Our homeschool started with the most intense “gentle” Back To Homeschool Month EVER!! We started our first day of the 2020-2021 homeschool on August 10th. I’ve had some questions as to why we started so early. Let’s just say that I knew I was going to need some extra time with all the young wildlings in various grades that I have to teach to this year. For me, I’ve learned that year round homeschooling with a brief break in the summer works better for our big family especially since we have some boys with ADHD in the mix.
For the kids the first month was gentle over all. They had plenty of time and extra days to get used to the new routine and adjusted chores. For me though, it was very intense and by the end of week two I was very stressed! With 5 kids all at different levels I was teaching, organizing, dealing with bad attitudes plus “I don’t wanna’s” and tweaking schedules from dusk to dawn. Towards the end of week 2 I had had it. Perhaps the worst of all is I felt like a total fraud and failure for being a homeschool blogger and threw a crying hissy fit.
Then I went on to have a lovely weekend off, during which time we went swimming in at a mountain waterfall and spent some time with some long time friends who also homeschool and my friend encouraged me, assuring me I wasn’t a fraud for being a homeschool blogger.
Then Monday hit. It was messy again. But by the end of the day I finally had pinpointed all the problem areas that kept popping up. I went and secluded myself to the office to adjust the schedules and workout kinks. I’ve learned over the years that if I can get the schedules just right at the start of the year and set a course the entire year goes much more smoothly.
After all that, things finally began to smooth out.
Back To Homeschool-First Quarter News
About now many of you are anywhere from a couple weeks to a month into your homeschool year. I want to let you know that in addition to this post I’ve created a video that I think most homeschool parents-new and seasoned-will enjoy (especially at the end). I know there will be some mom’s out there that will be surprised and even shocked by one of the ending clips-but I think most mom’s are going to feel a sigh of relief as they realize that even seasoned homeschool mom’s don’t “have it all together”!
WATCH OUR FIRST DAY OF THE HOMESCHOOL YEAR VIDEO HERE
This year one of the things I’ve had to come to pease with letting go of is the 8 or 9 to 3 school hours. I’ve had come to peace with the fact that because I have such a large brood-that it’s okay if we don’t get done by 3. I’ve learned it’s better to take brain breaks and self care breaks for myself and to teach the kids to do the same.
When you have as many kids as we do in as many different levels as they all are, it works better to stop worrying about keeping lessons between traditional hours of 8 to 3. It takes a lot of pressure off if I know that our day won’t be thrown off schedule and ruined if a child spills milk, or if I need to hang a load of laundry on the line or break to do some prep work for dinner.
About The First Day
Our first day of the school year started with a beautiful sunrise.
When I woke up my hubby was already gone, I thought he left work work early. It wasn’t long before he returned. He had gone to get me my favorite coffee drink-a breve latte!
Back To Homeschool-First Quarter Review
After 10 years of being a homeschool dad he’s learned not to underestimate the value of little things he can do like that,-and how things like his prayers over our home and homeschool make a difference.
Homeschool mornings are always funky in the summer-since we started in August we still had our backyard garden to tend.
I’ve learned it’s best to do a little prep the night before because things like laundry, dishes, meal prep, and life don’t stop for school. Oh, the hats a homeschool mom must wear!
A few years ago our homeschool was in disarray, I didn’t know how to carry on. That’s when I learned the power of prayer and how the right curriculum can turn a dying homeschool into a thriving one. For our family, we found a lifesaver in My Father’s World curriculum (READ MY REVIEW OF MFW HERE AND WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEWS ON IT HERE AND HERE).
I like to add a few of my own touches to this lovely curriculum though, for example we like to use Teaching Textbooks and Math U See, Easy Grammar among some other additional materials for language arts.
Three critical keys to success as a home educating mama of many or even just one; number one is to pray often. Number two is to stay adept at solving problems-and to remember there’s usually a solution to every problem. This is so important because there’s no limit to the challenges that can pop up in a family homeschool. Number three is to know that it’s normal to feel overwhelmed at certain points of the day-and that this means it’s time for a coffee/tea/prayer/deep breathing break!
Day one of our homeschool emphasized counting trials all joy based off of James 1 and included a lovely poem that encouraged endurance.
It Couldn’t Be Done
by Edgar A. Guest
Somebody said it couldn’t be done.
But he with a chuckle replied,
That maybe it couldn’t, but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so ’till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried, he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done. And he did.
Somebody scoffed, “Oh, you’ll never do that
At least no one ever has done it.”
But he took off his coat, and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we know, he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or “quit-it”.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t done. And he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done.
There are thousands to prophesy failure.
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you
But just buckle in, with a bit of a grin;
Just take off your coat and go to it.
Just start in to sing as yout tackle the thing
That cannot be done–and you’ll do it!
I’m going to be honest with you all- I’ve been at this for 10 years and there are still times I feel over my head. It’s working through those bumps in the road though that make us stronger-and at the end of the day closer.
Something else I’ve learned is that a Christ based homeschool is a ministry-and to make no mistake in understanding the weight of all this means. I’m thankful that our homeschool curriculum includes Jesus because after all-He’s the one who makes this journey successful.
Tell me, how is your homeschool doing right now? If you need prayers let’s make a deal, let’s pray for each other in this journey! Don’t forget you can drop me a message to ask for prayer or with questions and I’ll do my best to help if I can.
I’m sending best wishes for a beautiful homeschool year to you!
PS! Did you hear that I just had an article on Multi-Grade homeschooling published in Kindred Learning Collection (October’s edition)? You can sign up for the magazines HERE. In addition to this if you enjoyed Back To Homeschool-First Quarter News and need more encouragement I have over 40 home education related posts on this blog, browse them HERE.
Great read!! Thanks for sharing it with us, its really helpful.
Sounds like it’s been a good year so far despite everything. It’ll be great to have a break and keep going.
Thank you for this. I was also on the brink of losing it and I only have one child. This is our first year of homeschooling so we’re both adjusting but after reading your post, I am just inspired. Thank you for reminding us to take brain and self-care breaks.
I so loved that poem you posted….. I am going to print it out …
I don’t have kids but I need school online in high school. I loved doing work from home. you made it look so fun for your kids
I’m so glad my girls are little. Homeschooling would be hard, but you seem to be tackling the beast!
Home school has emerged as the best solution for kids during this panademic. Thanks for sharing this great post!
Taking a break when things get overwhelming really helps me refocus too. And deep breathing exercises are so invigorating.
I am glad things are going well. My daughter went back to school, thank goodness. We are not homeschooling people. She’s doing well so far! My son’s college is virtual until the spring and he’s also coping but can’t wait to get into a real classroom.
Love your “pray often” mentality! I hope you continue this series 🙂
I definitely agree tht taking breaks definitely help, good luck with your journey