I, or maybe I should say "we" collectively as a family, seem to have hit a wall in terms of school work. I think I've heard it's pretty common for homeschooling families who are chugging along to get a bit of fatigue come February. I didn't think this would happen to us, but several factors seem to have come together at once. First, the weather here has been all over the map. One day it's rainy and cold, one day it's sunny and in the 70's. It snowed last week and today (after a rough night of wind and some rain) it's close to 80 degrees. When you are at the end of winter and you get a day like today, how can you focus on a dumb worksheet in front of you? Everything just seems to say, "Go out and soak up those sunny rays and enjoy!"
"Daydreaming" by Winslow Homer 1880-1882
The other thing that has happened these past two or three weeks is that I have found myself over committed yet again (I know I hear you laughing. Doesn't every homeschool parent say that over and over again?) We've had birthdays and birthday parties and a confluence of co-op classes for me to teach and new classes the kids have started. This means outside homework and me scrambling to put together group lessons. I wish I were someone who could put together a lesson quickly, but I just can't. Each lesson takes me days of sifting through books and online sources to find just the right combination of age appropriate information and fun (and doable) activities. It's not so much the execution but trying to figure out what to include and what to skip over. Meanwhile I am relearning the material myself. I seem to find myself doing a lot of science classes. The reason is that I love science and I love to get kids interested in science. The downfall, however, is that there is a great deal of preparation involved. It's not like a writing class where you hand out assignments and discuss them. Once I've figured out what I want to do, I have to gather the materials and try them out to see if the activity or experiment actually works! Half the time it doesn't. In some cases I'll go ahead with it anyway (scientific results aren't always as predicted after all), but in some cases I decide the whole thing is just dumb anyway and chuck it in favor of something else. I've never been a fan of pre-packaged curriculum. We homeschool so we can personalize our educational experiences after all. I'll admit, however, that following a curriculum would be easier, if slightly more boring.
My kids benefit greatly from group Co-ops and classes. We have such a wide range of talents and interests in our co-op parents that it makes it very much worth-while. The kids get the benefit of being taught (essentially for free) by someone who is an expert in art, writing, dance, or math. The flip side of this is that I must commit to teaching myself, and sometimes that tradeoff results in me being so completely absorbed in preparing lessons that our other work has to take a back seat until I can spare the time and energy badger them to do it. Ehem... math...
Finally, the dreaded springtime viruses. Just when you think winter is over and you are home free in the flu and cold department, a bug will hit the house and swiftly remove any will or energy to focus on... well really anything. We've got all of this going on right now. The wheels are still rolling and the regular weekly activities are still there, but that is about it. I've decided not to stress too much about the other stuff though. It's a blessing that the kids CAN go out and enjoy the nice weather when it is nice, and we can catch up on the other stuff when our hearts and minds are more in it and able to absorb the lessons. My experience tells me that when it's forced it's not very productive and very little gets retained, so why beat my head against the wall?
Go out and enjoy the Spring. Notice the flowers blooming and the bugs coming out. Watch the birds and go for a hike. Let the kids run and jump and play. All that other stuff will be there when the Spring Fever wears off.
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