Homeschool Curriculum Update: A Gather ‘Round Christmas

With the New Year quickly approaching, I’m doing what most do this time of year. I’m reflecting on the things that I want to change. About myself, our family, our home, our routines, and most importantly, our homeschool.

We began our first year of homeschooling this past July (2019). I feel like we had to hit the ground running because our family didn’t start out homeschooling.

Our oldest, 12, began her educational career in public school. This is technically her “sixth-grade” year. And I’m feeling like we need to do #allthethings in order to keep up with her “public school grade”.

But here’s the deal… I’ve realized that I’m missing out on the beauty of homeschooling. I’m trying to push her as hard as public school teachers push for test scores. But that’s not the life of learning I want for her.

In homeschool, the test grades do not matter as much as the love of learning that I’m instilling into my babies’ hearts.

So, we’ve got three months of “traditional” schooling under our belts. We’ve kicked some public school habits to the curb and we’ve worked really hard on self-worth.

We’re using December as a stepping stone to the new year and completing a Christmas unit from Gather ‘Round Homeschool. We start today! I can’t wait to share about our week with you over on Instagram. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous.

It was a big deal to transition into a homeschool family (you can read more about that here). But creating a homeschool we love is on a-whole-nother level.

I’ve got the weight of my kids’ education on my shoulders and I do not take that lightly. So, I’m processing what 2020 is going to look like for us. What kind of routines we’re going to inhabit. What our homeschool weeks will look like.

Here’s the thing, whether we keep with the traditional style of learning or we start to adapt to an environment of learning to love to learn, the fact that I get to be home with my babies and raise them to be smart, kind, self-motivated, loving, and worthy individuals is a dream.

And I am so grateful.