habits for the homeschool year

I am planning to start our school year on Monday. After twelve years of homeschooling, I have learned to ease in slowly, so as not to plunge into chaos too quickly. We must ease into it so that it is almost unnoticeable.

Gone are the years I spent making strict schedules only to remake them and find the next one didn’t work either. Besides, the baby never seemed to stay on schedule. There was always a dirty diaper right in the middle of the math lesson. I am not saying we don’t have a schedule or a plan, it is just not strict and rigid anymore. You know, life happens and it is a gift not something sent just to mess up our schedules.

Most of our chaos is caused by preschoolers who at the end of the day look like little angels as they sleep in their beds giving me resolve that we can stay the course.

Isn’t homeschooling more about training and teaching my children every moment of the day? Why do we try to confine it to state mandated four hours a day whether we homeschool or not.

Yes, the core subjects must be covered and I think we should teach them well, but that is not all we should teach them.

I have discovered a homeschool curriculum that my children absorb quickly. There are some parts of it that I would love to edit out before they see it. It reaches all my children no matter their learning style. The curriculum is me and the life I live out before them. They are watching me, imitating me, learning about the Father from me. Oh, how I thank our God everyday that He is bigger than the mistakes I make with them, but when it is all said and done I am the living textbook. I just pray the pages of my life are filled with more of Him than me and that is what they see.

Here are also a few encouraging articles I found as we begin the new school year.

Spunky homeschool – seven secrets to a highly effective year

heart of wisdom – making homeschool decisions

jen-end of year thoughts