My projects

As the end of our official school year wound down (although learning never really stops) I found myself feeling kind of listless and bored.

I suffer from ennui from occasionally. And when it starts pull me down I know I need to find a project.

This time fall homeschooling planning has saved the day. I have been having fun with it all week!

I have a huge library at home that rarely fails to excite me. I collect rare and out of print children's books and it gives me a special pleasure to take them down and read them to Z.

I also have a passion for planning, researching and lists. I love matching beautiful books to Z interests and temperament. It has completely diverted me from my ennui. :) I have worked out a great language arts curriculum although I am still trying to figure out which literature to apply it to. History is mostly wrapped up - it is a matter of picking out the perfect biography books. I am having trouble picking between two plans for science. But there is no real hurry.

One thing I think I have worked out is that the lessons will still be done by lunch time so Z will still have her afternoon's open for free play, play dates, etc. I have always felt that Z needs free time just as much if not more than her lessons. Plus I like to have my free time too!

Before I was a mom and before I was a writer I was an efficiency expert. Early on I worked for Motorola and I would learn a job and figure out the fastest and best way to do that job and then write up an SOP and train the workers. After that I worked for a technical company doing the same type of thing. I went through all the processes in the company and changed things so that what they were doing made much more sense.

That is just how my brain works. I do the research to figure out what makes sense in that time and place with those people. Then I make several plans and work them through and find out which one works best for each person and each job. Then I train the people. It doesn't always work. Adults can be resistant to change. But it usually wasn't my job to make the people work properly which is what managers are for. Interestingly, people who were more motivated to do well at their job rather than maintaining the status quo usually appreciated the changes I made as it made their jobs easier.

But my natural tendencies and talents in this area have corresponded really well into homeschooling.

I know Z so well ( she is almost convinced I have psychic powers) that my main difficulty is finding the proper resources to fit her temperament. But for me that is part of the fun. :)

I know it probably sounds weird to get so much pleasure out of being efficient but really I can't imagine being any other way. :)