what I thought, what I bought

a mental edit and this season's homeschool goods haul

People that homeschool year in and year out often find themselves seeing their years not in the habitual circles that the large-classrooms-grades-by-age do, but in unique arcs. One year had a new baby, and the learning looked more like conversation and long walks. Another year all the children were reading and they did every curriculum they could get their hands on. One year they pinpointed a learning disability and pivoted to accommodate it wholly. One year, as Oldjoy noted on instagram the other day about planning her upcoming year… 

“I really do not want to make things workbook heavy. I am becoming more and more relaxed every year. I just want to eat food together, and be outside, and play games and watch documentaries and make art, and read books!”

I loved that.

splendor and rest, in the garden right now

For me, this year feels like I signed up for a year of graduate school (if only I could get a brochure with glossy photos of the cafeteria…). That sense of anticipation before you plunge into something that will be harder and different than before? That’s how I feel. In short, it’s not the year I would have framed out three years ago for us. But it’s our year, this year. The hours of work will multiply and be more challenging than they’ve been. I will need more self-discipline than I’ve ever needed. A second grader and a fifth grader have so many things to do, such capacities! And the seventh grader is signed up for Challenge, the 7th grade level within Classical Conversations that involves around five hours of self-directed work a day, including hand drawing a part of the world every day, so that they can return to their once-a-week seminar and talk about everything with their peers and director. It is a program that has sounded difficult to me from the very first time I heard of it years ago. I will need to help her study and schedule her time, and that will probably take a least a month if not six weeks, for her to adapt to (meaning do with enthusiasm and grace). And the preschooler believes firmly that reading to her should be the first and last thing I do every day.

All the while I will be holding my deep allegiance to time outside, time spent playing, spontaneous road trips to cities, puzzles, rabbit holes on the internet, late nights reading novels, art projects, morning reading aloud together, and lots of time in the kitchen. 

This brings me to wonder how I reflect on the person who in 2019 homeschooled a 2^nd grader and a kindergartener, and had a three year old, and a baby. Was that easier? It was definitely not easier; but time was different to her. More expansive when it needed to be, and nearly glacially slow. If the little kids got sick that cancelled almost all of her plans immediately. How everyone slept the night before determined more than seemed fair about the day ahead. It was easier for her to smooth things over when things didn’t go anywhere near how she had planned; now four pairs of eyes watch me reproachfully. She didn’t try to serve a ‘good dinner’ most nights—carrots and pasta and a bit of chicken stirfry perfectly sufficing day in and day out. She read more novels to balance out the joyful jabber, mostly because she could on a kindle, while sitting and holding the baby…

Anyway, the point is it’s all wonderful, and changing all the time. “How you spend your days is how you spend your life” could not be more inaccurate when it comes to raising children!

New Things This Year

An assortment of new things coming to our homeschool this fall, most of them sitting at our post office box as I type this.

Plus Plus Flags of the World: The kids notice flags and often ask me if I know which country they represent. I think this build-your-own set will be fun, and actually work as a familiarity tool.

Hymn Book: a collection of hymns to learn, accompanied by a short history of each hymn writer. I’m planning to pull a hymn a week from this. We sing a number of hymns every week in church, but the kids only hear them once with long intervals in between and of course I never remember to follow up and ask what they thought. This was recommended by Eloise at Farmhouse Schoolhouse.

Middle School Drama Program: the oldest is now in 7th grade, so she can join the after school program at our local middle school. This seems like a great thing, and she is thrilled.

Model magic: I like this stuff, the kids like it, and I decided to buy a box of it to have on hand throughout the year. A big box of them will allow me to occasionally bring them into the class I teach at our co-op as well.

Magnetic poetry: I think it will be really fun to come upon compositions by anonymous kitchen visitors. I chose the happy theme because I wouldn’t mind a few more references to contentment in the kitchen.

Piano lessons: the vital symmetry of three came together: local teacher available in person in the mornings, not a long drive, children are asking for them. One child told me she wanted piano lessons, I repeated this to someone else in front of the other children, those children quickly claimed they’ve been wanting piano lessons for years now.

Scripture Memory: another recommendation from the wise Eloise of Farmhouse Schoolhouse. A memory verse system. Though the children often say, “Let’s memorize another Bible passage!” (truly, they say that) I can’t always sort out which/when/how. Like so many things this year, I’m looking for systems I can rely on to carry intentions. I decided to pay $22 and not try to put it together myself.

A New Read Aloud

I brought An American Story: 100 True Tales from American History home from the library intending to use it for morning time, but Joe quickly snapped it up for bedtime. The stories are short, interesting and often unexpected, even to the adults. It even has a story about Abraham Lincoln that I had never heard before, which I didn’t think was possible. We are really enjoying it.

And, a quote for you

The other day Fashionista.com tweeted “See ya never, undereye puffiness” with a link to eye cream and honestly…undereye puffiness doesn’t deserve this hate! It’s proof of a long, cathartic cry! Of seasons changing, flowers blooming, pollen flying!! Of dancing, drinking, kissing all night and eating a salty pork roll egg and cheese sandwich the next morning!!! Embrace the puff, I say.”

-Jessica Defino, beauty writer on substack