It's time to begin planning our school year. I know because people are talking about it. Usually I know because I'm tired of being hot, tired of the long days, and tired of the lack of structure that comes with the long days. I find myself dreaming of quiet days, squirreled away in my cozy walls with my 'students'. I dream of chilly mornings, quilts and slippers, cocoa and read alouds, copy books, time drills and even the faulty science experiments. I LOVE when it's almost dark by the time dad comes home to the lavish hot meal I enjoyed cooking throughout the day. In fact, I LOVE waking up while it's still dark, snuggling up with my favorite knit afghan, coffee in my favorite cup, with my favorite morning meditation (the Bible and My Utmost For His Highest), knowing that the sun isn't going to fool anyone into thinking it's time to be moving for at least another hour. And I LOVE starting our new school year.
Usually these are the things I'm dreaming of at this time of year. Problem is we haven't stopped having chilly mornings, quilts and slippers, cocoa... and well, the read alouds have stopped because of the lack of structure and the long days. This has just left me confused!
My head knows it's time to plan for fall, but my body thinks we still need to sweat some. Maybe if my garden would produce just one ripe tomato... Just one?
Blessings, Debbie
You made me yearn for the colder months. I, too, love spending my days planning/making a hot meal. Snug in my warm home waiting for my family to return to me. Sounds heavenly....What are your favorite recipes for the colder months? I do hope the weather heats up for you before the summer is over. Thanks for stopping by my blog! As for reading Numbers and Deuteronomy, I struggled with Numbers and read all the notes in my study bible and that made it much easier. I actually prayed that Deuteronomy wouldn't be so tough for me and opened the book and started reading it. It was a comfort to know that whatever I had trouble with was echoed in the following chapter. HEY, how are you feeling? I hope you are well, my friend!
ReplyDeleteWell I can see how the climate does make the home school schedule different...we are in record breaking 100 plus weather, no tomatoes, they all got killed from the heat, we will not see any days like you described until maybe January.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy when we schooled all year long the best. We took off in December, April(when I was having spring fever) and August (when it was too hot to want to do anything). Now we are on traditional schedule.
I too am looking forward to being back on schedule...but also dreaming about being able to walk outside and not get a headache from the heat.
What a difference the climate makes. Happy Planning!!!
Oh My Utmost for His Highest...right now it seems to be speaking directly to my life...isn't God good?
Debbie,
ReplyDeleteI hope your planning goes well. I, too, love the structure of our school days, and I love cooler weather. :) We're still completing our year, so our break won't come until September, and read aloud time is one of my favorite times of the day. I can't believe I've waited so long to do Treasure Island as a read aloud! I do hope you see that tomato very soon!
Except for the sentence about chilly mornings you took the words right out of my head. I have started to plan...a little...but still need to place a book order. We won't start lessons until after Labor Day so I am just going to keep enjoying summer. Have a great weekend Debbie and I do hope you are feeling much better. xx
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly yearning for fall already. I'd give anything right now for a cool morning breeze and a hot cup of tea! I am sitting down to lesson planning this morning and hoping to be back at it again starting next week on an abbreviated schedule and then back to a full day the following week. I love the structure of a great school day!
ReplyDeleteYour Feverfew looks great!
ReplyDeleteWe are beginning school on Monday. We are ready to get some structure back and to begin another year of learning. It won't get chilly here until October, so we have several months yet of heat and humidity. This summer we have continued to read aloud in the evenings before bed. This works well for us with my younger kids, as it helps them to unwind and to relax.
I am off today for pencils, and paper, glue sticks, and tape.....we're ready to go!
I'm pining for autumn now more than ever after reading your post. You have such a wonderful way with words Debbie! You're welcome to come visit if you'd like to feel some hot weather. Be careful what you wish for!
ReplyDeleteThere's still time left for summer yet, Debbie, I think you will enjoy a tomato or two. xo
ReplyDeleteI'm envious...Snuggling up in a quilt with a cup of hot cocoa is so far away for me I don't even dare think about it:)
ReplyDeleteI can TOTALLY relate to this post. I haven't been able to get past the.." I should sit down and plan some lessons" thinking. I still have a month of raspberry picking, candle and juice making. Plus I got to get ready for family coming at the end of August. I hope by cleaning up the library that it will inspire me to get the books pulled together then THAT might inspire me to start making some lesson plans. [o=
ReplyDeleteBlessings and ((HUGS))!
-Mary
Wow...it must be "our" day...I was just journaling about my feeling the need for the routine of Fall.....but I really don't want to take away the joy of another month of "lazy summer vacation" for my daughter.....but my summer has been anything but "lazy" and I feel like I need to go through every room in my house and put things in order....and do some purging. I am disappointed in my garden production (after spending thousands of dollars to clear trees for a sunny growing area)....everything is growing, but I am afraid the frost will kill it off before it can be harvested. We have been having weeks of extreme heat and humidity....I think I will blame my disposition on the weather. :) As much as I really love autumn, I am cherishing these days.....because life passes oh so quickly.
