We are starting our new school year tomorrow! 3rd and 7th grade. We are schooling year-round, so it's kinda weird to do "first day of school" celebrations tomorrow, but that's how we're rolling at the Cactus Schoolhouse.
A couple posts ago I reviewed all the curriculum we used this past year and what we will do this year. That is all still mostly accurate, so I'll leave that be for now.
I want to take a moment to reflect on what *I* learned this school year.... so please indulge me. :)
1. Homeschooling is a 24/7 endeavor. I knew that logically, and have been through this before when we did 2nd grade and preschool @ home, but holy moly people, it's completely different with a middle schooler and a 2nd grader. One of the main reasons we decided to homeschool was so that our kids weren't just sitting in a desk checked out all day long. Now, I'm not saying my kids need to be entertained/engaged all day long (rest assured, they are quite adept at entertaining themselves, thank goodness!) - however, I did need to make sure the curriculum I chose and activities we did were filling their buckets, so to speak. I spent a good long time assessing and re-assessing what we were using - was it engaging enough? challenging enough? were my kids learning what they needed to? was I completely ruining them with my curriculum choices? (kidding on that last one... kinda... )
We tossed some things and then also brought in some new ones -- and after all is said and done, I'm really pleased with what we ended up with. But I also know that if something stops working, we can tweak it to suit our needs. Coming out the other end of this first year, I am so much more confident in all of this. I'm doing more on my own, to tailor it even more to my kids' needs. It gets easier after year 1, and I'm guessing/hoping each year after gets a little easier too?
Side note: HOW DID PEOPLE HOMESCHOOL BEFORE THE INTERNET?!?!
2. Before we started, I sat down and came up with all the ways I could streamline our lives so that everything could continue to run smoothly, and also so I could carve out purposeful downtime for myself. Many of you who know me well, know that I am a borderline extrovert/introvert. Meaning, I can "people" with the best of them and have a great time, but if I don't get that downtime (reading, a quiet walk alone, watching Netflix - something where I am not interacting with people), I BURN OUT. Big time. So I knew that having people around me 24/7 every day would be taxing if I didn't practice self-care and make some tiny changes to adapt.
I am happy to report that most of my efforts were successful!! I did some major meal planning, streamlined the grocery shopping (Clicklist had me at hello omg insert heart eye emoji here!), I had a come to Jesus talk with everyone about pitching in more around the house, I was disciplined in getting my workouts done and eating healthy, planned some nights out with my friends, joined a book club, I took an hour or two every afternoon of quiet time for all, blah blah blah. Bottom line: I did lots of work making sure we had a good structure and schedule that helped us all stay sane.
So it went really well until about late November when Girl Scout cookie season started. In case you are not aware -- I lead a wonderful troop that we LOVE. A big troop, with about 20 amazing girls and seriously the best families. We are so lucky. And I knew things could get taxing on that end as well, so I spent a couple weeks before our July 17th homeschool start date planning meetings and events and organizing paperwork, and streamlining GS stuff as much as I could. However. Once cookie season kicked in, I crashed and burned. My plate, which had been so carefully (and sometimes precariously) balanced, flew off and smashed into the wall and yeah, insert all the metaphors to properly illustrate how badly I went down. So I came to the difficult realization that something had to give -- and that despite my careful pre-planning, running a troop was just too much for me right now. I'm super thankful that one of our amazing moms is stepping up to fill in as leader, and the leadership team is being so sweet about letting me be a "drop-off mom" next year so my girls can stay in the troop. I literally cried. I may cry again. Huge tears of gratitude. I waved the white flag, and things didn't fall apart! Life lesson - it's OK to back off from things, even the things you love. 💓 So that will be a HUGE change this coming year for us - leading that troop has been a major part of my life for the past 4.5 years. It's definitely bittersweet!
3. My girls' anxiety has gone down SO MUCH. When we started homeschooling, they both were super anxious - about tests, random things, decision-making, etc. Lulu more than Bug. For example - each week with Lu's writing assignment, she was borderline hysterical at the beginning of our school year about whether it would be "good enough" .... Now, she loves being creative and just putting herself out there without fear. It was heartbreaking, for both of them. They both still have their delightful quirks and moments of OCD/anxiety/sensory stuff, but they are back to being happy well-adjusted usually-confident kids who aren't getting caught up in their heads on the anxiety train. (Not that I can relate to that at ALL....🤣) We will keep working on tools/ideas to help them each manage anything that comes up. I'm very happy with our progress so far! I've shared with them what I have learned in my many years on this earth, and I've also learned some new things through my research. So we are all growing!
So -- in summary, my advice for anyone who is pondering homeschooling (and I know several of you are!):
1. Curriculum: spend time looking at different ones (I spent literal weeks researching last year - it was fun in a weird way - there is a metric ton of info out there, take your time!), don't freak out if the one you start with isn't the right fit - keep working at it, I know it's exhausting, but in the end you will be so happy that you found the right curriculum for your kid(s). Life is much easier when your curriculum is working for you. Also, if you aren't sure, there are a bunch of used curriculum sales sites!! They saved me from spending too much $$ while figuring all this out.
2. This is a full-time job. And then some. View it that way. Make some hard choices about your commitments. 💕I'm a bit of a control freak (shocking!), but I have learned this year that I can let go of some things, and life will keep chugging along just fine. We are surrounded by surprisingly huge amounts of love and support, ready to lift us up and get us through, and it's truly okay to rely on it sometimes. We don't have to be perfect and do all the things. I promise.
3. Trust your gut. I knew in my heart of hearts that my girls would thrive with homeschooling. And they are. Listen to your instincts and make the choice that's right for **your** kid. Whether that's leaving them where they are and working within your circumstances to make it doable, trying an alternative school, or homeschooling. You got this.
OK ruminations complete -- time to finish my day of rest to prepare for A NEW SCHOOL YEAR! HOORAY! 🎉
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