It’s that time of year again in my area of the world – time to wrap up one homeschooling year and get planning for fall! Are you planning as well?

I always like to take stock as to what worked well this year, how was our consistency, where are our skills- academically, socially, emotionally, physically, spiritually. All these areas matter in homeschooling because our homeschooling reflects our family life!

I have homeschooled two of our children through to graduation, although for high school we did use either a combination of outside classes with homeschooling at home or a hybrid school. Our youngest is now coming up to eighth grade, so high school is on my mind again! So, I guess a good question to ask yourself for the coming year is – are my children getting what they need so they can be functional adults? Is homeschooling meeting that goal or do they need something different? What are my options?

If homeschooling is the right option, then I love to look at website of Waldorf schools around the world to see what they bring for the grade you will be teaching and find the “hallmark” blocks. These blocks, to me, are the ones that match the soul development of the child, such as the Man and Animal Block in fourth grade, or Rome in sixth grade. If you feel you are short on time, those are the blocks you want to make sure you tackle! I like to plan a monthly seasonal calendar and also a weekly and daily rhythm for consistency and nourishment of the family.

Then I like to match resources to my block. Typically, I would go to the library and get out all the books on that block and sort of synthesize those into a block plan and then scan the Internet for artistic images I wanted to work off of. I realize this is a lot of work, but it’s the only way things are super personalized to your child. If not, there are premade curriculums that you can use and jump off of. I have used bits and pieces of both Live Education and Christopherus in the past.

I also really like to get a good stock as to what our children need to do socially as they age (past 9 year change) in order to stretch themselves in building character, in building community, in building themselves spiritually as these areas often take other people to help expand these areas. I think it is really important as children age into high school that they have at least a small peer group as the right group can be very helpful in their striving toward adulthood, and some areas of passion and purpose.

How are you planning your homeschool year?

Warmly,

Carrie

This has been an important week to remind myself that our whole being and attitude should exude gratitude. We have so many small moments of beauty in front of us to choose, even if things are not going as planned or as well as we hoped.

In this season of Eastertide, I am constantly amazed by the smallest details on the farm from planting seeds and vegetable seedlings to finding the tiniest of ants,snails, and slugs to watching our horses get baths and how they play with the water. It’s been a time of spring cleaning, of envisioning new dreams, and of planning ahead. There is always something to be absolutely grateful for.

My spiritual life is very important to me, and often as we head toward Pentecost, I feel such gratitude and closeness to the spiritual realm. I have a few Pentecost back posts as Pentecost is coming up on May 28th. One thing I always loved is this explanation regarding Pentecost from the Sunday Papers, which is an Episcopalian resource to explain things to children:

We do not have clear and emotionally affecting mental images of the Spirit, because the Spirit is the very power working within us that enable us to image and love the Father and the Son.  The Spirit is the voice of prayer, prayer through us when we turn with love and longing to our Creator and beg to be made new in the image of Jesus…..the Spirit is what connects us to each other and to God, so that a movement of atoms in my brain becomes living speech, understandable to you.  The Pentecostal images of fire, wind, and speech are all forces that move, invisibly, to animate and set in motion.

It’s a lovely thought in spring to think of the voice of connection calling out to all of us, the forces that tie us all together in humanity and unity and love.

Summer is coming, and every year I love to think about the slow days of summer. You can see some of my ideas in this back post: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2014/07/16/the-slow-summer/ and the beginning of a small series you may enjoy here: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2011/06/27/serene-summer-one-small-step-1/

Blessings and love,
Carrie

You can only give people the amount of access to you that they have proven to be responsible with.

Read that again.

If someone is very irresponsible with your feelings, with your time, with your memories and stories, with how they treat your character and what they say about you when you are not together, then their access to you should be limited (or completely cut off).

If someone is truly caring and responsible with you, your feelings, your time, your memories and stories, with how they treat your character and what they say about you when you are not together, then their access to you is completely warranted.

Too many times we give away our power, our feelings, to people who really don’t deserve as much access to us as we thought they did. It is important to recognize that people are uniquely complicated, and they may have underlying motives that you know nothing about. This can include acquaintances and friends, but also family members.

Do not keep giving access of yourself to someone who makes you miserable, who makes you feel small, who makes you feel unworthy.

Find and surround yourself with people who love you, who understand you, who care about you, who lift you up and help you strive to be an even better version of yourself.

