Homeschool Life at Ellis Acres
We are nearing the end of our school year out here at Ellis Acres. Hey, I think that might be a good name for our homeschool… Ellis Acres Academy. Yeah, that sounds nice. While it’s kinda fun to name your own school, homeschooling comes with a load of responsibilities and the need for mounds of patience. A friend of mine once said that all types of schooling come with their own can of worms. Which can of worms can your family stomach? As small business owners with weird hours, homeschooling affords us more time together, so it’s the can of worms we chose to open.
I think my favorite thing about homeschooling is finding our rhythm. I highly recommend this to new homeschool moms. For us, this rhythm changes year to year, as each year has its own scheduling challenges. Our small business, Mellis Music Studio, keeps us busy most evenings, so we center our homeschool rhythm around breakfast. This is our main family meal, and we seek to guard it as best we can. We have dubbed it “Breakfast and Bible” and are currently enjoying The Bible Recap for Kids. This set-apart time sparks some great discussion and prayer, and we find that our attitudes are better throughout the day when Breakfast and Bible happens. After breakfast, the kids head out to do their farm chores, Matt gets ready for work, and I clean the kitchen and tackle a few things on my to-do list. This helps me feel like I can more easily focus on homeschool if I’ve taken care of some of my own tasks first.
This school year has involved me letting go of the reins more than years past, which has stretched me emotionally. Richard, our 16-year-old, began dual credit through our local junior college. He is now more in charge of his education than I am, and he’s tackling it with a mix of confidence and nerves. I think that’s okay. It’s good for him to feel the weight of more responsibility while still being able to lean on us and have a good support system. Lucy is our driven child who challenged herself to double up and finish 7th-grade math and Pre-Algebra in one year. She did this so that the majority of her 8th-grade classes can be high school level. In no way did I require this; I personally think she’s crazy! To meet her goal, she will have to do math classes into the month of June, but I’m happy to encourage her driven attitude while reminding her that she’s not labeled by what she accomplishes, but by who she is and how much she is loved. Nora’s 4th-grade curriculum was more hands-off than 3rd grade, which was sad and wonderful all at the same time. She’s growing into an independent learner, as she should, and still loves to learn by moving and singing, which gives us a chance to play lots of games and even do school on the trampoline! Math makes her feel tired, and we have yet to find a math curriculum that we love. My homeschool friends… I’m open to suggestions!
Even though this has been a unique year, I’m grateful that I had a solid rhythm to lean into. If you see me looking a little sad, or staring off into space, then I’m probably metaphorically opening my hands and letting go of control again for the 10th time that day. When the time is right, I can release my kids into the world and trust that they have what it takes to thrive and make a real impact.
