Several people have asked me lately, "So how is homeschooling going? Are you totally stressed? Are you getting out enough? How are you holding up!?" and other questions along those lines. My answer shocks most people -- I actually am more relaxed and happy than I have been in years. After getting stumped the first time someone responded with, "How!??! Why!?!?", I gave it some thought. It's a valid question. I have my kids home all!day! every day. I rarely have time completely to myself. I have added a lot of work & pressure to my life by taking on this whole homeschool thing. Shouldn't this all translate to being a kazillion and three times more stressed than I was last year at this time???
After pondering it for awhile, I realized that the answer has two parts ---
1. Homeschooling has slowed our lives down. We have opted out of the kiddy rat race that school can become. And for us, we knew there were holes in Bug's education, so we also were supplementing when we could. I never felt like we were doing enough to fill in those gaps, and that was super-stressful for me. We have a lovely routine to our days now, and I am loving it. Also, it's not like during the summer, where everyone is crazypants by the end. That was a concern of mine at the beginning of August. Everyone was yelling at each other and all the fun summertime relaxation that seemed wonderful in June was just making everyone crabby. While this was happening and I was putting together lesson plans, I kept thinking "OMG you are insane, woman!! Get them out of the house and take a BREAK!" But the whole vibe changed once we started our school routine. (Whew!) And as far as "me time", the girls have quiet time in their room every afternoon for an hour or two. During that time, I *make* myself rest, either with a book or catching up on TV. I relax. Sometimes I even close my eyes for a few moments. :) I do the same in the evenings after everyone is in bed. And bedtime during the school week is nice and early, at 7:30. So I get a couple of hours to myself each night.
2. It's such a relief to finally be homeschooling. I have felt the pull to do this since Bug was a wee one, probably about 2 or 3? For whatever reason, I really feel in my bones that this is right for us. That is a more nebulous answer than #1, but there you have it. To finally be diving in and doing it feels SO right to me. It's a relief to not fight it or worry about it, and just do it. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
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As you can probably tell from my posts, homeschool is working for us, so this is not going to be a temporary situation. And, as most of you also know, I love a good organizing/decorating project!! :) So I am working to create a more permanent school room. Right now we have a nice set up, but it's in our dining room with things piled into every nook & cranny I could find out there. I'm really excited to get a HUGE dry erase board, a school table, and get all my school stuff organized in a more functional way. It will also be nice to get it tucked away into its own space. This will happen during the week of Thanksgiving, which is our first big break this year. So, be warned, there will be lots of pictures and posts about the new schoolroom!! :)
I hope everyone is enjoying all the holiday activities this weekend! Happy Fall! :)
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