November, you always seem to bring the nagging, needling thoughts– accusing me of being behind.
I start the year with an outline complete with goals and plans. I keep my sketch stretchy– allowing room for life, real learning, and even a little lazy. But somehow, every year, August's you can do this! is replaced by November's you didn't do it.
Elijah's Latin book hasn't been opened yet.
Your American Indian study is only half-finished.
The binding on your poetry memorization book is barely broken.
Did you write your Five in a Row plans in invisible ink?
You'd have to do two math lessons each day to catch-up to where you should be.
The frame of your once-beautiful outline has been bent into something unrecognizable and ugly.
Everyone else is right-on-schedule.
Some of the allegations are true. Some aren't. Either way, I have a choice.
I can agonize over my pulverized plans, or I can contemplate and commemorate what we've done off-road.
Spontaneous field trips, baskets of library books, afternoons at the park, following rabbit trails, conversations about God . . .
Sorry, November. I'm not going to listen to you this time.
We are living. We are loving. We are learning. We are not behind.
Thank you for posting this, it’s a great encouragement.
November can be so mean and taunting like that can’t it?
Just this morning I was looking over things and thinking about how hopelessly behind we seem to be on many subjects. Then I reminded myself that I am the only one holding myself to this timeline that I’ve created. Life is always much more busy (and interesting) than plans on paper. Two field trips yesterday and one coming up this weekend. Not to mention all the tangents in our plans that come about due to something that catches my son’s attention and fancy. We are doing fine. 🙂
Thanks for a wonderful and timely post!
Thank you. We are there. We switched our core history curric in October, and have been waiting for the new books to arrive. This has left us in a limbo for the last 3 weeks. We have been getting away with the three R’s and an episode of Young Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure (hey, it covers history, art, science and music !) I hate feeling behind. But my kids are learning, and retaining so…It’s alright.
Me too! Nice to know your not alone.
After reading a post that was quite the opposite and telling homeschoolers we don’t enough, this was uplifting. Thankyou 🙂
I only write very basic dot point plans for this precise reason.