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Our school days finally gave way to river days enjoying the sun, quiet, and leisurely exploration. Although I’ve kept the garden a bit smaller and simpler this year, it has still kept us (me) busy with weeding and maintenance, bringing delight with every bit of fruit from that labor. Phoebe has planted wildflowers and zinnias in her garden box. We’ve welcomed the days of hammock snuggles and reading, being outdoors before the heat and humidity wipe us out and chase us back in. I’ve tried to be more intentional this summer about having one child assigned per night to help me cook, more of a discipline for myself and a treat for them. Philippa participated in “chef’s camp” a couple of weeks ago, and the kids all have VBS and drama camp coming up soon. It has been a year since we began our kitchen remodel, and it is nearly done, although it has led into doing shiplap down the hallway and redoing our kitchen fireplace area. So the project lingers on, as they usually do, squeezed in between all the regular activities and interruptions of life. Maybe I’ll get around to sharing a post about the kitchen project eventually.

I took “end of year” school pictures of the kids.

It was a good year, but didn’t feel like our best. Does one always feel this way when wrapping up a homeschool year, a bit drained and overwhelmed with all that seemed to slip through the cracks? Phoebe was more independent this year, doing curriculum mainly chosen by our classical homeschool co-op. She excelled but I missed connecting with her. My hands felt very full beginning kindergarten with Wren and juggling a nursing napping baby in the midst of it all, while still being quite sleep-deprived. Wren enjoyed doing writing lessons and math, but found reading to be difficult although she progressed so well during the year. It always feels like a small miracle and glorious mercy to launch another child into reading. Philippa worked well through third grade without any major hiccups. She’s a diligent student and really took off with reading chapter books this year. Titus learned how to walk and is beginning to say little words here and there, and we celebrate every little bit of it. Phoebe received a very difficult medical diagnosis at the end of January/early February that wiped us all out emotionally for some time as we reeled and adjusted, spending a lot of time in doctor’s offices doing tests. She has begun some medications, and we have had a lot of learning and processing to do. Some days it all still feels very painful, overwhelming, and sad. She, however, has risen to the challenge with faith and joy, true to her character. Noah wrapped up fifth grade, officially closing the chapter on the “elementary” years and beginning “middle school” this autumn, which feels like another big shift. I’ve tried to give myself a good measure of grace in light of all of this as I look back over the school year. There were other changes and challenges I won’t mention here. It was actually quite a hard year to strive for consistency and excellence. Some days it really felt like just keeping our heads above water and I finished the year feeling very spent. Some years are like that, though. Still a sweet year of learning and growing together, while walking through a lot of ups and downs. I’m endlessly grateful for this amazing work of home education, though it truly stretches me beyond capacity and certainly causes me to be dependent on the Lord in ways I never could have imagined. It is so fruitful and sweet, even in the hard “off” years.

Since wrapping up our school year, I have begun a major project of reorganizing and cleaning up the school room. It hasn’t been done for quite a few years now, and our kitchen remodel threw everything into a greater level of disarray than usual. Every day I’m taking as much time as I can to sort, minimize, and begin planning for next year. I often underestimate how long this takes and also how awesome it feels to declutter and bring order back to the chaos. It is breathing new life into our school space.