when you are not where your planner says you should be

It’s the end of March and the end of the school year has now entered the horizon. At least in mine. After several glorious weeks of temps in the upper sixties and low seventies I’ve certainly got that end of the year itch.

Then I look at my planner. And the week that we’re technically on.

Then I let discouragement creep in.

We should be here.
We should have finished that.
We should be doing this.
We will never get done.

Then I remember. I remember all we did learn. And I remember that ultimately a planner, a week, a date does not define learning. What about the days, the weeks where we left the studies that were planned and instead followed the creative path my kids went on? Those moments count.

Did you hear me? Those moments count.

They might not be written down specifically, but there was learning.

We’ve been learning.

About birds. Space {have you seen those planets in the sky?}. Gardening. Pruning. Math. Fractions. Celiac Disease. Gluten free cooking. Writing. George Washington. How to run a home. Grammar. The weather. Fractions. About God. Serving others. Reading.

All of that counts.

Here’s what I do now, in the last week of March, when I don’t match where I should be in my planner. I look at the rest of the year and I plan what I want to get through — and I pencil it in my planner. I look at a scope and sequence for each of my children for each grade and I make sure that we’ve covered what they need to know {and more often then not, this actually reassures me that we’ve been doing well}, and then well, we learn. Without pressure. Without guilt.

They all have schedules. And I make them work for us.

There is no guilt when the planner doesn’t match the week.

Just keep moving. Learning.

And enjoy your spring.

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Our spring resources for my younger learners? Geography Matter’s Trail Guide to Learning Paths of Settlement {Grace, Brennan, and rest of family — they love to listen}, All about Spelling {Brennan, Caleb}, All About Reading {Caleb}, Memoria Press {Caleb}, Saxon Math {Grace}, my own math that I put together {Brennan, Caleb, Elijah}, and Bible {all}.