This week is spring break for our family, which means I finally get some time to update everyone on our homeschooling adventure. Things have been busy to say the least!
The first two weeks of our journey were absolutely blissful. Everything went according to plan. I was organized, ahead of schedule, full of excitement and creative ideas. I was even able to keep my house "mostly" clean, while homeschooling, working one day a week, and caring for Jameson after his surgery.
Somewhere during our third week, things changed. They got hard. Nothing I couldn't handle, but we definitely weren't in that blissful place anymore. I was falling behind on my charting at work, and didn't have time to even think about my Thirty-one business! I felt overwhelmed, and began to lose patience with Owen during school. Heck, who am I kidding! I began to lose patience with all three of my kids, and my husband most of the time. I had so many "irons in the fire" as they say, and felt like each area of my life was getting just enough of my time that it didn't completely fall apart.
There were still good days when I felt like I had it all together, but then just like that, I'd be back to being behind and overwhelmed. I knew something had to change, and deep down, I knew that something was me!
I was putting so much time and effort into things that just really didn't matter, that it was leaving me exhausted and unable to put 100% into the things that did. The first thing I did was cut down on the number of visits I did for the health department each week. I had started out with six families which made for a really long work day. I gave up three, cutting my work day and my stress in half.
Next, I finally stopped stressing about keeping a clean and organized house! Yep, we've been living in filthy chaos the past two months. (Okay, not really, but compared to before.......you know what I mean)
Finally, I've had to learn how to "go with the flow" so to speak. This has been the hardest change to make, but also the most rewarding. I was getting so caught up in getting through my lesson plans, that I was forgetting about all of the reasons I was excited about homeschooling in the first place! If Owen is on a roll in science, I won't stop him, just because my schedule says it's time to start math. If this means we dedicate half a day to learning about the solar system or sharks, then that's just what we'll do.
At first we were doing spelling four days a week, and then having a test Friday morning before I went to work. Why? Because that's what the lesson plan said, of course! Never mind the fact that Owen has always been a great speller. He can see a word one time, and never forget how to spell it, and yet I was spending 20 minutes a day going over words that he knew the first day! Talk about wasting time. Now we do our spelling three mornings a week in the van while I'm taking Jameson to preschool.
I have to say my favorite part of homeschooling is being able to teach from a christian-based curriculum. We've spent weeks learning about all the aspects of physical health in health class. Last week we finished up our last chapter, which was all about spiritual health. The curriculum enforced what Jeremy and I had already been teaching the kids. We must pray and read the word everyday to grow spiritually, and that this directly impacts our mental and physical health. I love the fact that everything he is being taught, has scripture and Godly principles placed throughout it!
I'm still working on getting out of the "traditional school" mindset, and replacing it with what works for Owen, and our family. And I'm finding that the more I can do that, the more Owen learns, and the happier we both are in the process!
The first two weeks of our journey were absolutely blissful. Everything went according to plan. I was organized, ahead of schedule, full of excitement and creative ideas. I was even able to keep my house "mostly" clean, while homeschooling, working one day a week, and caring for Jameson after his surgery.
Somewhere during our third week, things changed. They got hard. Nothing I couldn't handle, but we definitely weren't in that blissful place anymore. I was falling behind on my charting at work, and didn't have time to even think about my Thirty-one business! I felt overwhelmed, and began to lose patience with Owen during school. Heck, who am I kidding! I began to lose patience with all three of my kids, and my husband most of the time. I had so many "irons in the fire" as they say, and felt like each area of my life was getting just enough of my time that it didn't completely fall apart.
There were still good days when I felt like I had it all together, but then just like that, I'd be back to being behind and overwhelmed. I knew something had to change, and deep down, I knew that something was me!
I was putting so much time and effort into things that just really didn't matter, that it was leaving me exhausted and unable to put 100% into the things that did. The first thing I did was cut down on the number of visits I did for the health department each week. I had started out with six families which made for a really long work day. I gave up three, cutting my work day and my stress in half.
Next, I finally stopped stressing about keeping a clean and organized house! Yep, we've been living in filthy chaos the past two months. (Okay, not really, but compared to before.......you know what I mean)
Finally, I've had to learn how to "go with the flow" so to speak. This has been the hardest change to make, but also the most rewarding. I was getting so caught up in getting through my lesson plans, that I was forgetting about all of the reasons I was excited about homeschooling in the first place! If Owen is on a roll in science, I won't stop him, just because my schedule says it's time to start math. If this means we dedicate half a day to learning about the solar system or sharks, then that's just what we'll do.
At first we were doing spelling four days a week, and then having a test Friday morning before I went to work. Why? Because that's what the lesson plan said, of course! Never mind the fact that Owen has always been a great speller. He can see a word one time, and never forget how to spell it, and yet I was spending 20 minutes a day going over words that he knew the first day! Talk about wasting time. Now we do our spelling three mornings a week in the van while I'm taking Jameson to preschool.
I have to say my favorite part of homeschooling is being able to teach from a christian-based curriculum. We've spent weeks learning about all the aspects of physical health in health class. Last week we finished up our last chapter, which was all about spiritual health. The curriculum enforced what Jeremy and I had already been teaching the kids. We must pray and read the word everyday to grow spiritually, and that this directly impacts our mental and physical health. I love the fact that everything he is being taught, has scripture and Godly principles placed throughout it!
I'm still working on getting out of the "traditional school" mindset, and replacing it with what works for Owen, and our family. And I'm finding that the more I can do that, the more Owen learns, and the happier we both are in the process!