ReplyDeleteToday is my "day off" (from caring for my grandson)---I have so much I could do that I am not sure where to even begin.....so what will I do....I have a quilt waiting for me to stitch up in my really warm sewing room--I will grab a cold drink and a fan and seek some inspiration while I am sewing. :)
Our homeschool co-op starts in exactly three weeks. I am soooo not ready. Don't even mention school. Oy. I have ducks to watch, boxes to unpack, knitting to fiddle with ......
ReplyDeleteI'm so ready for all those fall/ winter things again!
ReplyDeleteOur garden has really struggled this year, so I've not had the busyness of canning, freezing, etc. and it feels like a strange summer to me too. Physically, I'm very ready for school to start up, but mentally I don't know that I'm quite there yet. Make sense?
Cool mornings with a blanket of fog hanging over us does indeed lead to slow mornings with coffee, Bible, and yes, blanket. It's been a weird summer here in the NW, to be sure, but I've been diligently planning and will, Lord willing, finish today!! August is a crazy busy month for us, so I simply have to get our fall lesson plans in place before July is over. Happy Friday, ~Lisa
ReplyDeleteIt feels as though summer just started here and we don't even have a tomato starting, just blossoms...will we even have one ripe tom? I love how you describe your days after the summer ends, makes me want to go to your sweet school.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend!
I am at the point where I am looking toward fall, but then I am so not ready yet, and I think it's because of our garden, too. We're just now starting to get green beans picked, but there is so much more that we should be getting in. August will be a big month I am sure.
ReplyDeleteYour tomatoes will come! Hang on to summer for a couple more weeks then we can start to focus on fall :)
We have had plenty of hot weather here. We got a few tomatoes but the heat and lack of rain have virtually ended our harvest. So sad...we love BLT's! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie,
ReplyDeleteI remember those days! I used to hate the thought of sending my kids back to school, but looked forward to having some structure in our lives again, and being able to accomplish something.
Sorry you haven't had much of a summer that must
be a bit of a bummer!! Maybe you will get some warm weather yet, hope so...........
Thanks for coming by and your right.....it is still good when we can have a sense of humor,
it is priceless............
Blessings for a great school year!
Nellie
I am bottling up the heat and humidity and sending you some so you feel like it is summer. I love the mornings when it is dark and chilly (add some Christmas music too)!
ReplyDeleteI like some thing about the cooler months (the slippers, fuzzy throw and hot coffee)
ReplyDeleteDon't feel too bad about the tomatoes though, we don't have too many this year either, think the extreme heat we got in May stunted our plants.
It finally starting getting hot here and since I hate it, I am usually over it in about a week. Summer to mean means ugly hazy days, yellow dry grass, and bugs... lots of bugs.
ReplyDeleteSo I am ready for school and am thinking about crocheting up a baby blanket here soon... lol.
My favorite thing about summer, though, the number one thing I love more than anything about summer, which makes all the heat worth it? TOMATOES. And, yes, we are still waiting too. I am salivating just thinking about them.
Our first tomatoes are just beginning to turn. The combined harvesters are busy in the surrounding fields and the garden peas are swelling, but I'm not sure I want to wish the summer away. No, I'm going to enjoy now. I'm grabbing a book and I'll be out on the swinging bench, if anyone needs me.
ReplyDeleteI love how you describe it, because it is all true. I wonder how I can live in this house with my kids most days until the late afternoon and they go to work, but I miss them and I look forward to spending days doing all of the things you said, the read alouds, the dictation the long chats, reading God's word. Do you know, I just started getting tomatoes? We are almost to August.
ReplyDeleteWe have not had but 3 days of over 100 which is so weird. I too have kept waiting for summer like I have known it.
I did sit with my son today while we waited for his brother and talked about school.
I get so excited to do what I love.
Thanks for reminding me in this post.
Hi, Debbie, we completed our third week of school today-just getting a head start I guess :) After reading your post I am now dreaming of fall!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
Vicki
I'm still in the just get through the next day mode. I guess very soon I will have to get my act together too. Hope your planning goes well!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Deborah
I could feel the rhythm of the fall days... beautifully written. Debbie, I wish I could share some of our heat! 31 days over 100 in a row!! blessings ~ tanna
ReplyDeletei do certainly wish i could box up some summertime and send it your way! we have an abundance! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I love all those things about the new school year...I am always ready to return to a schedule and more cooking and hot tea and cozy read aloud times and...sigh...
ReplyDeleteBut I would box up ALL of our ripe tomoatoes and mail them to you in exchange for a chilly morning!!
However, I can understand the "confused" part. Our summer has been so atypical, that I haven't even had time to pack up the old, let alone plan for the new. And now the August birthday season is upon us...
(I had to smile at your longing for "faulty science experiments," as I am not sure if we've ever had a successful science experiment in our 20+ years of homeschooling. Sad but true.)
Blessings to you in your quilt...
Cheryl <3
You wanna switch states? You can come out here to KS and get all the heat and sun you want, and I'll go cool down in OR for a week or two.
ReplyDeleteThis post sure made me miss fall days! It is still hot here, though tonight there is a bit of a cool breeze and we've opened the windows to cool the house down. I hope you have a lovely weekend!
