Summer is for ... #1

Summer is for ... curriculum planning.
Summer 2009 - The decision had been made to start homeschooling, using an online public school. A1 was going into 3rd grade, A2 was going into 1st.
Fall 2009 - What was I thinking?!? An online public school is still a public school! (However, I had not done due diligence when it came to educating myself about homeschooling, so how was I to know?) Let the research begin! Cancelled the online public schooling, filed the paperwork declaring ourselves homeschoolers, and started the kids on worksheets and workbooks (so they were doing something "educational") while I started bringing home armloads of books from the library. OH!!! So that's what homeschooling is all about. Ok, the picture was coming in clearer as I learned about the different styles and methods and curriculums. Now we're getting somewhere. Scrabbled together a makeshift curriculum for the 2009-2010 "school year" and kept up with my own studying ... of "How to homeschool" etc.
Summer 2010 - Discovered Classical Conversations somehow. Can't remember how, but if you saw what I do on the computer ... read an article, open a new tab each time I come across something I want to know more about, search for it in the tab, then leave the tab open and come back to it when I'm done with the first article. So, somehow I must've read about it somewhere online. Went to an informational meeting, took home the propaganda, researched it, discussed at length with hubby (dear man), and decided we'd try it for a year since we happened to have the money to afford it.
Fall 2010 - Started attending Classical Conversations (or CC, as members affectionately call it). The kids loved it. They loved making new friends, having playdates, eating lunch together. But Mom ... not so much. I like the program, for the most part. I love the curriculum. Let's say that much. What I don't like is getting up early on Monday mornings, scrambling around just like we're trying to get to school on time! No time for coffee, have to walk the dogs, brush my teeth (there were days when I forgot to brush my hair!) ... pack some breakfast because there's no time to eat! Wait ... isn't this the stuff we loved leaving behind when we started homeschooling?!? All of a sudden, my favorite day of the week became my most dreaded! Mondays are my favorite because the busy weekend, full of off-schedule activity, is put behind us and I can start out new again, refreshed and ready to tackle the world. OR, if it was a super busy weekend, we can take Monday morning off to regroup and rest before tackling the world. Either way, that wonderful Monday morning feeling went down the drain as I went back to my public-school-mom personality of trying to get everyone organized and out the door on time.
*We stuck it out for the year. Kids still loved it, although they weren't too upset the few times we had to miss it. But I couldn't wait to get back to our regular life when it was over. And that leads me up to Spring of 2011.
Spring 2011 - Mommy doesn't want to go back to CC. We set aside the money for it, but financially we're just scraping by ... why should we spend so much money on something that makes Mommy miserable? Who wants a miserable teacher-Mommy? (They can get those at public school!) So, let the research begin again!
Summer 2011 - Mommy got up the guts to talk to the Superintendent of our school (a.k.a. Daddy) about not going back to CC. Daddy says ok. I can still use the curriculum to do my best at giving my children a good education. Now the challenge is explaining to the children that we are not going back.
Someone say a prayer for me.
**P.S. We have continued very light schooling through the summer with a concentration on spelling, their weakest subject. Now it's the middle of July. We're still plugging in summertime fun, but we also hit Staples the other day for back-to-school supplies and that really put the kids in the mood for more! Mom - not so much! I'm realizing how much work I have to do to get ready to start back full-time. Ahem. Not really. We're homeschoolers after all. My goal is for us to enjoy the ride.