Nov. 29, 2006 - Homeschooling and the Holidays
Okay, true confessions.
I love the holidays ... but when I'm trying to all things to all people ... not so much. I've noticed something of a pattern in my homeschooling adventure. Right around the end of November I start to feel behind in our schooling, and I usually get a little behind ... afterall, it's snowing and there's pumpkin scones to make, Christmas cards to address, presents to purchase, parties to attend... and the list goes on and on. Inevitably, doubt creeps in ... mostly because I am overwhelmed by all there is to do.
Sigh. "can I really DO this homeschool thing?" "our children aren't doing what their peers in public school are doing" (which is nothing, but I talk myself into all kinds of things) and my favorite guilt trip of all to pack for "if I don't get busy we'll be 'behind' come January". To counteract my insecurity, I usually ramp things up to get us "caught up" before the new year.
The result of this, of course, is that not only am I miserable, but the kids are miserable, too.
The Lord has been working on my heart this year in many areas and this is one of them. This year, I want to soak up the season. Really take stock of the time God has given us to have them home. As a result, we're taking December off of "regular" school in favor of the School of St. John Christmas Memories. We are going to be lapbooking Christmas this year. By the time the month is over, I hope they will each have a beautiful project done that includes topics like "my favorite Christmas cookie and how we ate them all in less than an hour" and "Christmas at the Zoo".
Each of the kids will get to pick a country and write about how they celebrate Christmas there. We're going to be writing down our favorite recipes (and making them, too!) and re-visiting the wonder of the season in all kinds of ways.
This past Thanksgiving, we lapbooked about the first Thanksgiving. The children wrote about Squanto and Samoset, the Mayflower and Miles Standish, and by the time we finish (we're almost done) we hope to have a much better understanding of the history behind the holiday.
If you're struggling with keeping up this holiday, I'd like to challenge you to keep your eyes on why you're homeschooling in the first place. It has helped me so much to remember why we have our kids home. We have them home to teach them about life from God's perspective, and to train them to be followers of Christ. We have them home so we can instill in them a love for family and an appreciation of the learning process, not just the product. And we have them home because we love being with them.
Homeschooling gives us the opportunity to spend time with our children that we would not otherwise have. We can embrace the miracle ~ instead of rushing through this time...and it is just "time" ... Let's not waste it! This year, I am going to try anew to loose my own agenda, and look for the Lord's instead. I wonder what the holiday would look like w/out all the pressures of shopping, and planning. To just follow the Lord's gentle leading each new day... I want to be like the shepherds who came and stood in amazement at the miracle there in that manger. Chances are that they didn't plan for what God was going to do in their hearts that amazing night.
I hope to experience just a fraction of that in my own heart, and pass it on to my children so that they can pass it on to theirs. It's the Gift that is ours for the taking. Maybe 20 years from now we will wish we had stuck to our science curriculum in December of 2006 - but somehow, I think it won't matter as much as the shared memories we will have with our grown children and grandchildren.
Merry Christmas from Our Homeschool to Yours ~
Heidi
Charles Dickens
Time was with most of us, when Christmas Day, encircling all our
limited world like a magic ring, left nothing out for us to miss or
seek; bound together all our home enjoyments, affections, and hopes;
grouped everything and everyone round the Christmas fire, and make the
little picture shining in our bright young eyes, complete.
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Nov. 29, 2006 - Untitled Comment |
| Posted by quietcajun |
I usually get overwhelmed too and after taking a partial year off last year (by sending 3 children to public school for the whole year and one of them for 4 months), I really did not want to loose my momentum again so this is what I did.
I took off the month of June.
We homeschooled through July and August using cheapy Summer Bridge workbooks (no planning for me) and we did two lapbooks (minimal planning for me).
We did count those days though. Then, in September we eased back into full time homeschooling. We started with just the core subjects and one at a time added what else we needed.
We planned it out so that we would be up to Day 90 (half way day since we are required to account for 180 days) in the beginning of November. Day 90 fell on a Wednesday so I gave the children that Thursday and Friday off as a reward for keeping on task. We did a full week the next week and then took 9 days off (counting weekends) for Thanksgiving week. We still did daily devotions, journal writing and quiet reading time, so I counted up the hours we spent that week and counted it as one school day. (They also helped with Thanksgiving preps... could count this time too!)
This week we are back at it and will reach day 100 on Friday and our reward is a movie. (We are planning on seeing The Nativity movie!)
We will have regular school days up until Christmas week and then we will have two full weeks off (with devotions, journaling and quiet reading only so I can still count 2 or 3 days during our time off!)
We will start back January 6th and schedule in a two day off reward after day 150 (which should fall on a Wednesday if we keep up.)
Then, we will push on through to day 180 and take a WHOLE month off in MARCH!!!! Yep... we will be done by the second week of March. If we get behind... well, then, we'll take off the month of April INSTEAD.
These little planned breaks really help me so much. We will start our lighter "Summer schedule" after that and continue with that until we are bored with it and then back to the core subjects, etc.
I plan for those "times off" to always include devotions, writing, and reading (plus math games, but they don't usually realize they are "doing school" when we do that! I count anything I can (cooking, making a project, going to the zoo, etc.)
Already, I see a big difference in my stress level and in my children's successes!!!! |
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Nov. 30, 2006 - Untitled Comment |
| Posted by BundleOfBlessings |
Thank you Heidi. Your friendship means so much and I am sorry for your loss as well. I had no idea you had been through it too. We feel sad, but we certainly are not lacking in blessings. =) Thanks for having Caylin out again. She's looking forward to time with Savannah.
Love & prayers~
Dondi |
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Dec. 5, 2006 - Untitled Comment |
| Posted by vshaw |
| I think I need to take your advice here. I feel so overwhelmed lately. On top of being sick the last week we go nothing done. I was begining to get that drowning feeling too. Today we will start some christmas lapbooks. Great idea Heidi! |
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About Me
Heidi and her husband, Jay, have been married for over 17 years. They reside in Ridgefield, WA, where they homeschool their six children. The children range in age from 15 to 1 and Heidi "highly recommends having older children!" When Heidi is not climbing Mount Never-rest (folding laundry),changing diapers or washing dishes, she enjoys writing, trying new recipes she finds on the internet and encouraging other moms.
The St. Johns founded First Class Christian Homeschool Ministries, a parachurch organization dedicated to helping churches start homeschool co-ops in their communities.
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