Do you homeschool? Let's Talk

We don't look like a "homeschool family" and I don't really blog about homeschooling, because well, it's a struggle for me.  We don't have one of those large families with 7 or 8 kids (or more), although some would consider having 4 children a large family.  I don't wear a denim jumper, although I did try it, and they are comfortable, but honestly, I felt kind of funny dressing like that.  I will also tell you I don't sew or can, or bake bread, and grind my own wheat.  I don't make soap (oh wait, I do make my own laundry soap now, does that count?), and well, let's face it, I just don't have it all together. 

Really, isn't that what people think when they look at homeschool families?  We're considered "weird" and heaven forbid, our children might not be "socialized" in a public school setting.  I mean going to church, and playing hockey and being involved in other things isn't enough, is it?  My children are more socialized than I was, and I went to public school all of my life. 

Well, there are many families who homeschool who are all of the above (large families, Mom has it all together, etc...) but that isn't me.  I have admired those Moms, and wish I could do those things, and boy do I wish I could get it together.  There are times that comparing myself to other homeschool Moms, and what I think are "perfect families" has caused me to give up.

I've homeschooled each of my children at one time or another.  Currently, I have one in public school, one doing online classes, and I am homeschooling my youngest.

I struggle with what curriculum to use, and even overbuying curriculum because, well, this may be better than that, or someone said this is a really great program, blah, blah, blah. 

So let's talk.  What do you use for curriculum?  Do you use strictly one program that you've used for years because it works?  Are you a Charlotte Mason Mom, or do you love unit studies?  Traditional textbooks/workbooks?  It can be so overwhelming, and although sometimes I want to try something fun like a unit study, or a literature based program, there are other times when I just want to hand them a workbook and say here, do pages ... to ...

Have you been there?

My goal, hopefully this coming week is to take a couple of days and stay at a campground with all of my homeschool "stuff" and do some major planning for the upcoming year. 

I plan to take all of the books we currently have and see what will work for this year and what I need to add to it.

I have 2 subjects that we can do on the computer that we did not use last year.  (switched on schoolhouse).  I need to install those, and figure out how they work and if we want to use them this year.

With what I have, I need to divide how many lessons there are into how many days/weeks of school we will have so that we can get it all done.

I need to plan our schedule, to include days off, field trips, etc...  At the same time, while working around my daughter's public school calendar so that they have the same days off, Christmas break, etc....  Hmm... I wonder if that's even available yet?

Then there's the daily schedule, and how to fit it all in. 

Oh, I'm getting excited!  I love planning!

UNTIL

I have to implement it. 

There are so many things demanding our attention.  Keeping the laundry done, and the house clean, getting meals on the table, and grocery shopping and other errands.  What about Bible study, and what about ME?  It's easy to get caught up in trying to do it all, and be superwoman.  A friend of mine, one of those homeschool Moms with a large family who I admire.  One who seems to have it all together, said, "you have to look at it as a job". 

So, I hope that all of the decluttering I've been working on will help me this year to stay more focused.  I've decluttered my schedule down to the bare minimum, I've decluttered a lot of "stuff" including paper clutter from our home, although I'm still working on that.  It's all an ongoing process, and something that we have to keep on top of.  I've even decluttered some "toxic" people from my life.

We can do this!  I'm ready!  Well, almost. 

I'd love to hear from you, how do you plan?  Do you take time away from home to plan?  Do you plan for the whole year at a time, or weekly, monthly?

How do you stay on top of it through the year once your plan is in place?

I'd love to hear all of your ideas, and please share this post with your homeschool friends.  Let's support and encourage one another in what can be an overwhelming task. 

Blessings!   


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