Pressing On

As I mentioned in my previous post, school planning is always a reflective time. As I looked back at our year(s) I came to some surprising conclusions as to what I might like to change. When I started with the homeschool idea I was all about the adventure and breaking away from the mold. I didn't want to be trapped into a 9-5 life, running the kids everywhere, never being together. I wanted to have family adventures and learn along the way and really enjoy each other!  I just wanted things to be *different* than what I saw as the "typical" lifestyle. Well, since we haven't yet travelled North America in an RV for a year or hired private guides to take us through Europe :) is this lifestyle really meeting my goals? Since I live it everyday I don't feel very outside the box and I'm disappointed. It seems like we spend most of everyday just doing basic learning although over the years I've tried to find innovative and exciting curricula to capture some of

Spring is planning time for the next year, homeschool conventions are looming (where I can purchase what we need and save the shipping) and last year I left it too late and spent way too many summer days working school stuff. I'm on a mission this year to get it all done *before* the sun makes its brief appearance. This time a much more philosophical review as to why we are "home learners" (as the gov't calls us) than the desperate lists I make during the hard middle months of the year to motivate myself. This my chance to create the perfect year!  How tantalizing is that?! I can completely re-think every subject for every kid. This is my opportunity to re-make our daily existence bound by... only what I can imagine. So here I sit surrounded by catalogues, blogs, forums, dozens of notes scratched on dozens of scrappy pieces of paper (inspiration strikes at the oddest times - have to make do with the writing materials at hand), reading, praying, trying to catch a