Accessibility and responsibility are equivalent. You deserve the very best, and it is out there for you.

Blessings and love,

Carrie

Beginning homeschooling can be exciting, scary, nerve-wracking, wonderful – all of the emotions!

If you are in the United States, homeschooling laws and requirements are set forth by your individual state, so you can look those up online. Pay attention to the compulsory age of beginning school. In many states, requirements to submit is generally at a later age than you may think. So, if you have a three or four year old, you may not have to submit anything to the state or worry about homeschooling to satisfy the needs of your state for those ages.

If you have younger children where you have to submit something to your state, please do take a cue from our unschooler friends – all of life is learning and if your state has specific requirements, please see how your everyday life can meet those requirements. Health, civics requirements for young people are some that come to mind. Visiting community places, washing hands and being clean and learning hygiene can often satisfy these sorts of requirements.

Arrange your homeschooling to fit your life, not the other way around. Homeschooling is part of your life, and being a homeschooling parent is just another facet to your role as parent. You are not in a public school classroom, so don’t treat your homeschool as such unless you and your family really enjoy that!

There is no perfect curriculum! I look at curriculum within the Waldorf world and within more mainstream homeschooling and there is no perfect curriculum. You need to see what your child needs, and when they are older and getting closer to high school, you can tailor more for what children want to do with their lives. In the meantime, the foundational skills of reading, writing, mathematics, reasoning are all there.

I have had parents of third and fourth graders ask me how they should handle transcript keeping for later college entrance. You really don’t have to keep records like that until eighth or ninth grade and at that point, 120 hours is one credit hour and 150 hours is one science with lab credit hour. Keep track at that point, but before that, just enjoy being together.

Because ultimately, what homeschooling buys you is time with your children including the ability to lay a strong moral foundation, a strong sense of family, freedom to pursue interests. These are the reasons most veteran homeschoolers say they appreciate homeschooling so much.

When you are in the trenches, the days seem so long but truly the years are short. Before you know it, your children will be ready to graduate and head out on their own. It comes quickly, and when that times come, please let them go knowing that you gave them the strongest foundation you could provide. I have heard of parents moving close to their student’s college or trying to get involved in emailing professors at colleges on behalf of their young adult. I hope these are minor incidences because that is such a disservice to our young adults. Let’s trust them to make their lives the way they want, and that they will come to us for guidance when they need us. I see the young adults of this generation that are 18-25 years old, not only my children’s friends but also my own friends who are in their 20s, and I am so excited for the future with these intelligent, sensitive, compassionate young people. Homeschooling is one way to set a foundation in motion, and although it certainly isn’t the only way, it can be amazing.

Blessings,

Carrie

Our third and last child is entering eighth grade and has plans to enter an academically oriented high school hybrid. It is definitely not an arts-focused program, and our focus right now is really getting math and writing at a good level this year so he can feel successful in high school. This is driving our eighth grade as an addition to the important elements that Waldorf Education brings to our homeschooling experience as we endeavor to develop the whole person.

From a Waldorf perspective, eighth grade seems to me one of the years with the least amount of “must do” soul material.  Yes, there is a Revolutions block, but some schools put that in ninth.  There is an idea of “modern” and getting children up to present-day, but again, many schools also spread that into ninth grade if they have a high school program.   The AWNSA chart for the Waldorf School curriculum includes The Industrial Revolution to the Modern Day; American History; Shakespeare and poetry; stories about different people of the world and their folklore and poetry; reviewing all grammar; writing including newspaper reporting, business writing, writing a short play and spelling; Latin and Greek and vocabulary building exercises; World Geography and geography of Asia, Australia and Antarctica; Chemistry, Physiology, Physics  including aerodynamics and meteorology; Three Dimensional Geometry.  “Making Math Meaningful” by Jamie York for Grade 8 includes geometry and platonic solids as a block (which I did the first time around in eighth grade but did not do the second time around);  and number bases and loci as another block.

When I begin planning for the upper grades, I usually begin by looking through at least six to eight websites of Waldorf Schools around the country to see what their description of the curriculum for eighth grade is at their school. If you are also interested in resources to look at, something like this from a Waldorf homeschooling perspective, you can see back posts as to how I planned for the first time around in eighth grade, or how I planned high school American History between eighth and ninth grade in order to earn a high school credit in American History (this is something that would happen in homeschooling, not a Waldorf School setting). You can see my post about Eighth Grade Chemistry here, and  I went through each week of eighth grade beginning here, with weeks one and two.

