By the time the first of the year rolls around, I am so burnt out on school. Luckily, we don’t have much longer because, by Easter, we have concluded for the year. After we spend two weeks on Christmas break, I feel that is long enough to recover from all things holiday. So, in the first full week in January, our year resumes, only we switch to four days a week. My boys and I hit the ground running because we know that we are almost to the end of the year and there isn’t anything more refreshing for this veteran homeschool mom than knowing that I am about to get a much deserved break.
In January, I have a meeting with my homeschool administrator to report grades; we do this twice a year. It’s no biggie when you have one child, but when you have three still schooling at home that’s when it gets a little tricky. So I am working on getting all of my forms ready in time and I do that when we have our Christmas break. So, by the time January rolls around, I am ready to go to my meeting. I have been homeschooling for so long that it is sort of routine by now. I just recently graduated my oldest and have three more to go. My youngest is only four and, since we graduate our children by the age of 16, I still have a long way to go.
We usually don’t really have a hard time adjusting back to school. I get the usual groaning, but then it’s back to school as normal. We try to enjoy our Alabama winter as much as we can; but by January it is usually too cold for the children to do anything outside. As a result of this, we spend afternoons in – drinking hot chocolate, eating snacks, and playing board games. And as a homeschool mom, I get back to planning for the next year. A big part of this is choosing our curriculum for the upcoming year.
This year we have added just a little more to our now oldest son’s schooling. He will start studying for SAT’s this school year. He isn’t really looking forward to it as much as my husband and I are. We are really eager to see where his learning is. So, as you can see, this month is just as busy as any other month in our household.
What plans do you have for the new year?