You know those weeks where life seems to have OTHER plans for your homeschool routine?
Well, apparently, that’s this week for us.
On Monday, my first grader didn’t do any of his regular math or language arts lessons.
Instead, he spent about THREE HOURS learning science!
He explored bugs through an interactive zoo exhibit, learned about which insects help (or hurt!) your garden in his gardening club, and dissected a pumpkin during another live class where they studied all its different parts.
And somewhere in there, he also went to jiu-jitsu and practiced drawing.
Then Tuesday rolled around.
We had a doctor’s appointment right in the middle of our prime homeschool hours.
By the time we got home, I needed to make lunch, and my little guy kept asking me…
“Mommy, are we going to do school today?”
“Mommy, when are we doing school?”
And finally, I told him, “No, buddy. I guess we’re not doing school today.”
And with the rest of our week looking a little different because of other commitments, I was already thinking about how we hadn’t done math or language arts in TWO DAYS.
But then something happened.
My son came to find me after he’d been drawing.
“Mommy! I’m learning that when I get something wrong, I can take a deep breath and try again. And if it’s still not perfect, I can take another deep breath and try again!”
Y’ALL. ❤️
My SIX-YEAR-OLD was telling me how he was learning to manage frustration, practice patience, and keep going when something was hard.
And he was figuring this out while DRAWING!
Then he came to tell me something else he’d discovered.
“Mommy, did you know X can mean different numbers? Sometimes X can mean seven!”
Well, hello, early algebraic thinking. 😂
And somewhere in between all of this, he’d been reading books on his own.
And suddenly I realized something.
I’d been so focused on the lessons we HADN’T done that I was overlooking all the learning that HAD happened.
Here I was thinking we hadn’t really done school in two days.
Meanwhile, my son had spent hours exploring science, practiced reading independently, exercised his body, developed his drawing skills, and demonstrated some pretty wonderful emotional regulation.
And I almost missed it!
Now, hear me.
Math and language arts are important. Especially in first grade! And if we went weeks without making progress in those foundational subjects, I’d absolutely want to address that.
But two days?
Two days of learning that looks different from our usual routine aren’t evidence that our homeschool is falling apart.
And I wonder how often we do this as homeschool moms.
We get so focused on the thing that DIDN’T happen that we stop noticing everything that DID.
Or we have one really hard part of the day, and suddenly the whole day feels like a failure.
But here’s the flip side.
Sometimes something really ISN’T working.
Maybe math has become a daily battle. Maybe your routines keep falling apart. Maybe your child is struggling to learn something, and you genuinely don’t know what to do next.
We don’t want to ignore those things either.
The goal isn’t to convince ourselves that everything is fine. It’s to see the whole picture clearly enough to know what actually needs our attention.
And sometimes, that’s harder than it sounds when you’re right in the middle of it. ❤️
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Not just what's going wrong. What's going RIGHT, too!
And then we'll figure out where things actually need to change.
During our time together, I'll help you:
✅ Recognize what's already working in your homeschool (even when it doesn't feel like much!)
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Wednesday, November 4, 2026 9:00 AM Pacific / 12:00 PM Eastern FREE — LIVE on YouTube!
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🎥 WATCH: How to Create a Homeschool That Fits Real Life
If this week's story about our disrupted homeschool routine sounded familiar, I have a video I think you'll really enjoy!
In it, I share why trying to fit our real families into an imaginary perfect homeschool creates so much unnecessary frustration—and how to build something that actually works with the life you're living.
Because appointments happen. Kids have different needs. And not every homeschool day looks the way we imagined. 😂
Come enjoy an afternoon of play and connection with other homeschool families!
Serenity Park is a hidden gem with tons of climbing structures, a water feature, and a covered area. We’ll be there rain or shine! 🌦️
📅 TODAY - Wednesday, October 21
⏰ 12:00–3:00 PM
📍 7360 SW Pointer Rd, Portland, OR 97225
A few things to know: 🚗 Parking: Park along SW Pointer Road. You won’t see the playground from the road, so you’ll need to walk in! Please be mindful of the neighbors when parking. 🚻 No bathrooms! There are no public restrooms, so plan accordingly. 🥪 Bring: Lunch or snacks, water, and weather-appropriate clothing.
Come for the whole afternoon or just stop by when you can! There’s no agenda, just kids playing and moms connecting.
Whether you’re already homeschooling or just thinking about it, you’re welcome to join us! ❤️
🍄 Super Cool Science: A Class of Their Own — Fungi AGES 9–14
With fall here, I highly recommend spending some time learning about mushrooms with your kiddos!
We live in an area where there are poisonous mushrooms AND mushrooms with psychedelic properties. In fact, I recently spotted a fly agaric mushroom 🍄 growing right outside Goodwill. 😂
They're fascinating, but they're also something I want my boys to know how to approach safely.
This book digs into the world of fungi, helping kids understand what makes them different from plants, how they grow, and the important roles they play in nature.
It's heavier on text than some of the other science books I've recommended, so I'd suggest it for strong elementary readers through middle school.
And if you live somewhere mushrooms grow abundantly, this is a great subject to explore in the fall. Go looking for them, take pictures, and see how many different kinds you can spot!
Just make sure your kiddos know that looking is fine, but touching or eating wild mushrooms is off-limits without knowledgeable adult guidance.
🎂 A Birthday for Cow! by Jan Thomas AGES 3–7
You know those books you read to your kids when they're little that make them laugh so hard you end up reading them over and over again?
This was one of those books for my oldest.
I can still remember how much he laughed at this story. And I even went out and bought a TURNIP so he could find out what one tasted like.
He was not impressed. 😂
If you haven't read Jan Thomas's books, they're wonderfully ridiculous. The illustrations are simple, the dialogue is hilarious, and they're SO much fun to read aloud.
This one is about making a birthday cake for Cow, except Duck is convinced that what the cake really needs is a turnip.
It's silly. It's repetitive. And it's exactly the kind of book that becomes a treasured childhood memory.
Sometimes the best books aren't the ones that teach the most. They're the ones your kids remember laughing over with you.
🎓 Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss AGES 4–ADULTS
Oh, this book.
I cry EVERY time I read it.
There's something about the encouragement, the adventure, the setbacks, and the reminder that life isn't always going to go the way we expect that gets me every single time.
Honestly, I feel like God has spoken so much of this book over my own life.
And now I get to read those words over my boys.
I love that it doesn't pretend life will always be easy. There will be confusing seasons, disappointments, and times when we don't know what comes next. But there's also so much possibility ahead.
Of course, I'm over here getting emotional about their futures, and my kids are looking at me like, "Mom, why are you crying?" 😂
It's a classic for a reason.
And while it's often given as a graduation gift, I think it's just as beautiful to read to our kids while they're still little.
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