I love this time of year. Fresh new notebooks, sharpened pencils and the crisp fall air that seems to lift us into a spur of activity and productivity. In September my notes in school would be underlined in multiple gel colored pens, my writing was neat and I optimistically did (almost all) of my homework. I clung to those good habits as hard as the trees seemed to cling to their changing leaves and once their branches were bare it was all done. With the novelty of the new notebook having worn off 15-20 pages in and my gel pens lost in the abyss that was my backpack, I simply went through the motions for the remainder of the year.
All summer long we went back and forth on signing Heidi up to attend JK part time, but ultimately decided not to send her. Maybe it’s the cooler fall air, but I feel that same familiar excitement at new beginnings and I know we made the right choice for our family.
They’re going to spend the year together, learning side by side and I am not deluding myself into thinking that it will be all sunshine and rainbows, but I know it will be magical. We’re trying something new this year, a secular Charlotte Mason curriculum and I can’t wait to get started. We’ll ease into slowly and stay keenly aware of our unschooling roots, but I have a feeling this is the perfect next step for us.
There’s so much I can say about the picture above, they’re both so in their element that it just makes me smile every time I see it. We attended a homeschool event at the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory and it’s our official (Not) Back To School Photo. What you can’t see is how carefully Amina chose Heidi’s clothes (with her permission of course) to have the maximum impact on the butterflies. She determined that they would love the flowers and birds and colorful patterns and wanted Heidi to be surrounded by as many butterflies as possible.
Here’s to a great new (school) year!
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