How to Ruin a Homeschool Day in 10 Easy Steps

I'm perfectly late with this post. Who had time to post? I was busy ruining a homeschool day. 

I thought I'd share with you just how to manage this feat.

How to Ruin a Homeschool Day in 10 Easy Steps

1. Don't get up when the alarm goes off. Just hit snooze (or better yet, hit dismiss) and go back to sleep.

2. When you finally get up, decide you should check your Facebook and email "really quick" before waking the kids. 

3. Two hours later (Man! That must have been some interesting email, huh?), wake the kids and realize you never took the dog out this morning. 

4. Take the dog out and while he's doing his business, decide you'd better make some calls to fit in that customer that left a message on your business Facebook page saying she needs you tomorrow. 

5. After three phone calls and an hour of time, get back to attending to the kids who have now sucked themselves into Zelda and YouTube. Decide it's closer to lunch than breakfast so they can stay on the screens while you prepare lunch.

6. While they're eating lunch, realize that the youngest bipolar bear doesn't appear to be doing well. She did, after all, miss her morning "meds" when you overslept. Note that she can't take her "meds" until 15 minutes after eating.

7. Answer the phone call that's coming in because you don't recognize the number. Oh! It's a business call! This will only take 5 minutes.

8. Thirty minutes later, hang up the phone and take another look at the youngest bipolar bear. Her lips are pale. Give "meds" to her and hope they kick in before the mania does. Pull out some school books and decide you'll just focus on math and reading today because it's so late.

9. Walk by computer and decide that you'll see if Facebook customer got back with you. While there, check your online scheduler to see if any customers booked any cleaning jobs for the week.

10. An hour later, decide that the day is pretty much over and there's no point in getting started with lessons. Besides, youngest bipolar bear just hopped a plane to Mania-land.

Pretty masterful huh? Eh.. just keepin' it real. Gotta laugh at myself sometimes.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This and It's OK

We all have those days that kind of fall off the calendar. There are days when we are diverted by whatever may divert us. In this case, I allowed business to get in the way. That's unusual for me because usually I put business off until late afternoon. 

No matter how good our intentions, some days just don't happen the way we planned. 

The point is: every one us is capable of letting the day slip away. For me, it's important to have my plans laid out before me. By plans, I mean a schedule or routine. It's something to guide me along.

The good news is that even on a day that went 'wrong,' learning still happens. 

We can still sit down and read a wonderful piece of literature or have an impromptu nature study or discussion about the life of Thomas Jefferson. Sometimes our formal lessons go flying out the window but informal lessons are just as important.

Sometimes I think they're even more important because they teach the kids to go with the flow. They learn not to give up just because plans fell through or a day took a detour. They also learn that learning always happens. 24/7.



Happy Homeschooling!