We begin again

We start another school year on Monday--2015-2016--a final year of high school for my son--a final year of middle school for my daughter.  I haven't done a whole lot of prep work yet besides thinking about the year and pulling lists of books from our curriculum guide.  I haven't even planned in my head how the days of week will go or what our daily or weekly schedule will look like.  I know what I want to implement that has been lacking in previous years, but  I also know how busy the days and weeks quickly become.  I want to really study this year, even if that means not using every resource that is planned, as long as the ones we do use serve us well.

I would love the year to be simple and straightforward.  I would love to not feel rushed, to have time to think and talk and write about what we are learning, to absorb beauty and knowledge in each of our disciplines of study.  I sound like I'm the student, not the teacher!  I would love for my students to experience the year in this way.  Quality not quantity.

There are always loopholes in our educational journey.  In the past I've fretted over missing some of the richness offered in literature or language study or poetry, art, nature studies.  I remind myself at the beginning of each year that we are learning how to learn just as much as learning the content itself.   We are learning to love to learn I should say; the desire to know, to delve, to seek information, to seek beauty, to understand the world and all that is in it to the best of our ability at any one time in our life.  And to exercise that desire to learn all throughout our life, not just when we are in 'school'.

There is still some trepidation as I wonder how the year will unfold in reality rather than in theory (or in my head).  But I am still excited about beginning again.

Live and Learn

Wow, I've had a blog for several years and I feel like a beginner, still.  I haven't spent enough time on this blog to figure it out and make it work for me.  But, no more.  Even if it takes all year, I am determined to become a real blogger by blogging regularly and making my blog reader-friendly.

I read a news byte recently of a study that showed how to keep your brain agile, sharp, and growing as you age.  The premise is that if you challenge your brain with things that are difficult to learn, even if it takes you a long time to learn, your brain grows; it is exercised.

So, I guess I'm ready to exercise! First, I'll change the outward appearance of my blog (if only it were as easy as a few clicks of the mouse to do the same for my person!).  Then I hope to really write, frequently, so as to get into a habit.  Almost like a journal, I think.

I guess I will measure my success at the end of the month by taking a count of my posts and tweaking the layout to suit my preferences.  Then I will challenge myself to post photos, to post links, to have different sections of the blog for books, quotes, poems, whatever.  I hope to stop second guessing myself as much as I do now which prevents me from posting at times.

Ready, set, go!