It is only the middle of summer here but we have decided to take advantage of the flexibility of homeschooling and have created a bit of a different schedule for the kids this year. Anyone who knows me knows that the planning part of homeschooling is pretty much my favorite. February rolls around and I am ready to plan for September! This year was no different and I completed my plans in March and April. I'm a big old planning nerd!
We have a big change coming to our family this year as we anticipate adding Robbie (who is 6) to our family sometime in late Fall. My heart speeds up considerably just thinking about what this will be like. Of our four adoptions, we have had 3 easy transitions and one wow-are-we-going-to-survive-this difficult transition. I have no idea how things will be when Robbie arrives but I know that for sure there will be an adjustment period for Robbie and all of us. Becoming a family takes time and energy and time and grace and time...
With that in mind, I planned out our school year beginning a couple of months early to build in some time to breathe, adjust, play and learn when Robbie arrives. We started the girls at the beginning of July. Hannah is ecstatic to finally be in Kindergarten and Livvy feels like such a big girl saying she is in Preschool. It basically means playing with play dough and coloring and talking about letters just like last year but shhhhhhh! Don't tell her that!
I have never had to teach actual subjects to three kiddos before and yikes was the word that kept coming to mind. I thought I would ease myself into it a bit by starting with just the girls. The boys are happy to play, read, and ride bikes all morning long and it has been great to give the girls some structure. I also started a new curriculum with Hannah (more on that coming soon!). It has been a great fit for her and I've been glad to have the time to get to know the schedule and curriculum a bit. I've also loved having time to focus on the girls, read to them more, be intentional about playing with them and focusing just on them, if only for an hour or two in the morning. A lot of times I feel like they get so much less of me as numbers 3 and 4 in the family so having this time together has been precious. Well...some days it's precious! As has been my experience with homeschooling so far, some days are picture perfect, other days are barely survivable!
In August I will start the boys (they will be in 1st and 2nd grade this year). I have a lot of confidence about the curriculum choices that we are continuing, excitement about the new ones we are adding in this year (history, science, and art), and a whole lot of nerves about how we will fit it all in. I keep voicing these concerns to Brad and then the other day he reminded me that every single year I say these things, and somehow we make it through and come out okay!
Deep breaths.
I often doubt my own abilities, but thank God for His grace when I fail, His strength when I am weak, His wisdom and guidance as I parent all these little ones, and the blessing of an amazing husband who makes me laugh on the craziest of days.
Let's get this year started!
