and the homeschooling must go on... sort of

While others are gearing up to start the school year, or have even already started, we have been (sort of) homeschooling all summer long.


seed class



The kids have been doing math, reading, writing, even drawing and arts & crafts all summer. NONE of it has involved me. Mommy's been unavailable these days - up to her eyeballs in boxes and wrapping paper and bubble wrap (and don't forget a glass of wine or two for her nerves). I set them steadily on the math track, then stepped away to deal with packing. I really haven't had to do anything except answer a question here and there about how to divide fractions and what is 9 times 4 again?.

Homeschooling this year is looking anything but orthodox. I'm okay with it (mostly). We have no schedule, no normal, and way too much to do for any of us to attempt anything that remotely resembles normal. It bothers me a little, but it's okay for now - and will have to be okay for the next 4-6 months or so. It is what it is. I am looking forward to getting settled in to our new home and regaining some sort of consistency in our day. Not sure what that'll look like, since we arrive in their spring - summer being right around the corner in December... and how do you school when everyone else is on summer break?!

I packed all of our homeschool stuff up for shipping (10 boxes, mostly books), except what we'll need to do the bare minimum over the next couple of months. We keep the Math available to be worked on, I threw a few books in my suitcase for reading to the kids (not that I anticipate having any time to do that, but everybody needs a few good books close by...), and their handwriting is floating around here somewhere...

It's a bare bones academic year so far, but rich in so many other ways. We are, after all, moving to the mission field in a foreign country. And all that. I'm resting in God's grace, and all the other amazing learning experiences yet to be had. In many ways, I see how I am made for this. An excessively organized, scheduled person would probably not do so well having their lives turned upside-down with a move of this magnitude. It takes a certain level of go-with-the-flow to survive something like this. Good thing I'm not an especially uptight kind of homeschooler, or we'd all be in a straight jacket right about now. :)