April is here and usually that would mean Tiffany is on a break until the end of the month when we go to the Tulsa OCHEC homeschool convention but this year is different. Tiffany is graduating this week! It is her last week of school because we decided that it was silly to take off most of April only to finish her last couple of weeks at the end of the month and into May.

One of the best things we did was to change our calendar to a year round learning style, so that she did school work during the months that are too hot to be outside and be away from the things that seem more educational when it is nice outside. So instead of book work or following our usual routine in April, we plan and plant a garden, which is still educational and can still be counted as school days. But it also means that we can take a day or two and binge watch movies we really enjoy or try out a season of a tv series, as long as we get our household essentials done.

Prior to changing our calendar, I would get a bit antsy about not finishing up a curriculum we had started or completing _____ that I had planned for us to complete. Then I heard (and subsequently remembered) that even brick and mortar schools don’t finish our their curriculum. Of course, I didn’t let myself off the hook that easily because I had paid good money for said curriculum and, by golly, we were going to get our money’s worth out of it. The thing is that if your children are learning and moving forward, you don’t really have to finish anyone else’s checklist to say you have studied the subject. Not all teachers in the country or even in the same school district teach the exact same things. The whole point of education is to teach children to read, write, basic math, citizenship, and how to learn (and in our case, to know God and His word and have a relationship with Him). If they have these fundamentals then they can find out any information they need to have when they need to have it.

I do not know any one person that knows absolutely everything, although I have known a few who think they do. Truth is that there is always someone that knows something you don’t and that is fine because you can learn what you need to learn. When you go to a new job, you have to learn how to do the job the way your employer wants you to do things, even if you prefer to do the same job differently.

Be aware of the things your children like to do. Find ways to encourage their interests and to learn even more about those things. The most fulfilling jobs are ones that you enjoy doing.

Here is a good article by Kasey Norton over on Free Homeschool Deals about finishing the school year when your curriculum says you are not ready to do so.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº