Tag: schedule

Back to School?

Somehow August is upon us, the garden is flourishing and about to burst with abundant harvest, and school is lurking around the corner.

Some years, we’ve started school mid August, other years we haven’t started until October. It’s one of the many things I love about homeschooling. We have the freedom to flow with ever changing life and not be locked into a government schedule.

I remember the year I was having Elliot, who was due in October. We started kindergarten in August because I knew I’d want and need time off when he was born.

Another year when we were harvesting like crazy for our CSA, we just didn’t have time for school until October so we waited.

There are so many great reasons to homeschool and having the freedom to set your own schedule is just one of the many.

It took me years to really settle into and own the fact that my routine and schedule can be totally different from everyone else’s and from the public school system. I can listen to the rhythm of my family and the season we’re in and adjust accordingly.

Not only can I do that with our start date, but with breaks and our end date as well. Some winters we have too many illnesses to count and so we break and rest and get healthy. Then we start up again when we can.

Each family has a rhythm of its own and I believe it’s healthier to follow that rhythm than to force our kids into an arbitrary, government created schedule. Have you ever critically thought about why our society’s schedule is rush rush rush? It’s worth putting some thought into.

Think about your kid whose body rhythm is to stay up late and sleep in. Why are forcing those kids to wake up at 6am to rush off to school?

Think about how sometimes in August you’re desperate for a routine again? Why not listen to that and start some structured learning to bring order back into your family.

There are so many beautiful reasons to homeschool. If you’ve been thinking about it for your family, I encourage you to make a list of those things your family is craving and see if homeschooling and slowing your routine can fulfill some of that.

Back to School?

The Back to School sales are everywhere. The new notebooks, pencils, markers, and backpacks are colorful and inviting in the store aisles. Parents are gearing up for the fall schedules.

As we walked through the store yesterday, both Andrew and I commented on how much we love brand new school supplies. Neither of us were sure exactly what we love about them, but there’s something that draws us in and makes us want to purchase all the new things.

Seeing it all made me think of how thankful I am that we homeschool. We get to do it our way. We get to choose everything, from subjects to extracurricular activities, to how much time we spend in the car. And, best of all, we GET TO keep our kids home.

I hear so many parents say they can’t wait until school starts again and they can get their kids out of their hair. They can’t wait to drop them off or send them off on the bus. It makes me sad to hear it.

There is no greater joy for me than the fact that I get to have kids with me everyday. I don’t have to get them up at 5:30am to catch a bus and not see them again until 4pm. I don’t have to wonder what they are being taught or what behaviors they are picking up.

And, as so many are ramping up and preparing for crazy schedules, early morning fights, and hours of car time every week, we can sit back and relax and start school when it works for us. I don’t have to jump into the rat race and put that pressure on my kids.

Last year we didn’t start school until October because our garden was going crazy and I was in the midst of canning and freezing and handing out amazing vegetables. So, that was our school for September.

This year, there’s not much happening in our flooded garden so we can start school earlier. But the great thing is, I get to still decide. My older ones will start and I’ll get them established in a routine and then I’ll add the younger ones. We usually start with two subjects and slowly add more into we’re getting through it.

That’s part of the beauty of homeschooling. There are so many beautiful things about it, but choosing our schedules is a big one for me.

My kids have time to play, read, sit, bike, sew, train horses, and be in theater because I make sure we have margin in our schedule. I say no to a lot of good things so we can have dinner together and wake up slowly in the mornings.

Our society decided long ago that we had to be on this rigid schedule and train people to be laborers and government school with bells ringing and scheduled everything was an easy way to train that. If you went through public school you know you were taught to comply.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can go against the grain and pave our own way. A way that’s healthier and better for our kids so they can grow up to be critical thinkers, know they have a choice, and confident in their gifts and talents.

Be encouraged, mamas. You get to set the pace! You get to say no! You get to have your kids home and decide when and what! It’s not the easy path, but it is the good one.

Look carefully the how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16