So this just happened this week. Our youngest child is an 8th grade graduate. How did this happen so soon? It didn't dawn on me till my daughter gave me flowers that night and told me they were for me that I realized that I have graduated also. There will be no more grade school going on in our homeschool! I have mixed feelings about that.
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Yay, I'm Almost Done!
Part of me is excited. As I talked about in my post on the homeschooling mom and her empty nest, four years isn't that long before I'll find myself without any more students. That's something to look forward to!
Now is the time to start thinking about what I want to do with my time. Typically in our homeschool, the high school students are much more independent than the grade school kids. I'll have my last two students in high school now so I'm anticipating have more "free" time during the day.
Oh, I'll still have to be present to answer questions and keep them on track, but there won't be as much one-on-one time now. I've started planning what to do with that time and I've got some great new ideas for ways to help other homeschooling mamas who are still in the trenches. There's some exciting stuff happening around here and I can't wait to unveil it all. Stay tuned 🙂
But I Liked Grade School
Then there's that part of me that is sad that our grade school days have come to an end. I had a love affair with all of the curriculum choices out there and so I find it sad that I won't need to buy anymore of it.
That's probably a good thing for our checkbook, but I will miss perusing all of the catalogs and trying out new books each year. Our high school curriculum has been pretty much the same for all seven kids, so I don't foresee too many new books having to be purchased.
I'm happy to answer questions about curriculum, what we've used and how we've used it, if anyone ever needs any help or direction. After 21 years of homeschooling, I have a lot of opinions! Contact me if you ever want to chat because, you know, I'll have time now :).
8th Grade Graduate Today, Young Adult Before You Know it!
And so, time will continue to march forward, probably much too quickly. I am proud of my kids and who they have become. I know that independence is the goal and they have done a great job so far.
I've learned a big lesson over the years, and that's to always be in the present moment. The future is not guaranteed, so no need to fret about it. Prayer is the thing that grounds me and the Lord is faithful.
If you're on the cusp of the empty nest, now is the time to build up and fortify your prayer life so that you can enjoy these last couple of years and forge on to the new path that God has in store for you.