Settling in to a routine

As we enter into our third year of homeschooling, it should seem typical to me that this time of year is full of humps and bumps. After all, I've been here twice before so how new can it really be? Yet, I felt surprised and frustrated last week when we started up and down the humps and bumps again.

We've had a lot of changes this year since I've gone back to work part-time and the kid is now a middle schooler. Work has left me with less energy, less time, more stress and a general sense of hurried pace at everything we do. This leads to more snapping, more growling and more "HURRY up, stop wasting my time!" If I'd counted last week how many times something like this came out of my mouth, I'd be too ashamed to even publish the number/2 here.

Hurried-ness is not homeschool friendly and it's definitely NOT Academic Homeschool friendly. We need time to dabble and experiment and to wander down the long paths of discovery. My growing frustration over the past few weeks can easily be blamed on the lack of wandering paths and time to chase the rabbit trails wherever they lead.

One routine we've managed to pick up that true to our previous homeschooling routine is the Brave Writer Poetry Tea. The last three Fridays, we've made scones and a pot of tea and spent a very relaxing and delightful hour around the kitchen table having tea and reading poetry. The kid has chosen his poetry books from the library on his own and brought different themes each week. I loved seeing him with whipped cream on his lip, reading poetry about Blackbeard and giggling as I read some Roald Dahl poems. It brought a sense of calmness and purpose to the rest of our day, even though we left to go to work at noon.

THIS is why we homeschool. For those moments that would otherwise be lost in a classroom, drowned out by calls to wait in line, stand quietly and pack up your stuff, only to get it back out again in a few minutes. It was a crucial reminder to me that I can't let that frustration, the adult pace of hurry hurry continue to sneak in and tarnish our school hours. I need to breathe, savor and lap up those precious moments before they get away.