New Year, New Semester

Holiday vacation started a bit earlier for us this year than it normally does. We usually work up until the week before Christmas, and then take about three weeks off, just to de-stress and let off some steam. Instead, we have pretty much taken the entire month of December off.

Our home school review was earlier this month, and we passed! While I know that we are doing everything according to the standards that the state sets forth, it is still nerve racking to present our work to someone else for approval. The liaison that I work with through the district is awesome! I cannot tell you how pleased I am that I can work with her. I feel as though I can be more honest about some of the pitfalls that I see, and some of the struggles that we go through. She totally understands, and even has some advice from time to time that will help out. So with that review out of the way, and the other one scheduled for May, we can now relax for a little while. We are head of the game in some things, but a little behind in others. Those are the subjects that we struggle in, and I know that once we get a little bit further down the road, that light bulb will click on, and they will get it.

But for the month, we have watched movies, colored (art class), decorated cookies and cakes, napped, and read a lot of books. We are still “learning” but we are not pulling out the textbooks to do it. Sometimes putting them away and using the fun learning can go farther than trying to work through another page of a workbook.

As we are now preparing for the holiday season, and the fun we will have there, I had to sit back and look at what we have accomplished this year. My son is now a stronger reader. My oldest who really struggled with math is getting it. Baby steps. We took it slow, we worked through the tangles, and we overcame many of the struggles that we had encountered at the beginning of the year. While we are not perfectly into a schedule or routine, what we do works.

Mamas, I know its hard to sit there and compare yourself to other families. Everyone else always looks as though they have it down perfectly, its all under control, and they are skipping through their days. Don’t beat yourself up! We all struggle, we all wish we had it “under control” and that things would just fall into place. I keep telling myself kids learn at their own pace. Some run ahead, while others pace themselves through. That is OKAY! I have one child working in three different grade levels on different subjects. The other one is right where he should be, and that is fine too. Its not a race, its not a competition. The best advice I can give you is, ENJOY THE TIME YOU HAVE. We won’t have our kids home with us forever, we have them now. Eventually they will grow and leave, strike out on their own and burst onto the world stage. Use this time, build your bonds, and relax. Enjoy. Build the memories, savor the moments (even when you want to tear your hair out). It will all pass.

I hope that you all have the best holiday season! See you next year!