Doin' it my way...

Some of my favorite days are when I get to mingle with, chat with, and get uplifted by other homeschooling moms. I get to do this at play group days, at our science group, and now at our newly formed gymnastics class, which is the highlight of the week for us all! It is so nice to sit and chat with other moms who know what I am going through on a daily basis. We talk about what curriculum we like, or don't like. We talk about our challenges and our joys. It is always a good time and I walk away feeling rejuvinated.

Today I was able to share what we do on a daily basis to a mom who has three kids, is new to homeschooling and is currently sending her oldest to public school part-time, mainly because she doesn't think she can do it, from what I can gather from talking to her. I felt like I was able to give her some ideas on what works for us, and what doesn't! It makes me happy to feel like I was able to help someone in their homeschooling journey.

Then it was my turn to get some help. Someone made the comment they haven't done science all year and I piped up that we hadn't either; a fact that I feel horrible about, but have been unsure on how to fit it in!! We do meet with a science group twice a month, but I had wanted to do more and even bought new curriculum to use......But, it has sat on my shelf. We have been doing US History all year and US Geography, which both were on my list of goals to achieve this year. So, we are doing things, just not as much science as I had intended. Anyway, this mom, who I seems to be a bit of a pro at this homeschooling thing, said they will do science next year; this year they are really focusing on history. What a great idea! Is it ok to do that? Yes, it is! That is one of the wonderful things about homeschooling. You do it your own way. Maybe your way is very similar to public school and how they do things. That is perfectly fine. Or maybe your way is nothing like public school, and again, that is fine. I don't have any idea how often the public school kids do history, or science, or art, or geography. For us, we do history on Monday and geography on Tuesdays. Wednesday is a "whatever" day; after the basics, we play phonics games, do our book reports, do an art project or whatever. Thursday's are for science, art, and gymnastics. Friday is a catch-up day or a cleaning day, or baking day, or a field trip day, or whatever I need it to be. I am grateful to that mom who helped me realize that it is ok to do it my own way. I often worry about if I am homeschooling my kids "right". Finding what works for our family is a personal thing and you will be guided to know what you need to do. That goes for anything regarding your family, not just homeschooling.

I have felt that my day is never long enough and I have so many things I want to or should be doing. I am glad that I can do things my own way and it'll be ok............