This year has not gone the way I had imagined it at the start of the school year in August/September. I had planned for an uneventful year filled with plenty of growing and learning. With figuring out how things should go and how they should not. And to have a summer vacation of sorts. The year started off as I had expected; full of giddy excitement to delve in to the curriculum my Dear Hubby and I had prayed about and purchased. The kids really were apprehensive about everything, but that is how they are. All play and no learning! LOL! Most kids are like this, I have come to terms with this over the year, and most parents are super excited to get started and see their children learn all of the 'goodies' they have found! By mid-year, burn-out sets in and the end of the year cannot seem to get here fast enough! I do feel like this, this year.
Our year was turned upside down when I began to watch my wonderful niece and nephew in the fall. It was a learning experience for everyone involved. I realized pretty early on, before Christmas, that I was going to be behind with the kids work. And that is a stress that I am still working through. I have had to adjust our plans for a summer, to a plan without a summer. This is what happened last year also. It will not be too terrible though, when I truly think about it. The summer has already come to our part of the country and if this summer is anything like last summer (we had a massive drought and several weeks with 100 degree or better days), staying indoors doing school work will not be such a bad idea!
My Dear Hubby and I have planned out several lapbook studies in history and a doubling up on the science curriculum will be attempted, math is always an on going course. I believe firmly in use it, or lose it! And I am torn on the spelling/grammar curriculum. I am looking at several, but I cannot nail it down! With so many wonderful choices, and very little capital to spare, I am reluctant to buy something and it not work. So the Hubby and I will pray about it and trust God will lead us to the right one for our family.
As for this year, even though we are behind in the academics, my children have learned more valuable lessons than I could have ever taught them from a curriculum. Lessons from the heart. Learning to get along with drastically younger children and how those children think, react, act and play has been a lesson that I could have never been able to give them had we not watched them over the past 8 months. My children have grown so much in responsibility and character watching these two precious little children that I hope this year will always be a fond time in their lives and that they will use these lessons in their futures no matter where their lives lead. Even though it means we will school through the summer. Somethings are worth it.
