so much this! I've been listening to and following Julie for so many years and it was always awesome, but lately I feel like we need something *more* and my need for that feels ill-defined and urgent now that high school approaches. This is our first year stepping away from Arrows/ Boomerangs (their choice) and doing an ELA curriculum and we all kinda dislike the feel for it.
I honestly feel like high school has sucked all joy out of homeschooling. The stakes are high and uncertain, the potential resistance is so much stronger and if you have been homeschooling from the beginning you might be burnt out. I have so many thoughts on struggling with high school and I feel like no one talks about it beyond the academic and end goal of adulthood which somewhat unhelpful with the worry when your kid has learning issues that just aren't going to be fixed but are going to be a life time of management and accommodations. Plus the fact that many of us are also in the peri-menopause transition of life which I am realizing somewhat at the end of it has been impacting me and by extension my kids for the last 8-10 years. I don't know, can anyone telling I am just tired, discouraged, and my 16 yo might be playing Zelda in the kitchen right now delaying doing math? The redemption for my now college student who has more gaps than I ever admit but somehow has a good GPA and my current HS student has been project based learning and the fact that they had/have time to lean into it.
Something that is working especially well this week: reading Once Upon a Camel with my 10 year old. We are nearly at the climax and she keeps finding ways for us to read MORE! We (I) was even telling many friends about the book yesterday. It’s so good to read a good book and share it with others!
Your words impacted my soul like a belayer catching a tired climber who’s lost their grip and is slipping off the cliff face. You have no idea how much I needed to read this. Thank you. I’m printing it out so I can keep revisiting it. To be honest, not much is going well this week—really, the past few weeks—but we’re still reading, even amidst all the chaos of home construction. Thank you for helping me recenter. I was starting to veer off course.
Goodness: what a great image! I immediately thought of the time I fell off an 8 foot bouldering wall (no belay) and broke an ankle. The metaphor writes itself!
This is so beautiful and so true—my three big kids are in a small school this year for the first time ever but the five years we had together were so wonderful and hard. I wish I had had this then 😂 but the good news is I can continue to create this type of culture in our family in the morning, when they’re home from school, weekends, and summer! 🙌🏼 thank you Julie 🤍
X homechooler here, but I loved reading to my son. I let him do whatever he wanted while I read. Sometimes he stretched out on the couch, sometimes he played with Legos, but even when it didn't look like he was listening...he was.
I remember one incident when I was reading Lord of the Rings to him and he looked bored (spoiler alert) and Gandalf fell while fighting the Balrog....he gasped and asked. "Is Gandalf dead? Does he die?" I asked, "Do you really want to know?" He thought for a moment and said, "No." I continued reading. Very fond memories for both of us.
The one thing working this week is flipping my schedule. Now that my kids are older and not wanting to start school in the morning, I started doing all of these things I need to do (workout, emails, phone calls, etc.) first thing instead of waiting until afternoon. I resisted this way too long. It seems silly now, but once you’re in a routine it can be challenging to change.
I think the “one thing” idea is so very powerful, it’s accessible and feels like such an accomplishment when you do it. It creates momentum, confidence and hope about what is possible with a little planning and attention.
This reminds me of Awakening Wonder by Sally Clarkson! Prioritizing important and urgent has been a huge help for me. I have a 9 and 4 year old and the wide variation of activities can cause burn out for me and can really suck the joy out especially when they start fighting 😵💫
I always appreciate your perspective, Julie, thank you! This week I am appreciating that I read to my child who says they hate reading almost every night before sleep. I went away recently and they read to themselves while I was gone. We may have formed a reading habit! and if not, at least we are enjoying books together for now.
Ha! The thing that worked well backfired. We had a 50-degree day here in WI and decided to hit up an outdoor ice skating rink after a morning full of project-based learning (working on a fashion competition project and script for the video submission for one, poring over the band camp student handbook while making a list of questions and emailing her instructor for music selections for the other). My kids had such a fun time that we ended staying for five hours and eating out because it was so late and we were ravenous. I declared on Facebook that homeschooling is the very best thing! But then: tired, sore kids the next day who gave an extra helping of pushback on anything asked of them. It was not my favorite day, that's for sure, and I'm left feeling like having too much fun will backfire... so do I just never have too much fun again? Kidding! ... Sort of! The truth is that I'm upset because I KNOW they'd have had to go to school today if we were in public school and I just want them to suck it up and move on, but I also know I'm not being my kindest self with that thought. They only know this lifestyle, but the hangover is painful for me. Kids in question are 11 and 13, btw, not littles anymore, and I can't always tell if I'm being unreasonable about m,y expectations with so-called bigs.
I feel like it's harder to relax into the joys when you have a high-schooler. The stakes feel higher.
Stay tuned! I have lots to say about teens!
so much this! I've been listening to and following Julie for so many years and it was always awesome, but lately I feel like we need something *more* and my need for that feels ill-defined and urgent now that high school approaches. This is our first year stepping away from Arrows/ Boomerangs (their choice) and doing an ELA curriculum and we all kinda dislike the feel for it.
