Not for the Fainthearted

Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart.

We began the week of August 2, with a light "welcome back to school" week. That was followed by a week of vacation. This week marks the real, hard-core return to school. Yesterday, I was so tired that by 6pm I felt like I was hauling weights underwater. I moved in slow motion, using every bit of will I had to remain upright.

 The Mad Toddler is not super happy about school starting up again, either. What happened to all the swimming and bowling, he wonders. Where did the lazy mornings go, when Mom watched fun documentaries and played trains?

 I wonder, that, too. Yes, I chose this - this life, this career, this choice. I still believe in it. But it takes a lot of will-power and energy to do it.

The Young Adult is in 7th grade this year, and so far, his courses are tough. Unlike other years, I need to work with him more this time around. Less "independent study" and more structure. Last year, we ran into a lot of problems with quality of work and timely turn-ins. So, we want to avoid that. Plus, mainly, this year his courses demand more: more intellect, more work, more effort, more direction. We began his Logic course from Memoria Press yesterday. I was almost totally lost! Both The Young Adult and Cookie Boy are moving on to First Form Latin this year, and it looks to be a definite increase in skill-level.

All three school-aged boys have moved onto much more advanced work this time. Even Romeo, who entered 3rd grade, crossed the line from a younger form of school to a more "big boy" work ethic.

Whew!

Oh, it will take a few weeks, but my hope is that it will all settle down into something more like a routine. We do not have locker combinations to learn or hallways to navigate, but we do have to dive into new texts, new learning methods, and new subjects. Eventually, the foreign aspects of the new year will become familiar, and I will get a better sense of who to let go and do their own thing when and where and how and why.

But for now....whew!

Plus, there is still all the laundry and cleaning and exercising and writing and cooking to do. Or should do.

And maybe a little bit of swimming still to come!