Home schooling often places the primary teacher in a unique situation.  Rarely, does one have to balance a personal relationship along with a more structured relationship.  When the girls were younger, I really didn’t think there was a difference, but as they age and the work becomes more involved I have noticed there is a distinction between teacher and mother. Now some may argue that shifting between the two isn’t required because I am equally both. Although I am always their mother, there are times where I have to show more discipline as their instructor/ facilitator while there other times when I have to say academics can wait due to more pressing personal needs.

Overall, I am a fan of home school conventions.  If you want to know why, take a moment to read A Black Mom's Perspective of Home School Conventions.  With that being said,  I also have my way of navigating such places in which I am a minority with little if any representation on the committee or speaker roster.

My family and I frequent places that will bring value to our lives because of this my husband and I decided early on that we would participate in conferences and activities even if we were the only Black family or not.

The reason I take this stance is because I know that I can always take what I need and leave the rest.  Read "Five Ways I Navigate Homeschool Conventions as a Black Mom"  to see how I make the most of homeschooling conferences

I know February is the shortest month, but seriously it went by so fast!  As I reflect on February,  I am noticing that for us it was really mild.  We weren't overscheduled.  We continued to work diligently for the most part.  February also showed promise with the new curriculum we received to review.

Whether you home school full-time, after school, or teach in a classroom having a mixed bag of activities can do the learning environment good.  We can all probably agree that children do well with a basic routine and having some sort of idea of the expectations for the day, but children like adults also can benefit from having variety or surprises thrown into their day.