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Beginning a New Year by Nichelle Nelson |
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June has always been the month we begin a new year of home schooling. I don't know if it is because that is the month we really began officially in 1993, or if it is because of the climate we've lived in for the past seven years. In 1994 we moved to the tropical island of Okinawa, Japan and it was always just too hot to do all the fun things that people in colder climates look forward to doing at the beginning of summer. We now live in central Texas and my kids still whine and complain about the heat (unless, of course, they're in the pool). We can't go the pool EVERY day, so we spend the long hours in the air conditioning working on science and art projects we never seem to have enough time to do during the other seasons of the year. We also do a lot of organizing and mental planning for the coming "school year".
After Labor Day, it seems a pistol sounds and we're off and running to different activities, trying to balance everyone's schedules. Our calendar is filled with church activities, dance lessons, art lessons, and a host of other extra-curricular activities. We have a home school support group for field trips; another for P.E. and yet another for learning home-making skills. Whoever said that home schooled children are under-socialized should fill up my gas tank for the year! November and December are filled with the bustle of holiday activities. We don't always have a "normal" school day during those months because we're busy planning for our humongous Thanksgiving dinner that we serve every year and all the Christmas parties we're invited to. This year we're planning to take our family vacation to Disney World right after the Thanksgiving holidays. The parks will be less crowded and it won't be as hot (remember, my children hate extreme heat). We've got two Christmas babies in our family, so there are birthday parties that have to be planned for as well. The week following New Year's usually finds the Nelson family in a well-deserved deep sleep. January and February are months that are used in preparation for spelling bees and science fairs. It is also a great time for doing unit studies on Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights, African-American history month, Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, and U.S. presidents. March and April awaken within us a new excitement for being outdoors and a new round of field trips. There are bluebonnets and other wildflowers in bloom, and new babies at the zoo. Who could possibly sit still in a classroom knowing that nature is burgeoning just on the other side of that wall. May is time for being rewarded for all the hard work put in during the previous year. Our calendar is filled with award ceremonies, end-of-the-year parties, and promotion banquets. School is set on auto-pilot this month. For the past couple of years, I have purchased a grade review workbook from the local teacher supply store just to be sure they've mastered the basic for their grade level that year. Amazingly, they always have. We used to feel as though we were always "behind," but now we realize that our home schooling schedule, though it may be different than others, works very well for us. For many, June marks the end of school, for our family, it's only the beginning. © 2001 by Nichelle S. Nelson. All rights reserved. Re-printed with permission. |
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Nichelle Nelson is a pastor's wife and home schooling mom. She and her husband Alvin home school their four children in Cedar Park, Texas. Visit her website | ||
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