Slacking Off

I realized this week that we have fallen into kind of a slump. I could blame it on the approaching holidays, but I think it started before that. In the beginning, we would be in the classroom somewhere around 9am. Usually no later than 9:15. As the weeks went by, it would get later and later. Then lunch started lasting longer.... JT is still completing all the work required by the school. But, we haven't been doing the extra things we wanted to do. Plus, it was getting harder to get him to complete his assignments. I think my slacking off on the structure of the day caused all of this.

So, I told myself this week we would reform. Monday is usually only a partial day of class since E doesn't have school Monday or Friday. We did okay that day. We also have a lot of out of the house activities on Monday (library and piano lessons) so we take up time with those. Tuesday we had a good, full day of school. JT and I did an experiment for science class. We don't always squeeze in time for those, so that made it a fun day. Wednesday I had planned on only a half day to get ready for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I woke up sick! My husband took over and JT had a computer programming lesson. Everything else I had planned will be on hold until we start back up next week. I'm glad that we have been working so far ahead. It gives me some room to take it easy when I get stressed out.

Being sick this week brought something I've been thinking about a lot lately into play. What would happen to my kids if I became very ill or died suddenly? Of course it's something all parents think about at some time. That's why we have wills. But now that I have committed to providing my children's education, it feels like there is so much more at stake. I am planning on calling our insurance agent in the near future to discuss increasing my policy. When my husband and I took out our policies, I only took out enough for myself to cover funeral costs. I assumed the kids would be in school and my husband would be available for evening care. Now we would either have to have someone care for them during the day and my husband provide schooling in the evening or find the money to send them to a private school. The school our youngest attends for Kindergarten, although not the best fit, would be a reasonable substitute if necessary. Adding the extra payout to my policy could provide the tuition for their schooling. Under NO circumstances would I want them to attend our public school. It's not a good fit. Plus, I kind of went to a school board meeting at the height of our school battles and told them my children would NEVER come there again. There are a few burned bridges there.....

I guess this is kind of a morbid topic. But, it's something that's been bouncing around in my head for awhile. In fact, one of my friends who also homeschools told me she has the same fears. I don't know what the odds are that I could be unable to teach them all the way to graduation. I know I have no control over those things. I've decided to do the best thing I can to plan instead of just worrying about the possibilities. What else is there to do?