I realized this spring that I’ve been homeschooling for 20 years now! 20 years! I’m not sure how so many years have gone by, but time just keeps moving.
The pendulum has definitely swung for me in my homeschool journey. I used to HAVE to check all the boxes in the curriculum, make sure we did every subject everyday. We said no to a lot because of the bookwork or I tried to cram everything in, which left us all exhausted and crabby.
Now, I’ve very slowly learned over the years to enjoy life, the change of seasons, the opportunity for learning that comes elsewhere outside of books.
Especially in Minnesota, where we can be stuck inside because of blinding snow, high winds, and subzero temperatures. When spring comes, we’re all itching to go outside. So, we do! And learning takes place there, maybe even better than in the books. This spring, we set aside the books to head to Kentucky and never picked them up again! When we got home, we started building, cleaning, planting. We’ve been playing in the sprinkler, running around the yard, going hiking, and making a new garden.
I’m especially excited about my garden this year. After three years of a huge CSA garden that took so much time, I’ve downsized considerably and am learning to love it again. Gardening is in my blood. I grew up watching my oma and mom “putter” in their gardens. My mom would come home from a long day and work and grab a cup of coffee and go move plants, weed, just stare at the flowers. I find I love doing just the same!
This year I didn’t start any seeds which was weird for me but felt so good! The Lord totally blessed that when I stopped at a local grocery store and found beautiful tomato and pepper plants for a great price! Elliot and Andrew built these beds for me from wood sitting in our barn. It took us an hour to plant and we all enjoyed that it took so little time after hours and hours the last few years.
Evie said, you know, I’m glad we did that big garden for a while because now we’ve learned to really appreciate our garden and the little work this one will take.
She’s so right! It’s given us a new appreciation for it all.
I’ve been working around the yard as well. Hauling rocks and rocks and rocks. We have an old foundation left over from a shed and it has beautiful limestone blocks in it. They are hard to dig out and heavy but it’s a great workout!
I finally edged these garden beds in front of the house, which finishes them off so nicely. And added a beautiful bird feeder!
Now that some of the plants have been settled for a few years they are really taking off and blooming so beautifully!
I’m thankful for beautiful plants and flowers to enjoy and the birds, bees, and butterflies they attract! What a joy to work in and see God’s creation all around my farm!
Desired Haven Farm 