Musings in the Pretty Month of May

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And just like that it’s May! May is always such a busy month… We have three birthdays, we will be wrapping up the school year, and start planning for the next one. There are graduations, confirmations, First Holy Communions,farm work picks up drastically… And then Memorial Day weekend announcing the grand days of summer. “How did we get here so fast?” is what we all say, lol! Maybe May might be a good time to review the last year and start thinking of the upcoming one.

What I know I need

I know I need a little corner of quiet to be able to reflect on the past year. And not just for home education, but for life in general. One of the birthdays we celebrate in May is mine and I like to go back through the year and see where I have grown, failed, changed, been stretched. Ponder our best times and worst times. Pondering and writing things down helps me clear my mind so that I can start thinking of what is ahead. I need some quiet, some slowing down and quiet.

And how to get it

Ideally I can take a couple of hours for myself around my birthday and head out first to the Adoration chapel, then to a park or a field, but somewhere outside. Somewhere quiet, so that I can really slow down and think. And journal. And with that I can close the year and turn my head towards the new year ahead. I can bring my old journal, to create a highlight page. I can bring a new journal for another highlight page of what I want to bring into the new year. Writing things down helps me get them out of my system. My husband understands that and is a wonderful help in helping me carve out the time to do this. He takes over for a few hours and it is such a treat for me, for him and for our kids! We all come out of it renewed.

Pondering the last year

I have a few categories:

• Spiritual life
• Married life
• Family life
• Home education
• Work life

And yes, in that order, reminding myself of the real priorities and to remain aligned. For each category I have sub categories: spiritual, physical and mental. And then I just do a brain dump. And that’s it. I take it to prayer and give it all back to the Lord with thanksgiving. 

Then there is pondering the upcoming year

I will look at the “conclusions” of the past year and in the same order draft a plan for the upcoming year of goals and objectives for each category. I am a planner at heart and I delight in doing this, applying it is always a different story, lol! Maybe this year will be better 😉 Maybe I should just get new notebooks and pens to make it all happen, lol! I have discovered that I really love the feel of an empty notebook and pretty pens… And it would only be about 5 notebooks, right?!? Anyways…

The beginning of home education planning

(Yes, I will write a lot more about that in the coming weeks as I go through the process).

My brain is already going a thousand miles an hour in regard to next year and my 3 scholars. It will be my twentieth homeschooling year! I can hardly believe it! Time has flown by. I am hoping to snatch a little time with each girl to discuss what progress was made this last year, weaknesses and what each would like to learn about next year.

The kindergartener will be an easy one and I will reevaluate every couple of weeks with her anyways. Their minds grow so fast at that age and their curiosity is practically endless. 

Then my 12 yo and I will discuss the focus we want for the year, the books we want to read, the crafts she wants to grow in, most likely baking and pottery (which I find such a lovely combination). Early teens are so fun to plan with as their horizons are broadening outside the home and there is so much they want to explore and discover!

And then I will be entering the “final stretch” with my 14 yo and start heading in the direction of what she wants to do with her life (dogs are most likely going to be involved). Does anyone know of a volunteer program for teens to work with dogs? We have been trying to find something but everyone requires to be 18 or older. We will try to find a good strong thread around which to weave the next 4 years. It will be a longer discussion to which we will come back frequently. 

Onward and upward! Now to get started with all that.

Love,
Mattie