So, my tentative –  totally subject to change-  plans right now include:

August and September – Aerodynamics, Physics and Meteorology/Oceanography

October – Revolutions (mainly Industrial and Simon Bolivar because our student will be getting American Revolution as part of his hybrid homeschool program this coming school year)

November – Math

December – Chemistry

January – Modern History

February – Physiology

March – Math

April/ May -Energy,  Carbon, Climate, and the Environment

At this point, we will be doing a daily math program in order to prepare for high school. Geography will be 2 times a week. Our son also wants to learn French and to play guitar, so I will coordinate that (but not teach those things).

Our student’s main activities include an all boys adventure/outdoor middle school hybrid program two days a week, riding horses, 4H and helping on our farm. I am looking forward to involving him more in gardening and beekeeping on our land.

I will begin planning week by week plans this weekend for the fall. I like to get a bit ahead as May will be very busy for us with our middle child graduating from high school, and summer will be busy!

What are you planning for fall?

Blessings,

Carrie

April can be such a lovely month in the Deep South.  We have tulips blooming, everything is turning green, and the weather, whilst at times unpredictable, is generally heading toward warm.  It is also a lovely time to explore the mountains and the seaside and to revel in all of nature awakening.

This month, we are celebrating Eastertide in its fullest glory.  The calendar of the Anglican Communion and The Episcopal Church include an amazing array of Saints this month; so many wonderful people.   Our main festival dates in our family this month include:

23- St. George

25- St. Mark

29- St. Catherine of Siena

and I am looking ahead to Ascension Day (Thursday, May 18th) and the Rogation Days that precede Ascension Day ( the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday prior to Ascension Day).  There is also a Novena of 9 days that begins on Ascension Day and ends on the Eve of Pentecost.  So I am really thinking about how to mark that.

These are a few of my favorite things this month for my family:

• Since we are still in Eastertide here,  dyeing of eggs,  thinking of the Paschal candle and light in our home, indoor dish Easter gardens, Easter carols (yes, they are real!) and attending church are in my heart, This is growing my own garden in my heart.
• Gardens outside as well – especially leading up to Rogation Days which is a wonderful time to have seeds, gardening tools and homesteads blessed. My seedlings are getting tall and I will be planting them outside this weekend.
• Spring cleaning, decluttering, and moving ahead with some simple decorating I have wanted to do in our home. We are re-doing our laundry room, which is something small that we can afford, but it will be nice to have that done. Other projects coming up include building a dry lot behind the barn for the horses in inclement weather, and painting thousands of feet of fencing!

These are a few of my favorite things for small children:

• Ramping up all kinds of physical activity since the weather is generally nice…hiking, kayaking, roller blading, walking, never disappeared these past months, but I feel so drawn to these activities now. My teenage son’s outside homeschool program really pushes physical fitness and he has been working diligently on pull ups, push ups, sit ups, running but small children will enjoy all kinds of outside free play
• Incorporating more and more loose parts play and re-arranging indoor and outdoor play areas.

P.S. — For those of you who are using any form of screens with your small children, how about looking at rhythm, play and outside time in preparation for Screen Free Week?  Screen Free Week 2023 is coming May 1-7! You can see http://www.screenfree.org for more details. 🙂

These are a few of my favorite things for grades-age children:

• Spring handwork – wet felting, making beautiful spring crafts
• Movement outside and exploring nature
• Adjusting our rhythm to the seasons, but sticking to strong awake, rest and bedtimes, along with regular nourishing whole foods mealtimes.

These are a few of my favorite things for teens:

**Exploring new interests and possibilities for summer. Our son wants to learn guitar this summer.

**There are many wonderful camps for the summer. Sometimes by age thirteen or fourteen, the appeal of going to camp dissipates and sometimes it doesn’t, so you can carefully observe your child. It can be hard to know how hard to push. Our teen will be involved with our local youth parish activities this summer, including a three-day day camp of service, and helping at a horseback riding camp, but he isn’t so sure about going away for a week.

** Sleep! A lot of teens really need sleep over the summer.

These are a few of my favorite things for my own inner work:

• In the past I had created a Sacred Hour – half to be spent in personal study, and half to be spent with our children in sharing the Saints, the Bible and Anglican traditions. This Eastertide, I am devoting some time to Anglican Studies and also using the Venite App for daily readings.  I am feeling very happy about this.
•  I have been looking closely at boundaries on my own time and what truly makes me feel comfortable and happy in the way I use time. With the farm and work and homeschooling this is super practical.

