'Tis the time of year.....to plan for the school year. Sigh. I love this time and I loathe this time. We are going into our 9th year of homeschooling. We currently have four kiddos, and will be tackling 10th, 6th, 5th, and 1st grades this upcoming year. We have been a Sonlight family for many years, with a little bit of wandering into other realms here and there. However, we have always come back to Sonlight. The problem I am facing for this new year I feel so tapped out. What I mean is that we have so many books here, wonderful books that I desperately want my kids to read, but no plan on how to put them together. I don't want to just buy more books. I want to use what I have and be a good steward of my resources. One would think that, after all these years, I would be able to just plan out my own year using what I have. However, I feel that I will miss something, or that I just won't dedicate the right amount of time or resources to planning and will somehow short-change my kids. I know, I know, those of you who have homeschooled for many years are out there shaking your heads, telling me that I am worrying over nothing. Just hit the necessary subjects, and they will be fine, right? Maybe give unschooling a shot and let them learn what they are interested in. Or perhaps I should just put them all in school and forget about it? I could sit on the couch and eat bon bons all day. That would be so nice. Except that I'd miss them, and I would worry about them, and then I would feel all the guilt for giving up.....and then there is the very big fact that I actually do love homeschooling! I get sucked in by all of the gorgeous-looking curriculum choices. I know I'm not alone. Can I get an amen?! My book addiction is a struggle that I am trying to tame, but it's not easy. My choices so far are: sticking with Sonlight, The Good and the Beautiful, Layers of Learning, Ambleside Online, My Father's World.....as you can see, the options are many. And then, of course, there is the idea of just formulating my own plan, stepping out into the great unknown, and telling my OCD to take a back seat for once. Only time will tell.....and any comments from some fellow book nerd mamas would be great too!
