Books, Books, Books!

And so it begins. . . the arduous task of organizing and bringing closure to the school year.  I feel like I am drifting back and forth between the school year we have completed and the one that we will begin in August.  I have a stack of books that need to be stored as proof that my kids were educated well in 2010-2011 (for my own peace of mind) and a growing number of brand new books that we will conquer in the coming school year.  I have also been blessed by a friend that has just retired from years of public school teaching and made me the prime recipient of the mountain of supplies that she had to clean out of her classroom.  My school room is an intimidating place right now!

I have never had a problem starting the school year off well.  After a nice summer break I am always rested and eager to get back to the routine of school and learning with my children.  The end of the year is always my nemesis.  My state of mind today is a perfect example.  I sit here with absolutely nothing on my calendar.  My house is *mostly* clean, my husband is working, my kids are occupying themselves with games and independent projects, and my school room is begging to be dealt with.  I have records to finalize, supplies to organize, items to pack away, and, when I find it, a floor to vacuum.  Instead of working on that, however, I am talking to you about it!  This seemed like a much more enjoyable way to spend my free time!

I know I am not the only one who struggles with forcing myself to do the thing that I know I should do instead of being driven to many less worthy endeavors by the part of me that prefers to stay distracted, unorganized, and lazy.  So, I am sharing this little bit of my current struggle with myself to let you know that if you are in this boat with me, you aren't the only one.  I am also casting away any images that you may have of me being perfectly organized all of the time.  That's not me.  I'll include a pic at the bottom of this post so you'll see my true colors :)  

Have fun working on your own end-of-the-year challenges.  Don't bee too discouraged if it takes you a month or even the entire summer to get things where you want them to be.  Having an organized school environment and keeping a record of what your family has accomplished in the school year has many benefits.  Don't be tempted to take short-cuts that would undermine your ability to give an answer to anyone who asked how your children have been educated at home.  Don't underestimate the blessing of being able to look back at past school years and the mementos that your children have created while learning at home.  And if you need an extra dose of motivation, try this little trick:  write a blog entry to your homeschool community. . . it may provide just the incentive you need!

- Jessie

Let the games begin!