Revitalizing For The Home Stretch

The sound of my son mowing the lawn brings a smile to my lips; it is one of those annual activities that reminds us summer is coming. I am working on lesson plans and thinking, we only have two months left of homeschool! We have done so much and yet it feels like there is so much more to do. I think it is at this point that many of us start getting that burnout feeling that creeps in and begins making us feel overwhelmed, tired, and a little bit frantic, wondering if we will be able to complete everything we wanted to teach by June! Relax, the children are learning all the time, even when you're not teaching them. Everyday, the world opens up to them with an abundance of learning opportunities, and all we have to do is be watchful for those moments and engage our children in receiving them! Step outside and let the warm, gusty breeze bring a freshness to your mind as well as your home. It is time to restructure and re-create the learning experiences we want to give our children. Approach these last couple of months not as a time to try and cram in as much factual information as we can into their minds, but as a time to offer experiences from which they can glean precious gems of learning that will stick with them and benefit them for years to come. Read outside in the fresh air, let nature and the earth be your exploring ground for science, have engaging discussions about a variety of topics, and let your kids create-whether it is through art or building things or writing books. As spring slides into summer, know that your school time may end but your children will always be learning!

Spring is here!

Spring is here and I'm evaluating how we do our homeschool, trying new things and new styles. My son is now a teenager and feels a little too old for projects and, yet, lectures and worksheets aren't capturing his attention either. I want to keep God as our focus and teach him to see things from a Christian worldview, which I am thankful for the fact that he very much has a strong heart for God; this will help him through the rough spots in life. We are going to do a literature-based curriculum and as we read, we will study what we are reading about. For instance, after Spring Break, we will be starting a new book, The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs, by Betty G. Birney. Besides being a great read, it opens up studies about the South, Colorado, challenging ourselves, the Seven Wonders of the World, and how valuable family relationships can be. I anticipate that we will be learning much more and be drawn to exploring many tangents along the way! Seeing this story through God's eyes will be easy, as well as using our literature studies to learn math, science, language, history, and more! Spring is for new beginnings and there's nothing like beginning anew in our schooling!