Getting Ready for a Restful Homeschool Year

This post, Getting Ready for a Restful Homeschool Year, contains a referral link to Sonlight Curriculum. 

We won't officially start school until September 5th, the day after Labor Day, but we had a first day of sorts this week when we started our History, Bible, and Literature reading. I wasn't planning anything special because all this means is that we will now follow a suggested course for the school year, but we are always reading in our home whether school's in session or not. 


So, I wasn't planning anything special, but Eliana decided we should have our first day of school waffles to celebrate being back to school. 

See, she loves school just as much as I had hoped she would.

That's one reason I love Sonlight because their main goal is to inspire a love of learning. We've done Sonlight in the background of our unit studies since we came back to Sonlight over 5 years ago. I haven't used Sonlight "as is" since my first year of homeschooling, but I hope to come back to that this year, and I'm looking forward to it because it will be a more restful year - one where I won't burn out because of over-planning. 


In the past, I would cook each child's waffles for them and stack them up high - well, as high as the grade they were in. Then I'd garnish the plate with strawberries and write their grade in whipped cream on the top. It sure made for a pretty picture and a fun memory, but this year, each kid did their own thing. Eliana is 5th grade this year, so her goal was to eat 5 waffles for breakfast that morning, and it didn't matter to her if they were all stacked up or not. She was just happy to have organic blueberry gluten-free waffles that were yummy, with real maple syrup to smother them with and a cup of hot tea. 

A few weeks ago, I wouldn't imagine we'd be having hot tea in August, but after two or three weeks of scorching hot weather, it's been 70 degrees. It's back up to the 80s now by the end of the week, but it's been lovely! It feels like fall is right around the corner, and school should be starting soon. And, with a busy fall and a possible move, getting an early start will make for a more restful year. 


I don't even know if Malachi ate 7 waffles that morning, but he will be in the 7th grade this year. He wanted me to capture the syrup drizzling over the waffles. It's the little things, you know. 


Poor Bo has gotten one waffle each year since he started tot school at age 2. But, since he is reading at a 2nd grade level, and doing math at a 3rd, I told him he could have 2 waffles, but he will be the 1st grade this year.  He started his math a couple weeks ago on his own. He's been a little frustrated because he's forgotten some things over the summer, but he stuck with it and has finished three weeks of Math Lessons 3. 

I will be sharing what we are doing for curriculum soon, but I just want to plant a little bug in your ear that what I am choosing for my homeschool is what's best for us - right now. Only you can know what's best for you, and I will be writing soon to encourage you to rest in that

But today, I want to share that it's okay to not do anything fancy (or picture worthy) for the first day of school. I'm a scrapbooker (now Project Lifer) who has always taken pics of the ordinary on a daily basis... what I'm trying to say, is go ahead and take a picture of whatever your life looks like right now, even if it's not perfect or picture worthy. If you have the energy to do more, then do something picture worthy or fun because you can. But, it's okay if you don't, too. 

3 comments

  1. We started early this year and just finished week two. I like having the margin to take time off when things come up and I already know baby #10 is due in January/February so we will definitely be taking time off then on top of regularly scheduled breaks.
    It's so easy to over-personalize and over-plan things and get ourselves burnt out, isn't it?! I sometimes look up and think - wait, shouldn't we be doing that and this and that too? Thankfully my kids are quick to remind me that we've got our entire lives to learn and we don't need to cram it all in this year.
    Have a lovely year!

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  2. Your blog always inspires me in so many ways. Thank you for taking the time to share.

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  3. Tristan, I've been following your homeschool journey - it looks like you are off to a great start. I know time off when baby is born will be wonderful. I know it's easy for me to over do it, but you are right - we can't possibly teach them all they need to know before they turn 18. That was my hang-up - I was afraid of GAPS, but there will be plenty of them so matter how hard I try.

    Heidi, thank you reading my blog. There would be no point to blogging without readers like you. :)

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