Enjoying Nature with Preschoolers
July was a crazy month. So crazy in fact, that I thought today was the last day of July, until I woke up this morning to write this post and realized I totally missed it. Earlier this month, I made it home to San Diego for the first time in four years. It’s funny how much things can change (and how little things can change) after that long. Even though the trip was early in the month, I still feel like I am playing catch up.
Case in point: It’s the first of august and we have barely made a dent in our July Mother Goose Time box. One awesome thing about Mother Goose Time- you can start at any time. If you are *really* type A, you’d want to start the first Monday of the month so you can use the cute calendar that comes along with it. But, if you are a hot mess like me, you’ll be glad to know that you can start at any time during the month, and be just fine. The only thing that is truly tied to the calendar is the calendar itself, and even then, it’s flexible enough that you could use the May calendar in July and never know different.
For us, the question is then what we do from here. Do we stop what we are doing and jump ahead to the August box (Fables and Folktales?) and just skip what we didn’t get to yet? Do we double up lessons and try to catch up that way? Do we just keep chugging along and just accept that we are behind?
I haven’t yet decided. The July box is one of my FAVORITE themes (behind dinosaurs of course). It’s all about nature studies, and being outside, and enjoying all of the lovely things around us. I really don’t want to skip ANY of it. So, we probably won’t. It’s summer time. We’re going to move slow and be flexible, and embrace this time of year. I’ll figure the rest out when the time comes!
New Homeschooler Tip: Don’t ever let the curriculum overrule your gut feeling. If you need downtime, take it. If it’s too much for your family, change it. If it’s not enough, add more. Just follow your gut and your heart and you’ll be just fine. Really. Even if that means only completing a week of preschool in the month of July because you were at the point where “I just can’t.” It happens, and it’s okay.
And, without further blabbering from me- some of the fun (and adorable) activities we DID complete in July:
We receive Mother Goose Time curriculum free in exchange for sharing about our experience. I love the program, so it’s an ideal trade!