This is the most painfully accurate thing I’ve read in a long time. But, as usual, perfect timing, Julie! ❤️
I honestly feel like high school has sucked all joy out of homeschooling. The stakes are high and uncertain, the potential resistance is so much stronger and if you have been homeschooling from the beginning you might be burnt out. I have so many thoughts on struggling with high school and I feel like no one talks about it beyond the academic and end goal of adulthood which somewhat unhelpful with the worry when your kid has learning issues that just aren't going to be fixed but are going to be a life time of management and accommodations. Plus the fact that many of us are also in the peri-menopause transition of life which I am realizing somewhat at the end of it has been impacting me and by extension my kids for the last 8-10 years. I don't know, can anyone telling I am just tired, discouraged, and my 16 yo might be playing Zelda in the kitchen right now delaying doing math? The redemption for my now college student who has more gaps than I ever admit but somehow has a good GPA and my current HS student has been project based learning and the fact that they had/have time to lean into it.
❤️❤️❤️ More coming
Something that is working especially well this week: reading Once Upon a Camel with my 10 year old. We are nearly at the climax and she keeps finding ways for us to read MORE! We (I) was even telling many friends about the book yesterday. It’s so good to read a good book and share it with others!
Reading aloud is such a great reset and way in to the joy of home educating.
Your words impacted my soul like a belayer catching a tired climber who’s lost their grip and is slipping off the cliff face. You have no idea how much I needed to read this. Thank you. I’m printing it out so I can keep revisiting it. To be honest, not much is going well this week—really, the past few weeks—but we’re still reading, even amidst all the chaos of home construction. Thank you for helping me recenter. I was starting to veer off course.
Goodness: what a great image! I immediately thought of the time I fell off an 8 foot bouldering wall (no belay) and broke an ankle. The metaphor writes itself!
Our experiences make life more enjoyable! The good and the bad ones. And kudos to you. Bouldering is very difficult.
This is so beautiful and so true—my three big kids are in a small school this year for the first time ever but the five years we had together were so wonderful and hard. I wish I had had this then 😂 but the good news is I can continue to create this type of culture in our family in the morning, when they’re home from school, weekends, and summer! 🙌🏼 thank you Julie 🤍
X homechooler here, but I loved reading to my son. I let him do whatever he wanted while I read. Sometimes he stretched out on the couch, sometimes he played with Legos, but even when it didn't look like he was listening...he was.
I remember one incident when I was reading Lord of the Rings to him and he looked bored (spoiler alert) and Gandalf fell while fighting the Balrog....he gasped and asked. "Is Gandalf dead? Does he die?" I asked, "Do you really want to know?" He thought for a moment and said, "No." I continued reading. Very fond memories for both of us.
The one thing working this week is flipping my schedule. Now that my kids are older and not wanting to start school in the morning, I started doing all of these things I need to do (workout, emails, phone calls, etc.) first thing instead of waiting until afternoon. I resisted this way too long. It seems silly now, but once you’re in a routine it can be challenging to change.
Such an easy fix but we all resist it initially! Thanks for sharing it
I think the “one thing” idea is so very powerful, it’s accessible and feels like such an accomplishment when you do it. It creates momentum, confidence and hope about what is possible with a little planning and attention.
Lego is working this week and watching Sonic Boom on Netflix. It’s so cold where we live, we just feel like being cozy.
Cozy is always good! 😊
This reminds me of Awakening Wonder by Sally Clarkson! Prioritizing important and urgent has been a huge help for me. I have a 9 and 4 year old and the wide variation of activities can cause burn out for me and can really suck the joy out especially when they start fighting 😵💫
I always appreciate your perspective, Julie, thank you! This week I am appreciating that I read to my child who says they hate reading almost every night before sleep. I went away recently and they read to themselves while I was gone. We may have formed a reading habit! and if not, at least we are enjoying books together for now.
Ha! The thing that worked well backfired. We had a 50-degree day here in WI and decided to hit up an outdoor ice skating rink after a morning full of project-based learning (working on a fashion competition project and script for the video submission for one, poring over the band camp student handbook while making a list of questions and emailing her instructor for music selections for the other). My kids had such a fun time that we ended staying for five hours and eating out because it was so late and we were ravenous. I declared on Facebook that homeschooling is the very best thing! But then: tired, sore kids the next day who gave an extra helping of pushback on anything asked of them. It was not my favorite day, that's for sure, and I'm left feeling like having too much fun will backfire... so do I just never have too much fun again? Kidding! ... Sort of! The truth is that I'm upset because I KNOW they'd have had to go to school today if we were in public school and I just want them to suck it up and move on, but I also know I'm not being my kindest self with that thought. They only know this lifestyle, but the hangover is painful for me. Kids in question are 11 and 13, btw, not littles anymore, and I can't always tell if I'm being unreasonable about m,y expectations with so-called bigs.
Haha! Maybe the day after brilliant fun in school would have been inattentive kids though 😄 It’s all good!
I appreciate this because I am starting to homeschool my children in Sept of this year. They are quite young and very excited for it
Thank you for this very timely reminder. I need this now that I catch myself often equating rigor to learning.
Yes!!!