Homeschool Mother’s Journal: The Learning Will Come

Y’all, it’s been one of those months. One of those months where half of my lesson plans went unfinished, one of those months with opportunities to learn through play. The good news is that I noticed something wonderful in all of our chaos: the learning will come … in one way or another.

What do you do when life's crazy and you don't know how you'll pull off your normal homeschool routine? You relax and take a breath. The learning will come.

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If you follow along on Instagram, you probably know that we’ve had one of those months. I’ve shared pictures on Instagram about learning through play and giving yourself grace when life gets busy. Here’s a little backstory behind all of that.

Life Happens, but the
Learning Will Come

I shared here last month that my family is planting a church, as in starting a new one, in 2018 and how the next step in our journey is to sell our house.

Holy cow, our house went on the market at the end of January and I’m already tired of living in limbo. I sound like a big baby, but having the house semi-spotless at all times is stressful.

It’s also pretty stressful to have to go through your house and analyze and correct every flaw (even the tiniest things), yet we did it all month long. I mean, our house is awesome and we love it, but we do lots of living there and it shows.

To put it simply, I’m tired. I have a ton of good intentions right now, homeschool and otherwise, but making them all happen is easier said than done. Can you relate?

Thankfully, I’ve come to realize something wonderful in all of this: the learning will come. Say it with me: the learning will come. 

The Learning Will Come
When the Lesson Plans Don’t

Between meeting with our realtor, preparing our house for MLS pictures, and getting ready for viewings, I’ve not had enough hours in the day to execute my homeschool plans. Surprisingly enough, the kids learned anyway. They learned through play and they learned through life.

Homeschool Mother's Journal: The Learning Will Come

Does it look like a win when compared to my plans for our homeschool?

Not exactly, but they learned through play and they learned because they wanted to learn. That’s winning on any day, but especially days when I’m less than present.

The Learning Will Come
Because It’s All They Know

The learning will come, but how? I’m so glad you asked. We’ve had some good homeschool days — I’d be exaggerating greatly if I said that nothing’s been marked off my lesson plans.

Nonetheless, there have been days this month where the kids learned, but it certainly wasn’t because of my plans for the day. Here’s what they’ve been up to on the not-so structured days:

Homeschool Mother's Journal: The Learning Will Come

  • Prime Video – There’s been lots of good TV happening this month: Popular Mechanics for Kids, Travel with Kids, and our normal TV picks for math and language arts. If they’re going to spend more time in front of the screen during a crazy season of life, we might as well have something to show for it.
  • Snap Circuits – Both of my kids have been busy with these all month long. Sometimes they work together and sometimes they work individually — even my five year-old loves learning with them!
  • The House at Pooh Corner – We’ve had some sweet read-aloud moments with this one. There are times when I can stop and read and there are times when I can’t right now. When I’m not available for read-aloud time, my big kid takes over the reading duty. It’s pretty much the sweetest thing ever. 

Homeschool Mother's Journal: The Learning Will Come

  • Our homeschool co-op – Thank goodness for our co-op. It’s a comfort to know that one day a week remains the same while we’re going through this unpredictable time!

All of these tools are great, but I include them here for one reason: to show how easily the learning will come when the environment is ripe. This month has been hectic in a lot of ways, but I knew it was coming and I was as prepared as I could be.

Even so, it’s encouraging and affirming to see my children learning and growing — even on the days I’m not spurring them on. Indeed, I’ve seen firsthand all month long that the learning will come.

Homeschool Mother’s Journal:
February 2017

1. What’s working for us: I mentioned last month that I was going to break out our Kindergarten Stepping Stones again since my little one finished Volume 1 of Five in a Row. Oh my gosh, I’m so glad I decided to do this. I need the structure and consistency this curriculum provides more than ever.

2. In my life this month: I’m feeling a bit crazy. I thrive with structure and routine and January wasn’t the best month for those two things. Needless to say, the ISTJ in me will be thrilled once we sell our house, move, and establish some normalcy again.

3. Homeschool questions/thoughts I have: Will I be able to make all of this happen in our moving process?

Real talk: I’m generally that homeschool mom that makes things happen. To a fault. That’s also due to the ISTJ in me. I’m good with simplifying our homeschool days and knowing the learning will come for my kiddos, but will I be able to give them enough of me while we’re packing and moving?

Homeschool Mother's Journal: The Learning Will Come

4. A quote to share: We live in a world that wants to harvest before we plow. – Steven Furtick #functionalfaith

5. On the blog in case you missed it: Vincent van Gogh Unit Study Resources. Serious business, we loved learning about van Gogh! Also, 5 Practical Ways to Simplify Your Homeschool Day, just in case you need to be reminded that it’s okay to do less.

Homeschool Mother's Journal: The Learning Will Come

3 thoughts on “Homeschool Mother’s Journal: The Learning Will Come”

  1. It sounds like you are doing a fabulous job by simplifying and letting the learning come naturally. I’m always amazed at what my kids will do when given the time and freedom to just be. ♥

    I’m sure it will be wonderful to be moved and settled, so I hope and pray that this season passes quickly.

    P.S. I hope you like LOF as much as we do! :)

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