DID SOMEONE SAY THE "S" WORD?

Three, two, one....AUGUST!

AAAAHHHHH!

For all practical purposes, July is over.  Gone.  Ka-put.  Next week, we flip our calendars to a new month.

August:  the beginning of a new school year.  New books, new pencils, a new rhythm to the days as summer gives way to fall.  Since we homeschool here at Kendallville, we'll have the same classroom (the kitchen table), the same students (minus Tom, our most recent graduate), the same teacher (moi).  We'll be back at the books in about two weeks:  that thought makes me dizzy with a mixture of euphoria and panic.

Take a deep breath, Camille.  Everything is going to be fine.

Yes, I've been at this homeschool business long enough to recognize the familiar emotional cycle of the school year.  It looks something like this:

AUGUST:  Panic.  When I look at all that we need to accomplish in the year ahead, I think, There is no way on earth we are ever going to get all this work done!  I mean, have you seen the Apologia Anatomy text book?  That thing has a zillion pages and weighs almost 50 pounds!  British Literature:  We're reading how many books this year?!  And history.  And music.  A foreign language?  And...

In spite of the initial panic, I know how this will all turn out. We'll do Day 1 of school.  Then, we'll do Day 2.  Breathe.  Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 - exhausted and slightly less panicked, we'll find that an entire week is behind us.  The second week, we've just about got the routine down.  By Week 3, the train is out of the station and steaming down the tracks.

OCTOBER:  Smug confidence.  We have so totally got this school thing in the bag.  Chug-a-chug-a-Chug-a-chug-a- Choo!-Choo!

NOVEMBER: A little book weary, but focused.  We've made noticeable progress.  Better keep pushing, though, because it's always crazy around the holidays - won't get much done then!

DECEMBER:  Holiday!  With half the school year behind us, it's time for a nice l-o-n-g break.  Hallelujah!

JANUARY:  Ugh.  It is so hard to get back into the books after a couple of weeks off.  But we're kinda craving the routine of school after the craziness of the holidays.  Hey, did you notice that we're over half-way through this math book?  The kids make countdown calendars.  It's all down hill from here - summer vacation, here we come!

MARCH:  We are never going to finish this school year.  We complete a lesson every day, but it doesn't seem like we're getting any closer to the back cover of this book.  Besides, who wants to sit inside at the table working math problems when the spring weather beckons us outside?

APRIL:  This is the month when homeschool moms look longingly out their windows each morning at the big yellow school buses rolling down the highway. Sigh.  I am so tired of doing school.  The kids are so tired of doing school.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to just push them out the door at 6:30 in the morning, then retire to the kitchen for another cup of coffee - alone?!

MAY:  EUPHORIA!  Happy Dance!  Can you believe it - another school year behind us?!  Grade reports are turned in, the books are packed away, and it's time to head outside to the garden, the creek, and all the delights of summer.

Next May, Lord willing, we will be graduating two high school seniors.  Amazing!  And you know what?  May really isn't that far off.

Let's do this.  Come on, August - bring it on!