Why I am Calling It Quits.

I quit. I can't do it any more. I'm tired of thinking about "must finish every page, every lesson, every unit." I'm tired of hearing "Is it September yet?" We need a break. And I tell you truthfully, it is a well-deserved break! These boys have worked hard and learned so much this year. They have tried different curriculums to find a good fit and read countless books. They did math almost daily and learned grammar rules I never knew existed. They are ready to be done for the school year and eager to start the new one after a break. There's no reason we can't take a holiday starting now and still start back up in October, no reason we can't take a 7 week "summer" instead of only 4. Next year we have 36 weeks of school planned with 4 weeks off between each trimester of 13 weeks. In the middle of the trimester is a one week break also, making it 12 weeks of school. 180 days with extra time in August next year if we really need it. We shouldn't. But it's there if we do. That's the beauty of homeschooling. We can make it fit us, not fit us into it.

I woke up this morning questioning this next 3 weeks and shoveling so much into it, just for the sake of finishing and saying we had completed every page of every book and feeling like they got everything they could out of it. Then I read an article about how people aren't using their vacation days. The end of the Washington Post article entitled "Why you should use your vacation time" really spoke to me, specifically the last paragraph with a quote about being burnt out. It's a really good post that I feel could benefit anyone who reads it.

After everyone was awake and had breakfast, I made a decision. I had Alex take Teaching Textbooks pre-algebra placement test. He got 4 of 30 wrong which means he's ready for it. Also, Ethan took TT Algebra 2 placement test and he got 6 out of 30 wrong making him ready for it. We were supposed to start our last unit for history today. Since we are doing world history chronologically, we will start with it at the beginning of our new school year, essentially adding it to the Volume 2 of RC History Connecting with History.

Therefore, I'm calling it. We are done with school after Friday for the year. If we need to go back and do some Algebra review in October, it will be there waiting for us.

One map, a creative writing assignment, some clay projects, science reading, a few Algebra lessons, the final religion lessons and tests, and this week will end on a fantastic note. Just as public school starts up (and most of our fellow homeschool friends! 😂) We'll finish reading Swiss Family Robinson and Swallows and Amazons in our free time together. And finish our science unit as we wish.

Here's to a fabulous 7 weeks of break and renewal and hopefully a true family vacation somewhere.


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