For some time now I've been letting a lot of things slide, promising myself to take care of it when I wasn't doing so many extra hours for work. I've finally had to admit to myself that I'm not going to not be busy until I'm replaced by a machine. I haven't blogged much lately because I've been regrouping.
Most of the changes were how I homeschool. There are as many ways to homeschool your kids as there are people homeschooling; everything from buying a boxed curriculum that covers all subjects with teachers you mail assignments and tests to for grading (way too constrictive for me) to "unschoolers" who spend the day finding "teachable moments" and have no curriculum at all (definitely not for me). I fall somewhere in the middle: we use Saxon for math, and that comes in a box (it even has a script for what I'm supposed to say, but I've never used that). I've picked and choosed the books I use for spelling and grammar and writing. But up until this point I've been creating Aidan's history and science curriculum myself. We have encylopedias and tons of books, of course, but I've been writing up lesson plans, deciding when we are going to study what topics, what activities we're going to do, etc.
Guess what I gave up for the sake of regrouping? It was a tough decision; I enjoy doing these planning things. I've finally had to admit after four months of no history and very little science that I just don't have the time and won't have the time as far into the future as I can see. So I broke down and bought a history curriculum. It's not really school-in-a-box, it actually uses the encyclopedias and books I already have. It just does the coordinating and sequencing of lessons for me, and each unit has a list of recommended books we can find at the library, which saves me the searching. Plus it comes with maps to color in, so it ties geography in with the history. I am, however, still doing the science myself. I can't give up all control.
The other thing I had to admit was there was never going to be a convenient time for Aidan to take piano lessons; our days are too packed with activities. I had intended for him to start at 7; he's nearly 9. Plus, they're really expensive. I've mentioned his love of Rosetta Stone for Latin; learning on the computer without Mom is the coolest (apparently), so I got on Ebay and bid my little heart out until I managed to win a MIDI keyboard and piano software. Not the same as a real teacher, certainly, but if he likes it and commits to practicing everyday we'll revisit the whole lessons thing.
I haven't written a word in the WIP since August. I read this post on Jane Espenson's blog about a cardigan and an echidna (this will make more sense if you read Jane's blog), and it occurred to me that that is my problem. Except I'm not sure which is my cardigan and which is my echidna. I came *this close* to taking the scissors to the whole thing when my husband suggested I try working on something else for a while and see if I still felt the same way later (what I'm thinking is that the story needs to be nonlinear: whether it starts in the middle, flashes back, and flashes forward, or alternate past and future chapters, or even (ugh) has a prologue, something along those lines is what I'm thinking).
So I'm working on a story for an anthology, Sails and Sorcery. I had the beginning and the ending, but no middle (which, for the theme, would have to involve ships). Somehow (I'm honestly not sure how, I think I was writing in a fugue state. Did I mention the chronic exhaustion?) the middle of the story ended up in the Arctic. I think I'm in danger of self-parody. And yet I'm in love with it, it all just flows. I haven't written anything I've liked this much since "Tale of a Fox". I haven't written anything that was so slow in the writing since Fox either; I've been lucky to eek out 300 words a day. But I've been dreaming of my own scenes. I've never had that happen before; I hope that means it's good (and not that I'm, you know, going nuts).
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