Ok, so back to school year plans. It’s that time of year, right? It’s always good to remember that grade levels are a modern category without a correlation to reality. 6th grade and 4th grade are the grades that correspond to my middle children’s ages. I really do wish people would ask for kids’ ages instead of grade. It would be more accurate, if grades were a thing, to say both of them were 5th grade. And I do my … Read More
My second son is starting high school this year, and I have already this summer seen the hopeful glimmers of the corresponding jump in maturity and responsibility – the kind mothers tend to despair of happening during 7th and 8th grade. When we met after the end of last school year, he had good insight not only into his own preferences, but into what actually helps him do his best work. We brainstormed ways to build in effective accountability and … Read More
My oldest son is no longer my education experiment. He has passed all his mother’s criteria and the state’s for starting college. Using our state’s Running Start program which allows high school students to earn college credit in high school. My husband and I both used this program and graduated high school with an AA degree. He passed the test to enter the program with flying colors and begins his first college quarter with English 101, Psych 100, and Math … Read More
I’ve written much over the years about our memory work binders. I have loved them, even when the creation of 5 identical hundred-page binders gave me headaches. The headache in the summer was worth it because of the headaches they prevented every school morning (that we did Morning Time). But, their time has passed, with weeping and mourning. I still highly recommend the process and think it’s super helpful. But it no longer fits our goals or our format for … Read More
Welcome to Simply Convivial, where we organize our attitudes before we organize anything else. Simply Convivial members grow in diligence and delight. Diligence comes from persistent practice, not instant perfection. Delight comes from working for God’s glory, not our own. We continue to grow in both because we know we’ll never attain either completely. We walk in faithfulness, spur each other on to love and good works, and repent, rejoice, repeat. I know many times in the past I’ve been … Read More
This will be a different kind of school year. Not all my children will be in my homeschool and I’m not doing any larger classes with other kids (besides our continued mini co-op with another family). My oldest will be taking a full load at the community college with their dual enrollment program. He’ll be out the door (driving himself, praise the Lord) at 6:30am. My youngest has been baby-stepping into school routines and will continue the next few baby … Read More
Planning intervals has helped me set realistic goals, take stock of the season and make progress on projects. My intervals are about 12 weeks long, with special intervals for the holiday season (Thanksgiving to New Year) and April when we take time off as a family to work on the family ranch for lambing. Right now I am planning for the summer or harvest season, which runs from about Memorial day to a little after Labor day. The big change … Read More
Welcome to Simply Convivial, where we grow in diligence and delight, learning to love what must be done. I’m Mystie Winckler, wife, mother, homeschooler, reader, writer, and project-juggler. With the hundreds of women inside Simply Convivial Membership, I am held accountable not only to taking baby step progress day by day, but also to keeping my attitude aligned with truth every step of the way. We’d love to have you join us, too. Today’s post was inspired by something a … Read More
When you want to get organized where do you turn? A quick browse on Pinterest or a flip through the magazine at the dentist office leads us to assume that the way to organize life is to use chalkboard labels on baskets, which line every shelf in every closet. Someone who has achieved this feat has earned the badge, “Organized!” Of course, then there’s the spice jars to label and arrange alphabetically, even if you have twelve but only use … Read More
Welcome to Simply Convivial, where we remember that organization is about our attitudes, expectations, and responses more than about our closets, cupboards, and calendars. I’m Mystie Winckler, wife, homemaker, classical homeschooling mom of 5, and I’ve learned in home, homeschool, and life contentment in not getting ahead and in just keeping things together. It’s not giving up; it’s recognizing that God’s plan always rightly supersedes my own. In today’s episode we’ll discover how to rightly define a productive day, and … Read More