year we started in July and finished at the end of March. But the following year may be more traditional – who knows? Just enjoying the freedom of doing it anyway I want is fun enough. Hope you are off to a great year! ~Visiting from Weekly Wrapup
That's the way to do it, Nita! Who knows? Before it's over with I may become a year-round schooler myself! That's really one of the beauties of homeschooling; having the flexibility to do what works for you and your family. I wish you a GREAT homeschooling year!
Tanya, I am so amazed at your writing skills as well as your abilities to run a household with 4 children. You are truly an example and blessing to others. Praying you will have a very successful "new" school year. You have a beautiful family.
Thanks, Ruby, though I'm afraid I'm pretty unimpressed with the job I'm doing most of the time! But God is good. I'm thankful to know several moms with several MORE children than I have who set fine examples for me to follow. Thanks again for your kind words. 🙂
I feel the same way! Especially as I'm counting eraser caps. 😉
Lol! I couldn't resist the urge and bought a ridiculous number of pocket folders the other day. I'm not even sure why I did it, except that I get so excited about new school supplies! Oh, well. I'm sure I'll find a purpose for them eventually! 🙂
Oh, neither my kids nor I can give up our summer. In Maine, summer is SO short and winter is SO long. Enjoying warm days are must! We are 4 weeks away from starting back…and we're still not ready. Maybe I'll delay for a week…
I don't blame you for wanting to soak up every bit of summer sun you possibly can! It's hard for me to let go of summer, too, even though here our four seasons are pretty much equal in length.
I'm getting excited about returning to school, but we still won't start for another 3 weeks yet. I'm in no hurry! Whenever you begin again, I hope you're blessed with an awesome year, Jessy!
We are the same way here! It's easy for us to school through our "summer" here because it is soooo hot! We take breaks throughout the school year and use those as summer vacation days 😉 Sure we go to the beach or hit the springs to swim but for the most part, school is just easier to do when it's hot and miserable outside. The excitement of a new school year is upon us as we officially start 3rd grade Monday!! EEE!!
I love to hear the different ways people make homeschooling work for them! That's one of the greatest things about it–the flexibility to make it work for you. I hope 3rd grade is amazing for you, Jenni! Thanks for reading!
Great post…sounds much like me. Even today I was doing the… Amazon, Rainbow Resource, Ebay, Rainbow Resource searches. I add in a little CBD as well! I have a Senior, Junior, Freshman, and 4th grader this year and I've felt the same way each year…can't wait to quit in the Spring and extremely excited to get started again in the fall!
Thanks for linking this up to Think Tank Thursday. I'm going to be featuring this post when Thursday rolls around! http://saving4six.com/
Thank you so much, Carrie! I need to make my last order this week and I'm all excited about it! And thanks for drawing my attention to the other issue. I had already fixed that problem and then accidentally reposted the same picture! Obviously I was a little sleep deprived there! 😉
I'm getting there I think! I also live in Texas and it is SUPER hot here in July & August. Once August rolls around, I would much rather be holed up in my little house cave, doing lessons with the kids, then frying in the 100 degree weather. But May? May is made for playing outside.
I don't blame you for that. We lived in Texas for a time and I remember that sweltering heat! May is probably my favorite month, so maybe schooling from August to April is something I need to consider!
Thank you for stopping by, Gabby! I enjoy your blog, by the way! 🙂
I am doing deep cleaning as well as working on my blog and loving it! I think having a break from homeschooling is wonderful! Now to shake off that tiny bit of guilt about whether we should be doing formal homeschooling right now. (Because I was overcoming a chronic illness for the past few years and even though I know God is taking care of my children's future, I still wonder about being "behind".)
As homeschoolers, I don't know that we ever STOP worrying about being behind! But it's amazing the progress kids can make in a very short time when they're given the attention allowed them in homeschooling.
I hope your health is continuing to improve and that you are blessed with a great homeschooling year!
This is a different year of "back to school" for me. I am only home schooling my youngest, who just turned nine. The "baby" of ten kids, she is going to get mom all to herself for once. 🙂 Here's what we're doing for school this year – starting next Monday. http://startwellhomeschool.blogspot.com/2014/05/my-ideal-plan-for-elementary-home.html
I'm sure she'll enjoy all that mom time! I wish you the best homeschooling year yet!
We couldn't wait. We started last week. Partly because school supplies were on sale. We were all feeling pulled to get a jump on things. So we just went with it. It turns out we have an opportunity for a little vacation time at the end of September so we have already earned that week off through starting early.
You'll be glad for an early start when it's time for that vacation! Hope you have a great time. And hope you're homeschooling year is awesome!
Thanks for reading, Julie!
Tanya…We don't usually take summer off since we take other days off during the school year to travel when things are less crowded. We school during summer and usually take all of August off. This year, however, we have already started our new year and will take two weeks off in September instead of all of August. But we do enjoy our summers nonetheless. It's always neat to hear how others homeschool. I learn so much. Thank you for sharing at Monday's Musings.
Thank you for the opportunity to share, Naomi! I see the appeal of year-round homeschooling and sometimes I WANT to try it. I just can't bring myself to let go of summer! Maybe it's just something ingrained in me from my own school years. I've read of those who school through the summer and then take off the entire month of December and other weeks here and there and I love the sound of that! Maybe someday I can try it.
Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you have a great school year!
Tanya, enjoyed your article. Sounded so much like my own thoughts. I see the benefits of year round school but summer is so busy and we try to enjoy those days off when it's not. It's so exciting to get those boxes in the mail.
Have a great school year,
Lesley Pascarella
I'm still waiting on one box of homeschooling goodies that should arrive in the mail today or tomorrow! It's almost like Christmas! 😉 I love getting the new books and setting up for school. I just wish I could keep that excitement and inspiration all year long!