This School Year

Words & Photography
by Kelly Cone



As a former schoolteacher and piano teacher, August brings so much excitement for me on a deep instinctual level. Change is on the horizon for our family, and organizing the schoolroom (especially after the move where we basically threw it all in there!) has also been a way for me to clear my mind and reset.

We’ve had to take a step back and determine what our priorities are as a family so that when the busy days come, we’re not just swept up in the tyranny of the urgent. There are so many "shoulds" when it comes to parenting, and even more when it comes to homeschooling. This year I have a third grader and second grader (and a toddler who likes to throw things at me!) and that blows my mind because I used to actually TEACH third grade for online homeschoolers!! How on earth do I HAVE one of those already?

She told me to "unschool" myself, let go of all the "shoulds"...and evaluate what our family actually likes and needs. How do WE learn best? What is our inherent rhythm as a family and how do we honor that? 

My educational philosophies have changed so much since those days, and the ideas and curriculum choices were swirling around in my head Iike crazy. So I emailed my trusty wiser friend who homeschooled all her kids and asked her for a giant slap in the face, rhetorically speaking. And she delivered. She told me to "unschool" myself, let go of all the "shoulds" (she doesn’t even know I’m an enneagram 1! This is our constant battle!) and evaluate what our family actually likes and needs. How do WE learn best? What is our inherent rhythm as a family and how do we honor that? As I sat with all of it (initially bummed because I wanted someone to TELL me what to do) the answers were surprising and I can’t wait to share them in the weeks to come! Needless to say, I’m SO excited for this school year!