School's Out for Summer

Today is the last day of official school for us.  Most of our subjects will wrap up today and we begin summer vacation next week after their yearly standardized test.  My 9 year old son asked if he can play Guitar Hero today so he can sing "School's Out" which yes is by Alice Cooper.

I am looking forward to wrapping up this year and taking a break as much as the kids are.  We will not be completely "free" of school as my son constantly reminds me.  I make them do daily math reviews and read an hour a day.  Two of them are bringing a subject they did not finish yet into the summer with them until they are done but overall it will be nice to have a break.

We have some summer projects lined up and some vacations planned, some baseball to wrap up and plenty of free time at the pool and nature preserves calling out to us.  The early heat in Minnesota has made us a bit restless and ready to be done earlier this year but I am proud of all of us to making it through another school year and finishing out strong.  This last month has seen each of us having our days of "can't we just be done yet?"

We are finishing up our 6th year of homeschooling, sometimes it feels like it has been much longer and sometimes it seems it has flown by.  Next year I will have a middle schooler as we adjust to life with a 6th, 4th and 2nd grader. I am still glad we are homeschooling even with its challenges and ups and downs.  I am also really glad we take a summer vacation and relax just a little bit.  I am actually most looking forward to just being mom for a little while.

One of the hardest things for me to balance and my kids to understand is the difference between mom and teacher.  Mom is always on your side, mom always thinks you do great work, mom is always proud of your writing, your skills and your progress.  Your teacher wants to be but your teacher can not always appear to be.  Your teacher needs to teach and help grow you and offer constructive criticism, your teacher can not always seem to be your biggest fan.  It is very hard for my kids to understand how I play both roles in their lives and to see and feel just the supportive loving mom part.  Summer is an important part of that for us.  So here is to just being mom for a few months! Enjoy your summer, I know we will.