These are a few of my favorite things for my own self-care and health:

• Continuing to get up and work out before my day starts with the family.
• Drinking water.

These are a few of my favorite things for homeschooling:

• I love to get the vast bulk of my planning done over the summer. I will be posting plans for eighth grade as we go along. I am using several outside resources to shore up our teenager’s academic challenges, so that includes All About Spelling, Oak Meadow English 8 which we have already started, and a daily math program on top of blocks. He needs this to be able to enter a rather academic high school homeschooling hybrid so he won’t be behind. I have never shied away from combining blocks from traditional Waldorf resources with whatever my children have needed to be successful in high school and college. I know what works for our children at this stage based on how I teach, and what things are a weakness for me in teaching.

In the family:

** One young adult is graduating in December and will be in class through the summer.

**One young adult is graduating high school in May and will be off to an out of state university this fall.

Please share with me what is inspiring you this month!

Blessings,

Carrie

Happy Eastertide!  I love the season of Eastertide, which began on Easter Sunday and will last until  Pentecost Sunday (which is on Sunday, May 28 this year).

I find it comforting that the spiritual journey of Lent, often hard and arduous, gives way to an even longer period of joy and yes, even fun.  There are forty days in Lent, and fifty in Eastertide, which to me signifies and marks the very adult needs of beauty, fun, and play.

Oh yes, to play.  Adults need to play.  Play is not only the realm of children.  Play is often the creative wellspring of adults as well.  I am also convinced it a the key to adult  mental wellness.   We often seem to forget this in our drudgery of work, traffic, children’s activities, cooking meals and changing diapers and cleaning the house over and over, but  our need to play (and rest and relax) is every bit as real as our need to work and help each other.  The child inside of us is never far down if only we reach for him or her.

In this fifty days of Eastertide, I challenge you to play, to rest and relax and notice beauty, and to find and take your joy in the ordinary moments.  They are there, even amongst the chores of housekeeping or holding tiny children.  They are there, even in the times of your teenager dealing with end of semester tests and finals.  They are there, even with your children who are feeling the call of spring and nature to be wild and untamed.   They are there, even in traffic and whizzing cars.  Find those moments and hold onto them for what they are; the seeds of creativity and relaxing love.

I am using this Eastertide to do fifty days of physical activity that nourishes me – walking and exercising, hopefully horseback riding. I would love to sneak some camping in there as well! Maybe this speaks to you for your fifty days of joy and fun.

Or, if you would like to do something with your children to celebrate Eastertide, here is a list I shared in 2018 and am sharing again for family activities:

1. Visit a sheep farm where the sheep are being shorn and then wash, card, and dye some fleece.
2. Make projects having to do with sheep – I have an entire Pinterest board devoted to to wool and knitting here
3. Spring clean your house (deep clean)
4. Get rid of things you no longer use; paring down in the spring feels so good!
5. Re-vamp your diet to include even more fruits and vegetables and meatless meals.
6. Take great care of your skin
7. Cleanse your rhythm from things outside the home that are no longer serving you or your family
8. Look at our bee and butterfly friends in the garden, in books, and in crafts.  There are some ideas on my spring Pinterest board
9.  Clear your life from people who bring you negative energy
10. Make time to spend with those you love and trust – family and friends
11. Think carefully about new endeavors.  What are you growing for this season?
12. Find a wonderful new book to read!
13. Go hiking.
14. Go camping. If your spouse doesn’t like to camp, gather a moms and childrens group to go.
15. Spend time in nature every day.
16. Add some puppetry to your life
17. Try journaling 50 days of gratitude
18. Change your priorities so you have time for self-care.
19. Slow down and rest
20. Learn some beautiful new songs for spring for circle time or to sing as a family
21.  Carefully investigate your spiritual path and find a way to deepen your inner work
22. Go easy on yourself and give yourself space
23. Find an app to help you meditate or visualize
24. Go swimming
25. Get a massage or sit in a sauna.
26. Spend time with animals.
27. Get to know your local farmers and enjoy local foods.
28. Create art
29. Plan ahead…or not. Whichever brings you joy in your homeschooling!  Here is some inspiration for planning high school and here is some inspiration for planning the grades.  Also, here is  a whole Pinterest board devoted to the  Early Years
30. Learn some new Waldorf verses
31. Pick fruit
32. Plant a garden
33. Create something beautiful for your outdoor space
34. Plan new adventures in travel –
35. Have a May Day festival shared with friends
36. Plan for Ascension Day
37. Plan for Pentecost through these musings
38. Make some rock art
39. Create, cook, and sing for Pentecost
40. If you celebrate Pentecost as a family, consider a gathering for Pentecost
41. Encourage someone or become someone’s mentor.
42. Drink more water
43. Set up a new exercise plan
44. Catch up on your doctor and dentist appointments
45. Take naps
46. Walk in nature
47. Watch a sunrise
48. Go slow and enjoy spending time with your children.  If you are homeschooling, less books and more play.
49. Have a picnic
50. Dye eggs and try your hand at some spring crafts

