The Lovely/Busy Month of May

Dear friend,

I'm taking lots of walks with our little ones these days, and discovering the fresh beauty and joy of daffodils in bloom, the first dandelions gone to seed, the tiny oak and maple leaves appearing overnight like magic.

Right now, big excitement for the little girls is a bunny in the yard, checking on the trees our local beavers are working on, a lone buttercup in a field, throwing things into puddles, the splash of a frog jumping away, and playing elves who sweep the forest floor with pine needle brooms.

At the same time, this week we have a kiddo in his first NCAA tournament (D3 Lacrosse) and navigating moving into a first apartment with roomies, a kiddo taking her first AP exam and looking for a first “real” job (beyond neighborhood babysitting), and a kiddo in seemingly non-stop rehearsals for Pirates of Penzance. Among lots of other big and little things.

As a mom of three teenagers right now—one in college, one in high school, and one in middle school—I can tell you there is the year-round crazy of family life, and then there is the next-level crazy in the month of May!

And I also remember the years in the middle, homeschooling my now-teens when they were children in the grades. May was the month of wanting to enjoy long days outdoors, needing to wrap up our homeschool year, end of year dance and theater performances and community festivals, and feeling that pressure already to be planning the next homeschool year’s curriculum too!

Several years ago I went through a divorce. My stress levels were very high and our homeschool year was not the most organized or dreamy.

I’m telling you this now because if for any reason you’ve had a difficult year, you might think it’s just time to throw in the towel. It may seem “too late,” but the brightness of May can actually be the right moment to breathe and make a fresh plan for the last few weeks of school.

I want to share with you the End of Year Homeschool Review Planner that I made for myself that year and that allowed me to create a brand-new definition of success for our last few weeks of school.

Even if you’ve had a marvelous year, chances are things went off the rails at some point and every plan did not come to fruition. That’s normal for school classrooms and homeschools alike. A pause point in May to reflect on your year and how you want to bring it to a close helps you​ end the year strong.

You can download the planner here: End of Year Review Planner.pdf

My friend, I hope you are able to slow down at times and enjoy many peaceful moments!

xo

Kelly