Out With A...Fizzle?

I always start the school year with a great schedule and awesome intentions. Somewhere, around about November, because of pre-Christmas preparations, I lose momentum (with great intentions of gearing back up in January, of course!).

You know what they say about "The road to Perdition..." ...whoopsie.

We reluctantly get it together in January, mainly because the weather is junky and there's nothing better to do, and muddle through the early spring. 

This year, we have been entirely thrown off the homeschool path by the unseasonably nice weather and crazy early spring. I always keep the core subjects for every day but we slack off on the "extras" and take more field trips and watch more educational programing (Yay! For the Discovery and NG channels!), and do more domestic things like spring organization and yard work (Hey! Fixing the Lawnmower and Mowing The Lawn 101! I LOVE that class!) I tried to have them buckle down and do more studies but the windows are open, the birds are singing and the sun is shining, and...well, you probably know the rest of the story.

Nearly every year, the kids ask me "Are we done with school yet?" or "When are we going to be done with school?". It's kind of funny for me that they ask those questions, since we generally follow the public school schedule and they know EXACTLY when the year ends for public schoolers.

One day, around about the first week of June, I just simply stop telling them "Yes you can do 'X' but do your school work, first!". They might ask again, a week later or so...but the smart ones don't ask any questions about it. They just make plans with their friends and hold their breath for a few weeks, then sigh with relief when they realize that, YES, school is OFFICIALLY DONE for the year and we can get on with the summer activities that they have looked forward to all Fall and Winter. 

Our homeschool group (It's a casual, Roman Catholic group which has been together for more than 11 years. We call ourselves "JMJ-Jesus, Mary and Joseph Homeschool Group") has had a beginning of the year and end of the year Mass and picnic, which marks the official start and end of the school year (in MY mind). 

What does your homeschool year look like? Do you have a hard time with determining the "official end" of your school year? Are you a family who has sent your kids to public or private school and are now considering or have decided on home education? Send me any questions and comments and I'll try to answer or find someone who can!