School's Out For Summer!

 Sarah, Elizabeth, and I finished up their 2020-2021 school year today. We worked through June and this portion of July because we took all of May off for our move to North Carolina. (Being on the east coast again, I plan on pushing our next year's school start date to the Tuesday after Labor Day.)

It was a good year overall. It started out with Sarah as a public school student who was homebound due to COVID-19, and ended with her as a full fledged homeschooled student. 

I was so happy when she made the decision to come home full-time, but I was also nervous. She requires a lot of extra work to teach her well and I wasn't sure if I was going to be up for the challenge. 

Lo and behold, I managed it pretty well. 

Elizabeth was very glad to have Sarah come home as well. I know she missed Sarah when Sarah was a freshman and away from home from 7 am to 4:20 pm every school day. 

Elizabeth had a good year too. Like Andy, learning is hard for her and she struggles a lot with things that come simply for others, but unlike with Andy, I now know that with a little extra work and out of the box thinking, by the end of her homeschooling journey she too will know all she needs to know. 

I think that even though I have been a homeschooling mama for many years now I learned a lot this year too. 

These homeschooling days aren't about trying to replicate public school at home, but rather trying to build on all of the things public schooling doesn't/can't allow for: slow learning, extra time for cool projects and field trips, extra time with family, learning about oneself and beliefs away from peer pressure and our societies norms for our children/teenagers. 

I have learned that I can trust myself to educate my children well. I have also learned that this journey is about the long term end goal, and not a year to year short term goal. 

I am excited that we are done for this short summer break. It will be a time for us to enjoy all of the goodness of summer: the community pool, trips to the ocean and mountains, visits with family, and an opportunity to make new friends. 

I am proud of the work we did this year and look forward to the upcoming school year that will be here before we know it.