Now it is time to think about the beginning of a new year.  I always feel that New Year's is similar to the first day of the school year.  There is a sense of  anticipation of the plans you have for the New Year as well as their being  a sense  of  newness.  You can let go of any negativity that happened during the last few months and start all over again in January.   You can start with a fresh slate.

The New Year is a time to take stock of all that has happened in the first part of the school year.  Are you happy with the results?   If you are not happy with how the last few months have played out then take time to think long and hard as to why, exactly, things are not working.  

Is the problem with your curriculum?   Is it too workbook-y  for your child?  Is it too teacher-intensive for you?    Does it meet your child's learning style, as well as your  teaching style?  

Is the problem with your schedule?  Is it too rigid, too time-intensive?  Or is it too relaxed to the point that you aren't getting anything done?  Maybe a rhythm-type schedule would work better for you.  Many homeschoolers start their learning time  first thing in the morning.  Maybe that doesn't work for you.  Maybe starting later in the day, even in the afternoon  would work better for your family.   After starting  school in the morning for 5 years, our family has started our learning time after lunch and that has worked so much better for us 

The problem might just be with your philosophy.  It just might be that the way you are educating your child resonates with you but not so much with your children.   I found myself in that situation.  A Classical Education resonates so strongly with me.  I know that if I could be educated over again,  I would  love to be educated in this manner but it doesn't work for all of my children.  So I have spent this last year   trying to think if it is possible to achieve a happy medium.  So far,  it isn't working very well, but I am not giving up.

I want to encourage you if you are having difficulties in your learning time, to take  the next few days and think deeply as to what exactly is the problem.  Then slowly  try to come up with some solutions.  These ideas might not work, so be ready to go back to the drawing board and fool around with more ideas.  It is very much a trial and error process but once you hit pay dirt, it is so rewarding for both yourself and your children.

Julia lives on the  Canadian Prairies  with her husband,  homeschooling their  3 children (10,8,6)  and is attempting to give them a Classical Education.  You can read more  at her blog.

John Piper is one of those rare authors/speakers who say things that are truly challenging. At least, it has challenged me.  Something that John Piper said is "God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him." That is something to ponder. I often think about "doing things" to bring glory to God. While attempting to do things for God and for His glory has its place, it should not be the foremost thing in my life. God should be. In our lives, is God and God alone enough? It’s something I’m asking myself. If my family, friends, and everything I owned were destroyed, could I say, "God is enough. He is good."? I hope and pray so.

I think the knowledge that true contentment and joy are only found in God has finally seeped into my heart. So often knowledge seems to be locked up in my head when it should be reaching my heart and affecting the way I live my life. There is a big difference between knowing something and embracing and living it. I thank God it is beginning to really touch my heart. Things cannot satisfy me. Health, talents, money, none of them can satisfy. Friends cannot satisfy me. And no, not even family, can satisfy me. And should I ever become married, I know my husband will not and can never be my source of satisfaction or fulfillment. Only One can fulfill me. What a freeing concept it is! Because if we don’t understand that, we will spend our lives searching in vain for things or people or accomplishments to fulfill us.

Oh, how I want to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength! It is the first and greatest commandment. I don’t want to just read it. I don’t want to just memorize it. I want to live it. I find that it is important for me to remember that all I deserve is death and condemnation....that I completely deserve going to hell for all eternity... and then, that Jesus came to earth, died for my sins, and rose again...can such love be measured?

I fear we who grow up in Christian homes hear the Gospel message so often it loses its meaning. We had a debt we could never, ever repay. God the Son paid the debt for us by dying for us and then being raised on the third day! He gave us an alternative to separation from God in hell forever. We could never have earned or deserved that. And not only did He give us the opportunity to have our sins wiped away, He gives us the opportunity to be made holy. Not because of any "righteous" acts we’ve done...we have not. But because Jesus’ righteousness is credited to us. This makes it possible for us to have a personal relationship with the living God, the Maker of heaven and earth...there are no words that can describe it. I think it goes beyond our comprehension. God loves us so much that He not only offers us the opportunity to go to heaven but also to have a personal relationship with Him forever! I don’t want all of this to be an elusive concept to me but a daily reality. I want God to be first in my life. I was also going to say that I want Him to be the most important part of my life but I don’t want Him to just be a part. I want Him to be the reason I live. I want my life, my actions, my words, my thoughts, to be for Him and because of Him.

I am struck by the audacity that we sometimes have of thinking that God owes us anything. That we deserve anything other than death and hell forever. People actually think they deserve to be healthy, have a good job, have a great family, have a nice salary, live a long life, be happy, have fun, etc. What have we ever done to deserve any of that? Did we create this earth and ourselves? God has given us life and the offer of salvation. What more do we need? Truly, nothing. Nothing else. Everything else is just undeserved gifts. That is why we can say, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord." That is why we can say, regardless of the circumstances, "God is good. He is enough." Why? Because He owes us nothing and we owe Him everything.

• E-Book: Teaching Jeremiah--a complete curriculum for teaching special needs children in preschool and early elementary grades.
• E-Book: Someplace Called Special--A Look at Homeschooling Special Needs Children
• Special Words for Special Needs--Blog posts by a mom homeschooling several special needs children.