ReplyDeleteJust caught up on your recent posts. Love the way you write. So fun to see your Morkie chase the hen back to where she is supposed to be. Sure wouldn't mind waking up to some cool mornings around here. Hubby continues to walk in the evenings and comes back looking like a bucket of water has been poured over him. In two weeks, I will be back to my admin job at school and the kids will start on September 5th. I knew the summer would speed by -- normally we head to the States for at least 6 weeks, but not this year. The time has really flown! I will continue to enjoy the down time for now. Have a great weekend. Tammy
ReplyDeleteIs it REALLY that time already????
ReplyDeleteWhat a contrast you and I are!! I know it's time for the school year because I am sick of the heat. I dread August because I know that the dog days will be in full thrust.
ReplyDeleteI need to pack my bags and visit your neck of the woods. I'll bring a tomato.
Oh I don't mind questions at all! :) I have dyed my own yarn with Kool-Aid but it's been awhile. Although I was thinking I need to go dye some again. I didn't dye this fiber though. I've been getting my fiber from Paradise Fibers (paradisefibers.net). They're up there in Oregon with you and have good prices, good shipping and wonderful customer service.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a crazy weather summer, hasn't it? Usually by the end of July, I am longing for fall-planning fall menus, lesson planning, and so on. This year, it already feels like fall outside, like summer just passed us by this year!Hope you get tomatoes soon!
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by and commenting on my thankful Thursday post. I laughed about your comment of letting my hubby near my hair with scissors!! and I know what you mean.....
never would have thought in a million years!
That trust actually started about 9 years or so ago when I had a pinched nerve and could not use
my right arm, so hubby and my daughter use to style my hair for me because there was no way I could do it.........and no hubs is not a hair dresser, but my daughter is a wanna be hairdresser and has always been good with hair,
and they both did an amazing job on my hair.
Necessity is the Mother of Invention as they always say....
Then years later as we were paying to put my daughter thru college I asked her if she would do one of those root color kits on my hair trying to see if I could stretch out my hairdresser visits, so we tried it and she did a great job, so then I decided to have her actually try to just do the colorant herself,
and she did a great job again, so decided I would rather give my money to her rather than the hairdresser since she really needed it, and she has done such a great job we have just kept it up, course, she doesn't charge me now,
since she has graduated and has been working in her field, a sweet bonus. Then I knew how to cut the top of my hair so figured since hubby did such a good job styling back then, and I had a straight hair cut with no layers, I thought if he could just cut across the bottom, then I could skip the hairdresser all together, we tried it once (cause I figured I could always go have it evened up if need be) and he did a great job and we've been doing it every since. Has Saved lots of $$$.......I must say!
and I do get compliments on my hair at times......lol
I have been toying with having it cut differently but then I'm not sure I want to go back to paying someone to do it!! lol
So I have just been having him cut it shorter,
and so far, that has given me a lil bit of a different look. a lil perkier!! lol
So that's my story and I am sticking to it!! lol
Blessings, Nellie
You know, just a few weeks ago I didn't want to think of fall at all. Now, as I read your description of snuggling up with cocoa and Bible and a crisp morning, well - take my 100 degrees - please! Summer's just a little too hot for me this year. I am looking forward to my Autumn decor refit. School starts for me on August 29. It's gonna be a tough year teaching on two campuses and a new principal. Shaking and trembling as I have some new challenges to meet this year. So, looking forward to fall, but thinking I don't have enough time to prepare myself for the year with only another four weeks . . . ya!!!
ReplyDeleteJoy!
Kathy
we're burning our brains out here....16 ninety degree+ days in a row and no end in sight. Maybe we could just combine our weather for the perfect summer concoction. I'm slowing thinking about school...but all of it rather reluctantly.
ReplyDeleteOne ripe tomato.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I want too.
(actually, I want lots of ripe tomatoes if I can be honest)
Jody
Well since we school year around (we calling crafting) I have decided maybe summer will start in September. Clarice-who has her ugg boots on
ReplyDeleteHoly cats, woman - I can only score 40 comments if I answer every one of them twice. You are rich in friends. And this is such a poignant thing you have written about, both because that beginning of autumn is such a oddly emotional thing - and because the weather has confused us all. The world is spinning oddly, and I'm hoping it rights itself before our desert state reclaims its ancient inland sea status. I, too, and waiting for something to feel familiar. It's like we've all gotten old, and we're driving a familiar road, but the landmarks have all somehow been moved.
ReplyDeleteNew notebooks. Starting new texts. New clothes - not exactly home school images, but we have our own versions. And that cozy feeling that the heat is dying - but it's wrong when we haven't suffered enough to revel in relief. Which sounds very eternally significant -
I think I will be able to sleep now.
I did not read all your comments, but I am sure there is reference to you need to visit "my place" of abode...sweating...it is a sure thing where I live now!
ReplyDeletePersonally, because it is so hot and summer activity still surrounds me, I am having a very difficult time gearing myself for school that begins next week for Rose. But am am trying.