ROLLING WITH A NEW HOMESCHOOL PARTNER

Our Soulful RV Family is getting ready to ring in the new school year! This year however I have decided that it is time to make a few changes. Now rest assured that we will still be hitting the road for some awesome road trips but this year our travels will be much more purposeful in our destination picks. With so many changes this mama has more than a bad case of first day jitters!

Let me explain. I have been a homeschooling/roadschooling mama for roughly the past four years now. Up until this moment my preferred style has been quite eclectic. By that I mean that I love being able to pull my resources from various websites, programs, curriculums and books. Simply put, I just like to have complete and total control over the lesson planning process. Personally, I think that I have done a pretty good job to this point.

But something unexpected happened in the middle of our school year. I came down with an awful affliction that up until that moment I had only heard of. Yes, it hit me….homeschool fatigue. My fellow homeschoolers tell me that it is common among moms that take on too much and refuse help because, well to put it in my own words….I got this!

I would spend hours feverishly scouring Pinterest pages for cool projects and ideas, then I would check a few of my favorite websites for worksheets and printouts; all the while transferring these awesome finds into my online planner that each of my students had their own login access to. Did I mention the links to cool youtube videos to bring my lessons to life? Or what about all those sleepless nights, multiple cups of coffee consumed and large bags under my eyes? Oh and what about the mornings that my precious offspring decided that they didn’t like my lesson that I spent all night printing, cutting and making that last minute run to the dollar store to prepare for them?

It became obvious that I was just doing too much. As of last school year, even my hubby who has from the beginning loved his position of Principal of our homeschool saw that I was burning the candle at both ends stepped up to the plate and took over the task of teaching Math and Science. Any normal person would have used that as breathing room to dial it back a little. Not me, I used it as my personal commitment to use that time to do more.

Needless to say by the end of our school year I was toast….burnt toast! I think I enjoyed the summer break more than my kids did.

As I sit here today I cannot believe that I put myself through that. That old cliche is so true. Hindsight is 20/20. This year I have decided to make a change in my approach. I have decided to try out an all-in-one homeschool curriculum called Sonlight. I have been really debating that since I stopped at their booth in not one but two homeschool conventions that we attended this year. I am in love with their literature rich approach to teaching history and language arts. My husband is excited to get started on their science program, which includes all of the items he needs to teach the concepts and the materials needed to do the experiments. Sonlight also uses that math curriculum that we have been wanting to try for a while.

The question at hand is still looming. Will I be able to let go of the reins that I have held tight for so long and allow Sonlight to be my guide this year? No more late nights of planning curriculum because the work is already done. The best part for me will be snuggling with my boys, reading these awesome books that promise to walk us through learning this year. I am so excited and I hope that this is an answer to my prayers.

Tia Sims – CEO of Soulful RV Family and Homeschooling Mom

*Many thanks to Sonlight for sponsoring much of the material that will be used this year. If you are interested in finding out more about Sonlight and their curriculum offerings you will find a link to their website below. As we journey through this new curriculum, we will also be utilizing it to plan some destinations to incorporate learning into our road trips.

Sonlight homeschooling