Homeschool Chit Chat

As we approach the end of another school year I find myself thinking a lot about what we have accomplished this year, what we still need to accomplish before finishing our school year and then also looking ahead to what I want next year to look like. We've accomplished a lot this year and for that I am thankful. However, there is a list of things that we haven't accomplished. These are things that I want to do every year and never seem to be able to fit it in. Nature study is a biggie. Nature study is talked about in many homeschool books and is a kind of buzz word. The idea is that you regularly get out into nature and just observe and then draw or write something in a nature notebook. The girls each have nature notebooks, each has about 1 entry per school year. I just actually gave Hannah hers to use as a sketch book because I have finally given up the idea that I will ever fit in regular nature study. As of this school year I've been homeschooling for 6 years and every year I say we are going to do nature study once a week. I've made the kids nature backpacks complete with field guides, little magnifying glasses, paper, colored pencils, etc. I asked for and received the "Handbook of Nature Study" for Christmas a few years ago. The book has barely been opened. I read "Pocketful of Pinecones" to inspire me and help me see what nature study should look like. After 6 failed years to incorporate nature study into our weeks I am officially giving up that idea. I don't even think it matters. My kids spend plenty of time outside observing nature and playing and so on. Even if we have no wonderful nature notebooks to show for it. Another thing that I wanted to do every year is study two artists and two composers. In my dream world we would read about these artists and composers. Look at art, try our hand at making similar masterpieces, listen to music, even be able to recognize classical music by composer. I did pretty well with these goals back when I was only schooling Hannah. But, the last few years it ain't happened. I'm not ready to give it up completely yet. I'm hoping to fit in one artist and one composer next year. We'll see how that goes...
Here are some more things that I have always wanted to incorporate but have never quite made happen and I'm accepting that these just may not ever happen--
art projects
cooking lessons--I have a grand idea to teach each kid how to make a breakfast, lunch, and dinner from start to finish
timeline--If I had a better wall I think I could make this one happen. I dream of an ongoing timeline that we add to every time we learn about someone or some event. I do not have a good sense of the overall world history timeline and I'd like to change that for my kids
quiet reading time every afternoon after lunch
writing and illustrating poems
reading poems

I think despite not accomplishing all of my pipe dreams for our homeschool my kids are doing great. They are intelligent, well rounded, able to speak their mind, read, write, add, subtract, socialize with other kids and adults, play creatively, make a sandwich and a can of soup, NEVER wake a sleeping momma, and all sorts of life skills. I'm proud of them even if they can't hear a piece of classical music and identify the composer (I can't do it and I've survived this long).