Sunshine Days
family
Our 8th homeschool year is in the books - phew!
When I first started doing this, I wasn't sure how long we'd be homeschooling. And while I love homeschooling my kids, I know that it is possible that it's not a forever thing. At this moment, that breaks my heart to consider, but I also have to trust that God knows best.
As another year closes, I want to take a step back & get honest about our year. You can follow along as I take stock of this 2024-2025 school year. I hope it's helpful to someone who recognize some similar situations in their own homeschools.
Let's start with the positives!
While a couple of books were left to finish over the summer, they were largely very responsible about managing their weekly assignments. My oldest (just finished Year 7) ended up with one book he is still working on finishing. He & I have talked about strategies for how to stay on top of his readings next year.
Reading with my youngest takes the least amount of time because his selections are shorter & so is his ability to pay attention. Juggling reading time with all 4 was not always seamless, but I enjoyed revisiting old favorites with the next kid in line or reading new information with my oldest.
Fridays in the fall were filled with extracurriculars, but the spring was less busy so they ended up being a chance to catch up on cleaning for the weekend. I'm not sure we will do that again next spring. I think we would benefit from having at least some set routine for that day.
Now let's get into what did not serve us well this year.
I am finally coming to the realization that I do not love how we've been doing science. The Ambleside nature study & science titles have been a bit of a mixed bag for us. Some are really interesting while others just don't. I also have not been consistent in managing hands-on experiments & experiences.
I did not check behind my kids as much as I should have. On the last week, I realized my 3rd grader had forgotten to read a certain book since the first week or 2 of the term. Whoops! And my oldest had a few challenging books that he probably needed some check-ins. I have to make this a part of my daily routine!
As I look at what worked & didn't, here are some adjustments I'm going to work on for next year!
I've been itching to adjust the weekly assignment page that I've made for the kids. I designed it in hopes that they would appreciate making the choices for when to do each reading, but I think they also get decision fatigue or save their least favorites for the last day. I also want to incorporate more technology, knowing that my kids' peers are using platforms such as Google Classroom daily.
I will play around with some ideas this summer, but I think we need just a bit more structure. I don't want to get too rigid, but I also am so tired of feeling like I'm dragging a stubborn donkey up a hill in the snow while feral raccoons wrestle underfoot... I want the schedule & expectations to be set. We remind gently the first week or so & then they are expected to stick to it. Not on task? Simple consequence of losing some free time later. Didn't complete all assignments for the day? Those will have to be done during your free time.
This one's on me! I have to stick to the plan. I have to set the expectations & hold them to it. I easily get discouraged or distracted, but we all will benefit from this.
As I look ahead to the next school year, I look forward to seeing growth--academically & organizationally. The kids are growing up so fast! I want to savor the moments they have together. I want to build in the space to enjoy them individually. That's one of the benefits of homeschooling!
Other homeschool posts that you might find helpful:
A review of the kindergarten curriculum I used with all of my kids.
A post about getting started in homeschooling.
A day in the life of our homeschool!
Cheering you on as always!
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