Confession time. I waited too long to order my kids curriculum this year. I know some of you cringed because you feel my pain. Let’s be honest. There is nothing about this past year that has been simple or easy. Least of all ordering curriculum. Some of us met with financial hardship which affected the school year. Some of us had to change our living situations. Some of us ordered our curriculum with what used to be enough time but everything is back ordered or shipping is delayed. You know what?
It is ok.
Yes, that one family on Instagram started two months ago. Yes, your home school friends started 2 weeks ago. Yes, you planned to have been in full swing already. As
I tell my kids, life happens. We have had complications this past year. We have had many hardships and the last thing we need is to be hard on ourselves. So, take a deep breath and tell yourself….
I’m not late, I just have an extended planning period.
I hope you laughed there. Honestly, we are so tough on ourselves because we want to do our best for and by our kiddos. We can be too tough on ourselves. You will be able to get all the required number of days of school in. In fact, you may be able to count the days you have already been working on. I felt guilty that I hadn’t started our official school yet and so started digging through our home library. I have started writing with the kids regularly, we read and discuss sections of a classic book together, the kids practice math and other standards on the computer, and we are studying weather right now. It may not come from a company with a check list, but we are schooling. If you take a minute to think about it, you probably have been doing something too.
Again, if not It Is OK
I finally have received an email that their curriculum is on the way. Next week we should be in full school mode with our checklists and our fun hands on learning as well as the arguments of whether a certain book needs to be done. Starting later than planned is not a horrible act that will scar your kiddos for life. We have been playing board games, going on hikes, exploring random curiosity questions and even watching a show called “Drain the Oceans” together, fascinated by history and the effects of the ocean.
We have enjoyed this time.
You too will get to “start” your planned schooling soon. Do not be hard on yourself. So you started later than you planned. So your school year might run later than you planned or some breaks might have to be adjusted. It’s all good. They are learning. They will learn more. They have learned about being flexible with this thing called life.
All you need to do is breath and enjoy the journey.
Greetings! My name is Joy and I am currently a stay at home mom who is homeschooling her three kids in South Carolina. I love learning and I love sharing the love of learning with others so getting to home school my kids and watch the “ah-ha” moments when they understand something is unbelievably rewarding. I have been homeschooling since my twins were preschool age so we’ve been doing this for 9 years now. I am also a military spouse, so we have the added joys and some of the complications that come with it. As a family, we stay busy with our scouting groups, American Heritage Girls and TrailLife, and we do many camping and hiking trips with them. When I have downtime, I am typically reading books I have sitting around the house, on YouTube/websites getting more information on different home school programs, or working on plans for homeschool. I look forward to being able to share our experiences with everyone and help encourage all homeschooling families.