Regroup

     I love homeschooling.  I am fortunate that I have a wonderful support network.  I have my friends from co-op, church, Community Bible Study, family and  friends from my homeschool mom's group.  I also have the support of my incredible husband.  This support system is important.  These people keep me grounded.  Help me to stay the course and throw me a life preserver on days I feel like I am drowning. 
     I love the curriculum that I have chosen.  I blogged about exactly what I am using and why.  However, when it came down to me deciding what to do next year I started to doubt my choices.  Maybe there is something better.  Maybe I am pushing big sister too much.  Maybe I should try x.  While I was in the throws of this doubt my homeschool mom's group had our monthly night out.  The women there listened to me.  They asked questions.  They encouraged me and helped me to realize that I should stick with my plan.  We all have those times of doubt.  We are fortunate that today homeschoolers have so many choices.  You can really find materials that will fit your child.  You don't have to settle.  However, all those choices can get overwhelming and cause you to start doubting.  I think re-evaluating is a good thing.  I can now order next year's curriculum with confidence.
     There are so many things that homeschoolers can do throughout the week.  So many really good things that would be fun learning experiences.  Art classes, gym classes, science day programs...You could be out every day at a different activity.  At the beginning of this school year I had a pretty full schedule.  By Christmas I realized it was too much.  I felt God was telling me to slow down.  So I dropped something I was enjoying and it helped.  As the months have passed I still fell over scheduled.

     Traditionally Monday has been a down day for the girls & me.  It set the tone for the week.  This year I planned activities for Monday.  Well as of today Monday's activities are gone.  It wasn't working.  We need that day.  Big sister is disappointed.  She enjoyed her Monday gym class.  But as the mom I have to make those tough decisions.  I know it is the right decision.  We need to slow down.
     It is so hard when you have to choose between good things and figure out which good thing is right for you and your family.  The homeschool community offers so many good things and as a parent it is my job to sift through and pick what activities are best for us.  It isn't easy.  Sometimes I feel like we are missing out.  But I know that over scheduling is not good and I have to be vigilant about not letting it happen.  I have to be the adult in the situation and sometimes say we need to stop x because it is not working for us.  This isn't always easy, but I have found in life that the right choice is rarely the easy choice.