Happy Eastertide, friends!

Blessings,

Carrie

Rhythm is like the rise and fall of the tides in its dependability, its presence, its calming nature. Rhythm can work like that in the home as well, and it doesn’t have to be hard or stressful.

I think this is often a time of year where people feel dismayed about rhythm. I think it is the weather, winter hanging on, a little cabin fever, that prompts us to think we are not doing enough or holding enough. We are so hard on ourselves!

If you have small children, rhythm is very important but there are many more distractions and ways in which rhythm derails compared to when you have older children. The under 9 land is really just the days of trying to make it to the end of the day with everyone safe and sound. Part of the rhythm in this time frame of having children is making your home and space work for you, not against you. Have the things you do not want children in to up and out of reach. Use a baby gate to keep things contained so children are not running through the house without you. Plan a bit ahead as to what space matches with what you are trying to accomplish. This is a very tangible way to help rhythm along.

Rhythm for tiny people can be as simple as breakfast, clean up, bathroom, play outside, bathroom, snack and clean up, fingerplays and/or story, bathroom, lunch and clean up, nap/ rest, bathroom, perhaps your own festival or handwork which you can do prior to or during outside play, work of the day, bathroom, dinner, bath time and bed time. It needs to be broad and probably less detailed than you think. Build up your traditions slowly and carefully.

All children, even toddlers, need meaningful work. This is a guest post on this subject: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2011/06/28/guest-post-meaningful-work-for-toddlers/ and the follow up here: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2011/06/29/more-about-how-to-create-meaningful-work-for-toddlers/. They are not hyperlinking, but please feel free to copy and paste into your browser. I also have many back posts about Waldorf in the home with one and two year olds, three and four year olds, etc. The back posts may be very helpful to you!

When we begin with proper school in first grade, then we need a slightly different rhythm. This simply could be breakfast and clean up, work within the house, a walk, the warm up to a main lesson and the main lesson, bathroom and outside play, lunch and rest, and either more activity in the afternoon such as preparing for a festival, more outside play, dinner and clean up, bath time, bed time. This is a precious, unhurried time of life that I can confidently say having two out of my three children in/heading to college, that you will never get back. It may feel monotonous in some ways, to you as the adult, but it is so nourishing to those under that 15/16 change.

Teens past the 15/16 change tend to be juniors and seniors in high school and at this point generally have their own schedules. I don’t know too many teens in this age bracket in my area that are not utilizing outside classes and who have many outside activities at this point, plus jobs and driving themselves around may be involved as well. The years of 16-18 is a springboard towards launching into future plans, whatever those may be. The relationship and rhythm of the house in many ways stays the same in terms of rising, meals, household work, rest, sleep, but changes in terms that you are the anchor at home and they are doing the things required to get to something that is next and around the corner. they are out into the world, to a certain extent. This only increases after high school graduation!

Your steadiness in rhythm helps provide the neurological and physiological stability so your children can be stable, functional adults. Rhythm is a huge piece of this, whether you homeschool or not.

Thinking of rhythm with you today,

Carrie

March has had such strange weather – hot temperatures, freezing cold, rain, sunshine. March has a little bit of sunshine and a little bit of wild, much like all of us. Maybe March is the ultimate human experience personified in weather!

The daffodils and tulips are blooming where I live, and things are greening up. In farm life, we are busy starting seedlings, grading our arena for riding, thinking about other house projects (it’s such a long journey there! So much of what we have done no one can see – things like plumbing, roofing, heat, hot water heater, A/C,etc). Our next project is going to be our laundry room and then we will be working outside to create a dry lot for the animals to go on when it is so muddy and rainy, which seems par for the course throughout the winter.

