When you think of home schooling or distance education you may imagine scenes of creative children sitting under shady trees enthusiastically working on projects while a calm and wise parent floats along in the back ground somewhere, offering advice and equally enthusiastic support.

At times it might look like this but mostly the reality is quite different.  In our case anyway.

For the past seven years I have taught one or both of our children through School of the Air.  Our school has constantly provided steady support and a strong sense of community but delivering school at home as a parent is a challenging job.  Basing school at home means that almost every aspect of our lives including farm work, house work, bookwork, meal preparation, appointments, travelling and other projects have to be juggled around school.  It can be relentless and requires a good dose of discipline and self-motivation.

As this school year begins, for the first time both our children are heading off to a main stream primary school.  This will involve a considerable amount of travelling each day which isn’t ideal but as with many aspects of life, not every scenario fits perfectly.  It is a case of weighing up the options and following a path that feels right.  I think most families living in rural or remote areas would agree that educating our children is one of the more challenging aspects of living where we live.

This year I get a chance to just be a parent again, without the constant shift between schooling and parenting.   More importantly my children now both have the chance to interact on a face to face level with their friends and teachers.  While I will always be grateful for the time I have spent with our children in their young years I feel like I can no longer face the accompanying mountains of educational paper, the arguments over sentence writing, the repetition or the constant juggle.  I feel as if our time for school at home is up and it is time to hand the reins over to someone else.

Looking forward I plan to get involved with our new schooling scenario, but this time I will be at arm’s length from the actual teaching and day to day lessons.  I plan to get reacquainted with my neglected garden.  I am looking forward to reclaiming some office and cupboard space.  I am going to continue writing and taking photos for both my blog and Graziher and seek out new opportunities in these areas.  Right at the back of my imagination I have thoughts about re-visiting my little baking business or perhaps something else.

Life continually changes and this week will be a very big change in our house.  But, with uniforms and lunch boxes ready and plans for new ventures in my mind, we’ve got this.

Are you facing change this year?

Have you got the balance right?

Do you bake something comforting in times of change?  I think I will and it will probably involve white flour and sugar or both.

Happy Sunday, friends x