According to the internet (so it must be true, right?), ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus is the one we credit for the saying…
“The only constant is change.”
– Heraclitus
Looking back on 2022, it’s tempting for me to agree and lament the unexpected, difficult, and life-altering changes that my family has experienced this year.
But, while change is often a regular occurrence, it is NOT the only constant.
I love “Day in the Life” posts. Well, I love other people’s “Day in the Life” posts, that is. (After all, I already know what a day in my life is like.)
But I know how much a glimpse into other homeschools helps give me new ideas… so I’m hoping this will do the same for you!
The other day my six year old asked me what we’d be doing for school that day.
“No school today,” I reminded her. “It’s Saturday.”
With a delighted sigh of relief, she found a comfy corner of the couch and started reading Life of Fred: Butterflies.
Side Note: If you’re not familiar with the Life of Fred series, it’s a quirky but effective math curricula adored by many homeschooling families. We’ve used it as a math supplement over the years and all three of my kids love it.
When her brothers picked up other books in the Life of Fred series and proceeded to read math books for over two hours… on a Saturday… for fun… the inspiration for this post was born.
Years ago, I started writing about our plans for summer breaks. I shared the educational and homeschool-y things we did over the summer each year. If you read those posts, you might remember that each year I seemed to bounce back and forth between too academic and too relaxed.
By our 5th homeschooling summer I’d found a good balance. (Yes, it really did take me five summers to figure it out…)
But just when I was getting the hang of things… the pandemic reared its ugly head.
As I’ve written this post, all of my family’s belongings were loaded onto a 26’ moving truck and taken to our new home in another state!
After searching online for co-ops and extracurricular activities near our new home, I realized firsthand how helpful it is when bloggers share their favorite local homeschooling resources!
So, before my family leaves the northwest Chicago suburbs, I want to post a “brain dump” of all the northern Illinois homeschooling resources I’ve found over the years. We’ve been parenting and homeschooling here for over a decade and have collected a list of awesome co-ops, support groups, nature centers, field trip ideas, and more!
Kid: “Mommy… I’m bored!”
Mom: “Good!”
I think this is how I’ll respond to my kids from now on when they complain to me that they’re bored.
No, it probably won’t go over very well with them. But boredom – free, unscheduled, unfettered time – is a GIFT in our culture today. Too much free time can become an issue, of course. But, for many of us, time to think and dream and putter around is often lacking.
If you don’t homeschool, have you ever wondered what it is those crazy homeschooling people do all day?
And, if you already home educate, isn’t it fun to get a glimpse into another homeschool to see other ways of doing things?
That’s why I like to do “Day in the Life” posts from time to time. You can check out other days in our life here and here. But for now, here’s a look into our homeschool on…
May God give us all strength and peace as we keep our eyes and hearts focused on Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
“…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
2 Timothy 1:7
I pray that you and your family have a blessed Christmas and New Year!
If you’ve read my review of Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (BFSU) science curriculum, you’ll know it’s no secret that I love it!
The content is awesome, it’s organized logically, and it encourages students to observe, question, and think their way through the lessons (rather than just memorizing science jargon that’s thrown at them).
Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of my BFSU review to learn more about the curriculum and how it works.
But, even though I love BFSU, there was a steep learning curve for me as I tried to actually implement it. The thing is, I was creating work and frustration for myself that could’ve been avoided! The steep learning curve was my own fault!
One of the best things about homeschooling is the ability to schedule your life without being tied to a school calendar. So, in that sense, ANYTIME can be the “perfect time” for your homeschooling family’s vacation, depending on your needs and goals.
But, I’ve found there’s a vacation sweet spot that has worked out best for us and that time is…
