Destroying our Homeschooling Box

I’m normally a fairly structured person. I don’t do an hourly schedule or anything. More like a rhythm, routine, or flow. 

But lately I’ve still been feeling a little boxed in by our daily homeschool life. Does this ever happen to you?

Usually I’d just take a day or two off and refresh. Do a field trip, have a movie day. 

But that’s not even feeling like enough right now. 

I’m feeling time passing too quickly. 

Maybe because I’m turning 40 in 35 days. Or that my oldest is almost a teenager. Or because my baby isn’t a baby anymore.

Or maybe I’m just feeling like not everything I thought was super important is as important as I thought. Who knows?

But I want to have fun with my kids. Make memories. Learn in some hands-on ways. Help my kids earn some badges for their troops.

I’ve been having trouble finding time to do all that. Especially while doing more traditional homeschooling. Especially without getting all stressed out.

So I decided to just stop. Why?

Because we can.

So we’re gonna take a week or a month or however long it takes and do all the things I feel like we can’t do because of all the trappings of the life we’re used to. 

We’re going to take walks, go on hikes, camp, play in the pool, go to some festivals, and museums, and the zoo. We’ll cook and bake and do campfires. And all the art projects.

We’ll lay on a blanket and watch the clouds and then the stars. We’ll visit the state parks and the historical places. We’ll play games and hop on rocks across a stream.

Because time keeps ticking.

I’ve been putting all this stuff off. Or trying to do a little here and there, spreading it throughout the year. But what happens when I push everything off till tomorrow? We never get to all those things. 

And honestly, why should I put it off? Because someone somewhere says we need to accomplish certain things in a certain amount of time. And I’ve felt like I have to do it a certain way. 

The truth is, I don’t have to. We can learn anywhere in any way. 

And I don’t have to pick just one way. 

I love books and curriculum. I think they are great frameworks to work from. Tools for teaching our kids. And I’ll still use them in the future. But they aren’t required. Not now.

You could call this unschooling. Or interest-led learning. Or a DIY curriculum. Or an extended field trip. But I don’t want to pull us from one box only to get into another box. 

Sometimes if you feel boxed in, you just have to destroy the boxes and explore the extremes before you find your place again. 

So we’ll just call it homeschooling in this season.

Every season is different. I don’t know how long this season will last, but we will make some great memories! 

You will never hear me advocating for everyone to throw off their plans and structures and routines in homeschool and just do whatever they want. Maybe just lighten up for a day. Or a week. Or a season. Because sometimes it’s needed.

When we have learned what God has put on my heart for this season and we’re ready to learn a different way, all the curriculum we’ve been using will still be there. I can pick right up where we left off in our homeschool plan if I want. My plan for this year could turn into a plan for next year too.

That’s ok. 

But maybe we’ll pick up some new habits and routines along the way. Maybe my plan won’t even be relevant any longer. 

See, it’s our homeschool and not someone else’s. I made the plan and I can change it. It’s just another tool. 

So here’s what I have decided is important for our homeschool, especially in this season (in no order):

• Making memories
• Gaining knowledge
• Relationships
• Diligence in everything
• Exposure to new ideas
• Following interests
• Skill building
• Learning endurance through hard things
• Learning responsibility in life
• Hands on learning
• Life and learning aren’t just done with books
• Having fun!

Because I’m pretty Type A, we’ll still do some math, and we’ll do some relaxed journaling about what we’re doing. Cause math and writing skills are important to me.

And you know what else? I’ll probably make some sort of a loose plan. 😊

Because I can.

I can’t slow time. But I can slow our pace. 

I don’t have forever to do things with my kids. But I do have right now. 

I don’t have to keep trying to cram everything in. So I won’t anymore. 

We’re going to do what matters to us right now. Because we can.

For now, we’ll make memories.

Maybe you feel the same way. Boxed in by life or your circumstances. Maybe you need to just destroy the box and find a new way. 

Your kids are only with you a short time. You don’t need permission. 

Go make memories with your kids. 

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