As a child January always felt bleak - cold and barren compared to the warmth and bustle of the Christmas season. Now as an adult, a mom, and a teacher it feels like the perfect fresh start. Phase One of the restoration promised with the redemption of Advent. Perfect time to take stock, evaluate growth, and set goals. Personally I am working through a bit of a "who am I?" crisis of the soul, but that is not the topic of this blog.
I started this academic year with much excitement, lots of very detailed plans, and (I think) pretty realistic expectations. As I examine our Fall and Holiday terms, I find myself over the moon pleased with how things have gone. I think maybe the Lord (who has very much been the leader of this little endeavor!) allowed things to progress smoothly. Maybe he knew I would need validation or maybe he's giving me some good memories to hold on to when things get difficult down the road. Or maybe it's true that peace is a natural byproduct of order. Regardless, this first half of the school year has blessed my heart.
For posterity's sake, we have logged 98 days of school, which is just right on track with what I had planned. Brooklyn has made good progress in all her subjects, though things got a little crazy during December thanks to her involvement in American Music Theater's production of Deck the Halls. It was a wonderful experience. Brooklyn is such a little starlet! I know she was blessed by the social engagement, the musical theater training, and the artistic development she received so it was well worth the academic shuffling I had to do. Now that it's all said and done and I am reviewing the progress we made and where we are "behind" and it's really not bad. I hate the idea of being "behind" because I would much rather take our time diving deep into subject and letting them sink in rather than rush through a book or subject at a specific pace. We are pursuing wisdom, not a dry list of facts. I digress.
I learned some good things about Brooklyn and how she learns and balancing work with school. She is social and she processes more in conversation than in worksheets or written compositions. This is completely opposite of how I process, so major challenge! She takes great comfort in boundaries and plans. Tricky because our schedule is so fluid, but basically if I say we are going to take a break on a given date, we need to take the break. If I think we need to adjust our "regular school schedule" to accommodate a performance or audition or something, a little heads up goes a long way for her attitude.
All of this will come in handy as we finish out this year because she was just cast in Samson at Sight and Sound and The Old Time Gospel Radio Hour at Servant Stage. It will be a busy year and I have to do some more academic shuffling, but again, this is part of why we chose to homeschool. I, for one, am looking forward to the next few months.
I started this academic year with much excitement, lots of very detailed plans, and (I think) pretty realistic expectations. As I examine our Fall and Holiday terms, I find myself over the moon pleased with how things have gone. I think maybe the Lord (who has very much been the leader of this little endeavor!) allowed things to progress smoothly. Maybe he knew I would need validation or maybe he's giving me some good memories to hold on to when things get difficult down the road. Or maybe it's true that peace is a natural byproduct of order. Regardless, this first half of the school year has blessed my heart.
For posterity's sake, we have logged 98 days of school, which is just right on track with what I had planned. Brooklyn has made good progress in all her subjects, though things got a little crazy during December thanks to her involvement in American Music Theater's production of Deck the Halls. It was a wonderful experience. Brooklyn is such a little starlet! I know she was blessed by the social engagement, the musical theater training, and the artistic development she received so it was well worth the academic shuffling I had to do. Now that it's all said and done and I am reviewing the progress we made and where we are "behind" and it's really not bad. I hate the idea of being "behind" because I would much rather take our time diving deep into subject and letting them sink in rather than rush through a book or subject at a specific pace. We are pursuing wisdom, not a dry list of facts. I digress.
I learned some good things about Brooklyn and how she learns and balancing work with school. She is social and she processes more in conversation than in worksheets or written compositions. This is completely opposite of how I process, so major challenge! She takes great comfort in boundaries and plans. Tricky because our schedule is so fluid, but basically if I say we are going to take a break on a given date, we need to take the break. If I think we need to adjust our "regular school schedule" to accommodate a performance or audition or something, a little heads up goes a long way for her attitude.
All of this will come in handy as we finish out this year because she was just cast in Samson at Sight and Sound and The Old Time Gospel Radio Hour at Servant Stage. It will be a busy year and I have to do some more academic shuffling, but again, this is part of why we chose to homeschool. I, for one, am looking forward to the next few months.
Comments
Post a Comment