Breaks are a Good Thing!

We’ve all seen it, felt it or fought it at one time. Many others have succumbed to it. That moment that hits out of the blue. One day you wake up feeling fantastic, ready to take on the world with your awesome homeschool mom skills. The next day, you are fatigued, tired, restless, bored, and just about on the verge of burnout. But you do not have to become a victim! 

Homeschooling various ages and grades is trying – sometimes extremely difficult. But the reward is still the same: being the mother and teacher in your child or children’s life. Not many families can say that. But I wear that title like the newest trend in fashion. Some days I wonder if it will be the day that I crash and burn – other’s I wonder if there is something more that I should be doing. After all, a wife, mother of five, homeschool mom, student, aunt, friend, companion, acquaintance… that’s a lot of hats to take on more work. But still, I contemplate whether or not I could do just a little bit more. Alas, I have digressed
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Last week, we had our unschooling week. It was fabulous. Yes, we learned! (Shhh, don’t tell them or I’ll never hear the end of it.) But prior to that, the kids were having a bad time getting their work done without complaint (well, more complaints than usual), and the truth be told, I was really having a hard time not getting frustrated with just about everything. Needless to say, we took a break.

Gah! It’s not the holidays, a school board approved vacation period, or severe weather – what do you mean you took a break?

Yep. We did. A whole week off to refresh, refocus and relax. However, I’ve learned two valuable things in the last couple of weeks.

#1.) Do NOT schedule unschooling right after a week off.
#2.) Do NOT think things will go back to normal as soon as you return from break.
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That being said, it was still nice to spend quality time together without the humdrum routine, or as my wee one would say, “you need a bwake mommy!”.

• We played Trivial Pursuit – Family Edition.
• We watched Furious Seven and Beyond the Reach.
• We went to the library for fun.
• We took a car ride.
• We went to the store and shared in grocery shopping.
• We took a nap when we were tired.
• We had dessert before dinner.

They may seem shabby to you, but I’ll tell you one thing – it was worth it!
So this week marks our first week back from break and unschooling. We started off strong, but by midday Monday, everyone was exhausted. I blame myself for that due to reason #1 listed above. I also blame myself for thinking everyone would fall right back into their groove by scheduling quite a heavy load on Monday. See reason #2 above.
That doesn’t mean I will not ever do unschooling again and of course, we will take a break. It will just have a little more organization in the return and hopefully be filled with just as many memories as before.

My goal for this quarter is simple:
Don’t over plan and take the time to enjoy each moment.
After each unit, we will take a break. Just a moment in time to really reflect. I still haven’t decided what all I will try to incorporate as guided time during the break, but I believe it will include some wonderful reading!

On another note, I was a BookIT!® kid growing up and now, even as homeschoolers, they are, too! KD and KW finished their first month of reading in just 20 days! Our goal this year is 240 books and they have already read forty! We have until March to finish our goal and I know they can do it.

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KD’s favorite this month was Vladimir Tod: 8th Grade Sucks (I have decided I will not heavily censor their reading, as long as they are reading).

KW’s favorite this month was I Need My Monster.

I checked out a couple of books and have yet to crack them open. I feel a reading binge this weekend – so Friday will certainly be packed with the heavy stuff: Prepping for Week 11!

Until next time, 
LaVonda