A reflection: Things to change and things to keep constant

Well it is about 12:30 pm and buses are driving down the roadways and kids everywhere through town are chanting "NO MORE SCHOOL" so I would say it is officially summer break.
For my family we will be taking a short 2 week break and then hitting the books for an early start into the 2014-2015 school year.

As I reflect on the year past, my first year of homeschooling, I am both pleased with the job I have done and have made mental notes on where I must improve.

I am happy to say I stuck with the home-school and was able to complete the entire school year teaching my children.  We were able to have a flexible schedule and had some great opportunities visiting places and people we wouldn't have been able to had we been on a normal school schedule.

I do feel that in a couple subjects, math and science, could have used more of my attention.  I also would have preferred to know what I was doing everyday and not figuring it out each Sunday.... or 5 minutes before school started.

These pitfalls will not be repeated this year as I already have  my curriculum planned and have a great tool in the Homeschool Skedtracker (homeschoolskedtrack.com) Planning my curriculum lets me see that if I stay on track, I can complete my curriculum for the year.  I also can see that there is time for fun, which I have scheduled in the form of a couple long vacations during mid summer, fall (hunting season) and the winter holiday when we go to Florida to visit family and field trips, 2 per semester (10 for our school year.)

I still haven't completed my homeschooling room, but we are doing just fine learning at the kitchen table with an occasionally move to the living room for a more comfortable reading session.  It will be awesome when we have our space which I designed myself to have 4 workstations (one for each family member) with wired Internet connections at each station and a TV for videos and computer viewing.  I am also excited to have a place to stash my array of craft supplies for art and hobby time.

I am pleased with the attitudes we have had, performing school without the pressure of tests.  I hope to continue our school with love, respect, and tolerance toward the people, places and things we learn about.