Most of all though, spring is a time of renewal. I find myself drawn to the spring greens to eat, the ideas of new beginnings and fresh starts, and craving the sunshine. My mood is one of checking in with my word of the year (#bold for this year) and seeing where my intentions lie. Have you checked in with your word of the year? How are things coming?

This month, we are celebrating:

Lent (Try this back post Observing Lent | The Parenting Passageway that has many links in it to even more back posts!)

March 1- Feast of St. David (here is a wet on wet painting idea: First Grade Wet On Wet Painting For Saint David’s Day | The Parenting Passageway)

March 20- Spring Equinox (Try this back post: Celebrations of Spring in the Waldorf Home | The Parenting Passageway)

March 25- Feast of The Annunciation

Are you hunting ideas for Easter? You might already be preparing: Ideas for Easter Baskets | The Parenting Passageway –

The Ever Shifting Homeschool Round Up-

Child #1 – is a junior at an out of state university and is graduating college in December. No more homeschooling, but intentionally forging close bonds with our adult child – new facets and new discoveries to our relationship. There are still important milestones to be had and all the connection and understanding your child’s temperament and personality really pays off when they are in their 20s!

Child #2 – is technically and legally a homeschool student but is enrolled at a four day a week hybrid program for this 12th grade year. She will be graduating in May and attending an out of state university in the fall (different university than child #1).

Child #3 – homeschooled seventh grader! I feel like this year has been a year of gaining skills, but also uneven in terms of work produced. We don’t have a lot of pretty main lesson books for sure. We have done a lot of math and spelling as those were catch up areas, but also more geography and cultures of the world, which is a subject Rudolf Steiner suggested and usually is seen in seventh grade.

One thing I often think about is that original idea of Waldorf Education – goodness, beauty, truth (and yes, I put it that way because it corresponds to ages 0-7, 7-14, and 14-21) or to think about hands, heart, and head (yes, put in that order on purpose). Ralph Waldo Emerson is probably the best American representative for this model with his ideas of imagination, inspiration, and intellect. These simple, aligned ideas can help guide so much of the way we educate and parent our children. There are times and seasons for all things.

Planning ahead for homeschooling: In the fall, we will only have an eighth grader at home, but I am starting to prepare and see what will best work for him.

Fun Around the Home

Spring is the time of letting go of the material objects in our home that don’t serve us any longer, and for spring cleaner and eating in accordance with that impulse of spring with lighter and brighter foods.

Springtime Renewal –

Some ideas for Renewal! I hope you enjoy reading back through these as much as I did!

Renewal: Staying Home | The Parenting Passageway

Renewal: Mission Statements | The Parenting Passageway

Renewal: Personal Development | The Parenting Passageway (as a parent)

Renewal: Relationship With Your Spouse | The Parenting Passageway

Renewal: Computer Time | The Parenting Passageway

Renewal: Commit Yourself to Gentle Discipline | The Parenting Passageway

Renewal: Rhythm | The Parenting Passageway

It’s so fun to look back and see that snapshot of where life was, and to commit myself to renewal in these areas again.

How is March going for you?

Blessings,
Carrie

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Lent has begun for millions of Christians around the world. I arrived at my place of worship on Ash Wednesday to remember that I am insignificant in many ways; dust returning to dust. However, the impact that I can make while I am here can be as mighty as I dream it to be. The hopes, the dreams, the fears, the doubts – all of humanity wrapped up inside me.

In order to make the really needful things happen, I have had to learn to guard my time. I think sometimes when we hear this idea of guarding time, we think this means we can’t waste time and therefore we have to be busy every second of every day.

In this season of life, I have learned the opposite.

I need the rest.
I need the relaxation.
I need the fun.

I need the time in spiritual endeavors.

I need and crave the time with my husband and our children to just be together (not always working around the farm).

I need the time to take care of my physical body.

Then I can work and treat patients, then I can take care of the horses and animals, then I can help others, then I can homeschool.

But guarding time is important. The average person spends over 2 hours a day on social media. All that little checking in throughout the day adds up!

So, this Lenten season, I am challenging you to do the smallest spring cleaning ever as you examine your time. What would you change, and what would help you the most in the area of time?

Pursuing with you,

Carrie