A few years ago I started planning a week ?off? into the lesson plans for the year. At the time, we were schooling year round and it made sense to take a week every six weeks, for extra errand running, play dates, doctor?s appointments and whatevers.
?
What I didn?t realize was how much those weeks ?off? would contribute to my mental health and ability to keep homeschooling! In fact this year I?ve given us more of them, and designated every fourth week as a ?review? week.
?
The ?review? weeks (so called because among other things we use them for the messy projects that help solidify the concepts we?ve learned) are a block of time that I use to help me relax and regroup. Here?s a small sampling of what I?ve done this week:
?
Monday: The children did their regular chores, then had free play outside while I cleaned and re-organized the schoolroom. Yes, we just started school, but the five year old also uses the space during our quiet-time and I could see some places where moving things around would give us a better workflow. I also worked on repairing and setting up a desk for myself in the master bedroom.
?
Tuesday: We did school in the morning. This was mostly the odds and ends of lessons that had been missed the previous week due to a dentist appointment and several children with head colds. I started sorting through clothes as part of the fall clothing changeover.
?
Wednesday: Co-op in the morning. Finished setting up my desk in the afternoon. Menu planning and grocery list. Cooked a dinner that didn?t involve a slow cooker.
?
Thursday (Today): Just about finished the clothing swap. Enormous box of stuff destined for the thrift store. I have one more box to go through. Grocery shopping. Tidying of various kinds. Hopefully a new mattress for our bed gets delivered today. After naps I will finish the schoolroom cleaning and reorganizing and hopefully figure out why my printer refuses to print in black ink!!!
?
Friday (Tomorrow): First Friday Mass with the homeschool group, then lunch. Maybe a visit to Costco afterwards. General Tidy everywhere to be ready for the weekend.
?
Weekend: update lesson plans, print stuff for the next three weeks, spend some time with friends, church.
Then on Monday start the next three week session of school, with a refreshed outlook and tidier spaces!