Getting to THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Heart of the Matter hosts a weekly meme and gives a topic for readers/participants to write about. This is my first time participating in this "meme." This week's topic is:

End of the Year Reflection:

Biggest Triumphs and Biggest Challenges

Obviously, this is to be about the end of a school year. We've had a different kind of homeschool year this year. But then again, every year has had a different flavor. We've been homeschoolers for five full years now and each year I think I have it figured out and each year I learn I still have a lot to learn.

Ethan has matured so much this year. For one, he is taller than his mama! He has gained much more self-control and he has a "let's buckle down and get lessons done first so we can goof around" attitude. That's nice. He has improved so much on penmanship. And math. And reading! Oh my gosh it's so nice to hear his confidence when he reads aloud. I see and understand now about "better late than early" when it comes to some children and reading. This is one child who thrives on the inordinary. Football? No. Swimming? No. Jumping stilts? YES! I love that about this son of mine.

Eli has become much more serious in his studies. He definitely has his favored topics --don't we all! His reading has always been top notch and he has always appreciated math and science so much more than other fields of learning. He is the kind of child for which unit studies work very well. If it's a subject he has interest in, I can pull every single discipline into it--even if it's by just a thread--and he's reveling in it! Semi trucks, heavy equipment, motorcycles. We spent many hours with "story problems" for math that included bills of lading, freight weights, and truck driver log books. This is one kid who "kinesthetic" education was designed for! I love his energy and his desire to please me is prolific!

Our biggest challenge this year has been me. I hit what I guess you'd call "burnout" in October and it's been hard to get me out of that. It's not like we were really doing "too much" either. I have a great curriculum so it's not that. I think it's the things of this world that just wear me down mentally and I have a hard time finding energy to continue with what has been my focus for the last 4 years. Things have been "out of sync" in my home and in my life--with my friends and with changes in our family dynamics and it's been a struggle for me to stay focused on what's important and not just what's urgent. Some days I think I have really short-changed my sons in their education. Some days we just don't get anything done--we don't crack a book. That's not the normal day but I still feel like if the public school principal was looking in our windows on that day he'd be knocking on my door in a heartbeat!

Now, with all that said, I must admit that I don't have a real worry about it. My concept of "home school" and what it really means when you get to the heart of the matter (no pun intended, really) is that we are a family. We are together. We are available and able to be with Morgan (either through cell phone or in person) when she needs us. We are learning together about life and what it means to live for Christ.