Back to School Excitement!

by Heather Grier

I always end our school year in May with bubbling excitement. The excitement is not because that school is over for the ‘year’ or we have successfully completed another year of homeschool (pats on both of our backs for that, though) but because I have all the new stuff right around the corner!

I’m already excited about the new classes I’ll be teaching at our Co-op and getting into the nitty gritty creativeness for them. I am so excited about the new curriculum we’re doing this year, reading and getting to know it. I’ve already cleaned out and mostly organized our school  l closet at this point in May.

Today, on this Sunday, August 13th-I am feeling the anxiety of T minus countdown to school and our Co-op starting. Where did summer go? It has all whizzed by like a bullet train of vacation, home remodeling and just well . . . caught up in the catch up, with the school schedules and dinner routine relaxation.

What happened to my timely outline of school 2023-24 planning?

That jumped on the bullet train as well, I guess. Is anyone else feeling this way?

The good news is that it is all going to be okay. I am a homeschooler. I am a homeschooler going into my fourth year homeschooling our son. I started this journey with trepidation, having A.D.D with a big penchant for distraction and procrastination. I worried about being a disservice to our son even though I felt very led down this path. Homeschooling Jackson has transformed our home as well as all the ways I felt nervous about taking on teaching him.

Homeschooling has enriched our lives in so many ways. I’ve developed stronger confidence in myself, a comfortability as I’ve become more familiar with homeschooling, the flexibility and creativity it brings. I appreciate the ways I can curtail or enhance our curriculum to complement the way our son learns…And to change it midstride, if need be, because something is not working out the way I had hoped. I love how I am in control of our schedule. So, if I start a little later than usual, what’s the big deal – we just don’t take the month of December off. Because that is how I can schedule our schooling. We like to take most of that month off, because of birthdays and the holidays AND we still manage to usually finish at the end of May.

For today, I just take a few deep breaths because after four years, I’ve learned to set myself up for success. It’s just the minute details and laying it out in completion on paper, so my A.D.D head can wrap around everything and feel secure. All my major planning was done in the Spring. In a week and a half, I know I’ll be all squared away, excited for all the new things.