As the "school year" winds down this month, some of you are stressing about being "behind." I'm here to encourage you not to feel that way. I put those words in quotes for a good reason.
School years were created for schools. You are not a school. You are a home. So stop thinking you're "behind."
My 13-year-old just started a new math book today. My 10-year-old is more than halfway through hers. And my 15-year-old is on a break from Algebra (for my sanity). None of them are ahead or behind. They are consistently working toward a goal, and that is to become proficient in the arithmetic needed to function in society.
When you realize that the school year, the grade-level system, and the concept of falling behind are all public school inventions, it's easy to set your mind at rest. Is it your goal to check off a list created by some distant bureaucrat, or to light a fire of learning in your children?
Moms (and Dads), stop looking at the calendar with a guilty feeling right now. Calendars are for doctor appointments and service calls. They are not your boss. The math book is not your boss. The state (gasp!) is not your boss.
Create an atmosphere of learning and progress in your children, and don't worry about what month it is. Progress is the goal. Mastery is the goal. A well-educated child should be the goal of home education.
THINK OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM.
*I know there are a couple of strict states that require certain homeschooling days and hours, and I am sorry.
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