Part 1: Unfounded Expectations and Completing this Year's Work

It has taken me close to a complete home educating year to find my teaching footing with the following mix; Bobs needing and chomping at the bit to work at a higher level (let's just change up the gears and add in part of another core shall we), and Daisy requiring a little less time with mum 'elbow teaching' but more time with me teaching home craft topics (cooking, paper crafts, and sewing instruction do require some time and patience ☺) ... and Dn starting to work from home (who knew a grown man could create such an on going distraction to the children and I - just by being there? ☺).
As is pretty normal in most homes, life happens too as part of that continual adjustment mix.

It took me a good 10 months of learning to let go of unfounded expectations for the home schooled part of lives and realising we were being gifted with other lessons to learn from, or walk through.

The replacement lesson modules have been:
someone in our home recovering from a longer term illness;
loved ones divorcing;
death;
an on/off run of unexpected visitors and house guests;
out of our norm (!!!!) ministry responsibilities;
and, high-wants (translate that as unreasonable and demanding) clients.
Those are some of the more prominent aspects of what this year has gifted us with and are not events one can actually plan into a schedule. Yet those are the times that have gifted us with some of our deepest and best learning moments;
Moments of patience,
moments of compassion,
moments of praying through intense grief,
moments of love and hospitality,
and,
moments of being faithful and diligent.

If there were "tests" that went with each of those life moments, I'm not sure how well we would have done with "passing" on some of them - we just endeavoured to place our trust in God as we worked through each lesson. It's best to forget about passing any sort of test, as the value of those life moments just leave lasting impressions in the ongoing formation of the children's character (and ours!!) that can not be learnt solely at the dining/homeschooling table.

With the academic lessons the children have been so patient and accomodating as I/we've stretched and relaxed trying to find a good working pace around the constant life changes.

I think we've finally found our stride ... and, laughing, the end of the year is looking us right down the barrel. I thought we would be finished in 2 and 1/2 weeks ... not with the children I've been blessed with, they see the end in sight and start pushing me to get us done marmee. We have ONE week left of our history schedule to complete which feels so good.

to be continued ....

(this post was apparently too long for certain folks to get through in one reading ... so I've cut it in half *just for them* ☺)