A New Homeschool Season—and All the Feelings

It’s August. We usually start our homeschool year in July. I usually have written detailed posts about what our curriculum is and our routines and all of it. But here I am in August just now getting my ducks in a row!

The girls are joining a new co-op this year. We have actually had great luck with the co-ops we’ve been a part of since moving here a year and a half ago. They were both great fits for different reasons, and yet, it’s time for us to make another shift.

Our reasons for the shift include being part of a more rigorous academic environment, expanding their social circles, and giving them opportunities for more social experiences during their high school years, like dances, senior sunrises, etc.

I have mixed feelings about it, but don’t I with everything? I think my biggest emotional ache is just nostalgia and a wistfulness of the more simple years gone by. But in my heart I feel this is a positive path for both girls, and what we feel is best for them will always reign supreme.

Annnnnd if I’m being completely honest, I’m quite tickled to not be the one in charge of implementing science labs, teaching TinkerCAD, or trying to relearn geometry.

And while the sappy side of me wants to wallow in the feeling that they’re grown and I’m sending them off, the logical side is reigning me back in and helping me see what a beautiful hybrid this next season could be.

With the heavy academic planning off my shoulders, I’ll have more time to pour into the roles of leading our morning time (our family book study, composer study, and art study), assisting on challenging assignments, helping with math (because that’s still on Nicole’s and my plate), keeping them nourished, and being mom taxi extraordinaire for the plethora of sports and activities locked into our fall schedule.

I’ve been doing some reflecting about motherhood lately and loathing the “18 summers” mentality. Motherhood isn’t something accomplished in the first 10, 18, or 21 years of life. If done well, it’s a lifetime connection. Yes, roles shift, and honestly, thank goodness they do. Each season has some really tough parts to it, and what makes it all so beautiful is acknowledging its fleetingness—that it is just a season—and savoring the sweet parts while we’re in them.

If I were fully able to delete nostalgia from my heart, I would tell you that this season of mothering a tween and a teen is pretty amazing. To be the one helping equip them for this next phase is an honor. The conversations we have are deeper; we’re talking about life stuff, like standards, morals, and hard situations. And yet, last night I still found myself in a cuddle puddle with both girls and the dog, watching Letters to Juliet and braiding hair. I’m so grateful for every minute of this motherhood journey.

Yes, even the one including a sassy “fine, I guess I’m always wrong then” exaggerated huffy response where I get to see a glimmer of my own 12 year old self shine through and have a moment of quietly thanking my own mom for loving me during the trying moments of adolescence.

Hm… I started this post with giving a homeschool update in mind and got into the weeds of motherhood emotion a bit, didn’t I? Ah well, sometimes the rambling posts are my favorite to look back on.

In short, we start our new homeschool year next week. I’ll have a high schooler and a middle schooler, two competitive basketball players, an actress, a pianist, and a soccer player. But most of all, we’ll have each other to lean on and celebrate this new era with. It’s going to be a good one!

What life season are you in? What are the hard parts? The joys?

Do you suffer with nostalgia, too?