Otherwise known as: Help! Three weeks have passed since our last lesson but my life is crazy right now and I just can’t do it!

What do to when life’s curveballs turn a few days off of school into a month (or more!)

If you’re anything like me, you know that the school year goes from August to June, with a few breaks over the major holidays. There’s only room for about 10 sick days before the principal (or Dad!) gets involved.

If kids aren’t doing book learning daily, they’re going to be too far behind their peers to have any chance of catching up, much less getting into a good college. And if they don’t get into a good college, what’s to become of them? Won’t we have failed them through all those homeschooling years? Am I right?

Well I’ll tell ya, that was my mindset for quite some time. And if you’re anything like me – you’ve had those thoughts from time to time too. But the fact is, I was wrong.

Shh..don’t tell anyone I said that.

But quite frankly, it’s true. And not just the college part either. Let’s back way up to the beginning. That part about book learning every day. You see, if we are even just a little bit intentional about teaching our kids, not all learning will come from our shiny boxed curriculum. In fact, quite a bit of the most valuable learning comes from living life every day.

Curriculum vs. Experiences

Now I’m not saying book learning isn’t important – it surely is. There are lots of things we need to know that will come from that shiny curriculum. But there are also lots of things we need to know that are best learned through experience.

If you’ve been homeschooling for more than a day, you know that sometimes life gets in the way of our school plans. I’m living proof – we just moved to a new state, and lost about two months of school time in the transition! Thankfully that time included Christmas break, but two months is a long time to feel like you’ve lost sight of the goal. And I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I got down on myself a time or two because of it.

But do you know something? I learned an invaluable lesson during that time – and I think my kids did too. Instead of forcing math facts and writing lessons into an already crazy time in our lives, I decided to focus on the things right in front of us. Interviewing and hiring movers, packing boxes, planning drives and rest stops, budgeting for food and hotels – the list doesn’t end there. Choosing a place to live, learning a new neighborhood, making new friends, getting by without friends and depending on each other. Grocery shopping for an empty kitchen. Voter registration and library cards. Forwarding mail. I could go on – but you get the idea.

I didn’t realize it at first, but each one of these experiences was a lesson in itself. My kids are going to need to know how to do all of these things on their own someday. Part of preparing them for adulthood includes teaching them adulting things! I’d much rather their first time walking through these things be by my side now, than alone later.

Learning by Living

And my situation might not be yours. Maybe there’s an extended illness in the family. Financial burdens that need to be addressed. Relationship needs that need to be met. The circumstances causing you to put scheduled lessons aside can vary like a preschooler’s taste buds from one day to the next, but the response is the same. You can use that time to your advantage and shift your teaching from the book to the life skill.

All that said – I do encourage you to be careful not to let a month or two of down time turn into a semester or a year. If you find that your situation has derailed your kids’ studies so completely that you can’t find your way back, it could be time to find a different schooling plan. That could be online classes, tutors, or heading back to a brick and mortar school. And you know what? That’s ok. What’s important is that you are providing the best education you can for your kids right now. If and when your situation changes, you can change your schooling plan too. As long as you are walking through all of this together, you’ll find the right path.

I find myself coming back to this quote by Rachel DeMille over at TJEd.org:

“You don’t have to do everything at once to make meaningful progress. You just need to do the next right thing.”

Man, that gets me. One day at a time, one step at a time. You can provide a great education for your kids. Not all at once, just by doing the next right thing.

You Can Do This

So friends, if you are experiencing a transition in life that has stopped your book learning mid-stream, don’t fret. I’d venture to say that you have a lot of opportunities to share some outside-the-book skills with your kids right now. As much as possible, bring them in to your decision making process. Ask them to help in filling out forms or researching things you need to know. Talk to them about your uncertainties and fears. Share with them your hopes and goals.

And guess what? There are some pretty cool side benefits – you’ll be talking more about important things. You’ll be sharing. You’ll be relying on each other and understanding each other in a whole new way. You’ll be living life – and facing its curveballs – together. And that’s something that’s hard to get from a curriculum.