Now that we're living in ordinary time, and the Christmas and Epiphany feasting have passed, it's time for "real life" again. The holy days are over, the decorations have been packed away, and the realization hits that it's a frigid, January day. What's a homeschooling mother to do?
It's tempting to crack the whip:
"We're getting back into a routine! NOW."
But, experimentation and general cranky rebellion (from all of us) have taught me that the whip-cracking approach isn't the best for our family. I've found that easing back into the everyday works much better. Though dropping a routine can happen in an instant, picking it up again is a more meandering process, a reminder that routines are shaped and formed over time.
So, in the week (or two) after Christmas break, we creep back toward an ordered and more predictable life. We get on top of regular chore routines. We pull out math books (and remind ourselves that last month, we knew how to do this, therefore we shall not panic, knowing that a wee bit of review will cover a multitude of mistakes.) We think about science projects, and we hit the library for a new stack of great read-alouds.
We clean, we declutter and we sigh with contentment over newfound order.
For a few minutes, anyway -- after all, kids live here.
6 comments:
I'm there with ya, Karen!
Was that math comment directed at me??? :) You are so wise Karen!
LOL, Jennifer! No, it was directed at us ... and our day with math yesterday! :-)
This is how I will do things when I homeschool, perfect for my temperament.
This morning my husband asked, "Why are the walls (in our bedroom) so dirty?" I respond, "We have kids, dear!"
Even Mondays need to eased into at our house!
We're still behind you, I keep saying tomorrow I'm taking that Christmas tree down! But we have started the de-cluttering, and it feels GOOD!
Now, about homework. . .
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