Pressing On

Planning for the new school year––for the 15th time. 15 YEARS Every year has been a little bit different, of course. We peaked around 2012 when everyone was in school here at home encompassing K-7. Talk about busy! Since then my oldest was in and out of a private school for a few years, and of course that K'er is now entering grade 7 herself and has needed less and less of my time with every grade. This year we will have a graduate, one grade 9 and one grade 7; I feel like I'm going to be slacking off, to be honest. As I was cleaning out school stuff today I realized that planning for the new year is equal parts enthusiasm and depression. A new year holds all kinds of promise, but the last year holds buckets of guilt. Ok, maybe not equal parts. Today felt heavy on the guilt side. Books, games, workbooks, maps, programs, paid for but not used, or half used and abandoned for one reason or another, notebooks once shiny-new, now filled with angst filled pencil marks and X&#

We did it!  Another year of homeschool––CHECK I now officially have a 7th, 9th, and 12th grader.    It's been a very good year, especially after the midpoint when my then 11th grader decided to own her education and got self-motivated instead of Mom-motivated, and I had a hallelujah breakdown. In celebration of a year of hard work, our tradition is to head out for Slurpees, although I've made a concerted effort to talk everyone into Kombucha instead.  I'm still the only taker ; )