I’m not a planner. I don’t enjoy planning a trip, or a school year. I spent this past summer talking about planning rather than doing it, until it got to crunch time and I finally submitted. I know much of this is my perfectionism coming out. I know I can’t plan perfectly so I simply don’t.
Today, I am coming off of a break week that has been full of reflection and time to actually sit with my books, my thoughts, and our past five weeks of lessons. I am learning, slowly because I can be stubborn, that just jumping in and adjusting as needed is what most of life is about. I’m not really into messy … yet that is what life is: failing forward.
I have certainly failed over these past six weeks: failed to start on time, failed to plan, failed to be prepared. Even with a timetable or checklist, my homeschooling felt like it was missing something.
Jump forward to today. Monday of Week Seven. I have a timetable not only for the week but also a breakdown of the day. I have poured over the relevant guides from the CMEC and gathered all relevant links into Trello (my favorite organizing app). I know which books we’re reading and what we’re reading in them. The decisions have been made and I feel like my children are going to get a much richer education today than they have in the past six weeks, because I have taken the hour to sit with the material.
Being a homeschooling mama is serious work. In the past, I’ve used excuse after excuse to just wing my children’s education, to educate according to whim and fancy. Many times I’d give in to decision fatigue and overwhelm and just say “and that’s it for today!”
Thankfully, as St. Augustine reminds me, we can trust the past to God’s mercy and the present His Love.
Even though my children will get fuller, more orderly lessons today, the grace is felt most abundantly for myself. I am looking forward to our day! I am excited to share truth, beauty, and goodness with my children. I have a sense of right order, peace, and confidence. The more diligent I am, the more I walk in this virtue, the more consolation and grace God pours into my soul. I want to say I’m “proud of myself” but the only thing I can be proud of is cooperating with His Grace, Who has done it all. I simply said “okay” and got up early.
How is your homeschool year going so far?
Note: On November 2 at 9:30am est my friend Kate and I will be having a conversation about Charlotte Mason and the CMEC. This interview is only available to Mary’s Roses. If interested, membership is only $5/month or $50 for the year. If you cannot afford to pay, please email me at whatlauralikeschannel@gmail.com. The $5/month goes towards paying my admin as well as supporting the What Laura Likes presence online.
Great post.