We have just finished the first three weeks of our third homeschooling year. I have been extremely busy. When I am busy I have to prioritize and well, blogging is pretty much towards the end of the list hence my prolonged absence.
I started this blog to have a place where dh's family could keep up with our lives, since they live far away and rarely have the chance to see us. I also started this blog to connect with others. I wanted to be completely honest on this blog about my struggles as a homeschooling mother of three very energetic boys in hopes that it would help others who might be struggling or in need of encouragement. Up till now my posts have been infrequent and generic. I started homeschooling again after a month long break and suddenly see with much clarity the importance of posting about the struggles I face on a daily basis. I have frequented the blogs of many a homeschooling parent who seem by their posts to have it all together 100% percent of the time. As a homeschooling mother just starting out a few years ago it was very discouraging to go to these blogs and only read post after post about their perfect daily homeschooling experiences. I felt like my days were so different! It even became a joke between my sister and I. LOL. I would tell her over the phone (slight exaggeration to make a point) "Oh Stacy you definitely have to go to so and so blog. Its unbelievable. She has x amount of dc and homeschools all of them. They are all talented musicians who started reading at the age of 2 on their own. She grows her own veggies, bakes her own bread, keeps her house immaculate and always has a smile on her face. She so on and so forth..." We would inevitably reach the same conclusion, either they were only posting about their good days or we were seriously lacking!
I have since then found other blogs that paint a more realistic picture and those have become a great source of encouragement. I have even shed a tear or two while reading about the struggle of another to be both teacher and parent to their dear children. So I have renewed my commitment to posting about the good (which admittedly there is a lot of) but also the ugly, lest some poor new homeschooling parent stumbles inadvertently across my blog and decides to give up because well, they will never measure up to the perfection which is my life. LOL. I know, I know what are the chances but hey ya never know!
On that note I will begin by confessing that the past three weeks have been difficult. I spent weeks planning every detail of our third school year. I carefully researched curriculum choices and finally decided on and purchased what I thought would be the best for my dear children. I then and only after much thought wrote out the perfect daily schedule to follow. I was ready! (or so I thought). I woke up that first Monday morning excited and ready to start but after only twenty min. into the day I realized I had made a grave mistake. We were already behind schedule. One ds wet the bed so I had to bathe him (no room on the schedule for that!). Then another interruption arose, then another and before I knew it we were hopelessly behind schedule. I felt disappointed that things hadn't turned out like I had expected but hey it was only the first day right. Tomorrow would surely be better.
Wrong. Everyday after that was pretty much the same, filled with a dozen interruptions that did not permit us to follow our "perfect" schedule. As the days passed I became increasingly frustrated. We were perpetually behind schedule! By Wednesday of the second week I was completely burned out. I woke up feeling extremely overwhelmed and stressed. I decided right then and there to tear up the schedule and just make a list of what I wanted to accomplish that day without any time tables. After accomplishing one thing we would just start the next until we were done. I also decided to RELAX and enjoy my dc instead of hurriedly trying to finish one thing to start on the other. It has made a huge difference. Can't say it has solved all our problems but it has been a great start. Hmmm..now if only I could find someone to cook, clean and do all my laundry ......
The boys painted chinese pictograms to compliment our study of ancient China .
Peachy doing math problems in the comfy chair....
Chicky takes after me! He loves books. Here he is enjoying one of his favorites with Daddy.
Look mom I caught a fish! Peachy loves to fish.
Chicky absolutely loves to swing! He always wears a grin on his face while he is swinging and screams when we try to take him out. (he is also always losing a sock :0)
The boys and I on a train ride. The day was chilly so we had to take a quilt. Apparently something caught the boys attention elsewhere just as daddy was going to snap that pic.
Chicky and Jay love each other so much!
Peachy and Jay on the front porch of an original West Texas Log Cabin. The boys had lots of fun on this field trip where they learned about the pioneers. Peachy enjoyed it the most as he had just finished reading the entire Little House on the Prairie series.
Hurray for pattern blocks! Jay spends hours making designs.....
My precious Chicky fast asleep. He is obviously double jointed!