Would it be easier if I sent my son to school? Sure, maybe. It would give me more time, without a doubt. But for a variety of reasons, we homeschool. And especially right now, for us, it’s a non-negotiable. So how do I find the motivation to plan, to search for materials and curricula, to prepare, when I have a bajillion other things competing for my time? Well…like with most things, I turn to books. I also scroll through my homeschool Instagram community (while remembering that A LOT of social media is not real life!) for ideas. I am forever indebted to the wonderful people I’ve met there who’ve helped me over the last few years, and I can always count on them for great book suggestions, unit study ideas, or creative projects. But books are the thing I turn to when really need to refill my homeschooling reserves or be inspired. (You might even be inspired by some of these, even if you don’t homeschool!) If you’re looking for more books to inspire you with teaching or education, check out this post about creating a classroom library, and this post about books that will encourage a love of learning. In the end, what helps me get excited for the school year and what refills my cup is hearing my son pretend to make a YouTube video while he’s doing a math problem — explaining it, pretending he’s talking to an audience, and having fun with it. It’s realizing things are awfully quiet and peeking around the corner of the playroom only to find my son curled up with a book or looking ahead in a workbook I got for the year. So I take a deep breath, tell myself it’ll be okay after all, and pick up a book from my home ed stack I set aside, and start reading.
