Home Almost Alone and Pondering What to Do

Here in Australia, the new school year has just begun, and for the first time in nearly 30 years, our family doesn’t have any registered homeschoolers. I don’t need to create a new homeschool records notebook labelled 2021, Term 1. This year, I won’t have to gather lots of notes of all the fabulous learning that my kids are experiencing because we no longer have any school-aged children.

One person who hasn’t finished with school is my knowledge transmitting husband Andy. He’s once again busy teaching his kindy students.

So, Andy is back at school, and our kids are off working and having adventures without me. And I’m here at home almost alone. (At the moment, my daughter Charlotte is doing some freelance design work from home. And our dogs, Nora and Quinn, are still here!)

What does an ex-homeschooling mother do with her time? How am I going to spend 2021? I’ve been pondering that question for a while.

I want to finish a couple of books that I’m writing, and I would love to write more posts for my neglected blog Where the Carol Birds Sing.

And I’m going to continue building up our Stories of an Unschooling Family community. I had planned to keep this community open for only a year, but when I mentioned that our time together was running out, some members asked if we could find a way to stay together. Could the community continue? So, we talked over lots of ideas, and some beautiful and generous people offered their help, and now we’re all looking forward to spending another year with each other.

Our unschooling community is my top priority for 2021. Within our private group, I’ll keep writing articles, and sharing stories and photos, and maybe recording podcasts, and encouraging and supporting anyone who’s interested in unschooling.

But what about my blog and podcast? Is it time to let go of them? When I’m feeling sensible, the answer is yes. But I’m not always in a sensible mood. Oh my, sometimes it’s hard to make decisions. On my not-so-sensible days, I wonder if I could write some shorter Instagram style posts for this blog. Find some photos and add a few quick thoughts or bits of news or tell some stories. Or is it just easier to stick to Instagram? Perhaps no one’s interested in that style of post. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try out that idea before deciding to abandon my blog, would it?

So, I’m wondering if you’ve made any big plans for this year. Will 2021 be business as usual for you and your family? Or are you planning some changes? Could this year be the right year for diving into unschooling? Maybe it’s the perfect time for joining my unschooling community! Why not hop over and check it out?

Photo

My daughter Imogen gave Andy a Strange Planet t-shirt for Christmas. (She gave Sophie one as well.) We’re big Strange Planet fans. Are you fans too?