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I wrote in my journal today how the surprise of a new year never seems to go away. How the days do by quickly, and all of a sudden it is Christmas and a new year. Happy New Year, blog friends! It is a wonderful thing to have fresh starts and God’s mercies that are made new each morning – and each new year!
Before Christmas, I gathered up samples of the children’s work and recorded the books we had completed, putting it altogether into folders that each of the children have. At the front, I put in a written review that I try and do each year as a summary of their year – from academics and extracurricular to character growth and friendships. This year I read it to the children and they were very chuffed hearing the different ways they had grown, what we had achieved, and in general, what was a good year.
This was an encouraging process for me too, as sometimes I am quite hard on myself and I tend to only see the ways in which we haven’t done well or in which I personally have dropped the ball as their Mother-Teacher. If you haven’t done something like this before, I would so encourage you to do so – even if your children are little and you are only just beginning the homeschooling journey, because it really does give you eyes to see.
A good example of this – having eyes to see – is this post I wrote at the end of 2023. We had had major life changes and lots of broken homeschooling routines, so I was tempted to think negatively about the year. Yet, the Lord helped me see it through His eyes.
But now, let us to turn to the year that has just been and some of the ways in which we have grown through the Lord’s goodness and mercy.
Changing Seasons
This year we started out fairly like we have for a number of years – gathering together for our Together Time and moving on to the Gather ‘Round Homeschool unit study we were doing. This is how we have homeschooled for so long and which has worked so well. And, after a slow start to the year, this seemed to be going well. But around the middle of Term 2, I noticed an unsettledness with our mornings and it took me a little while to figure out what was not working anymore.
It became apparent to me that our eldest, Josiah, who turned twelve in March (and has since grown taller than me by half a head) was growing older and was needing schoolwork that was more challenging and stimulating. He didn’t necessarily say this was what he needed as schooling is just not something he has ever enjoyed, but my mama-heart knew what he was needing.
There was also often a lot of bickering between the two children, and this also was a sign that something was not working. After some prayer and chats with my husband, we decided that we needed to shift how we were homeschooling so that Josiah could have more time on his own, with his own unique bookwork, and that both children could have some breathing space in the day from each other.
Together Time is a staple for us and I can’t ever see that changing. It brings us together at the beginning of our learning time and continues to give us shared experiences with books and faith and history. But I began to collect some curriculum for both the children to work on their own afterward. We already had some curriculum around such as Daily Grams and Memoria Press Geography, so I pieced together what I could. But the biggest change was investing in some Abeka Homeschool books for both children.
By the end of the year, I had invested in more Abeka books because they were working so well for us. I am working on posts for the next month on our curriculum for 2026 and will share why Abeka has been working so well for us, which I never thought would be the case, as I have always been a Charlotte Mason-inspired-no-textbooks mother! But, as my husband said to me, “Who cares? This is what works for our family so embrace it!”
I also noticed half way through the year that Rosalie was really struggling with Math. Both have been working through Teaching Textbooks, which we love, but there was something about it that was blocking her in some way. She is very creative and artistic and visually inclined, so I decided to switch her back to The Good and the Beautiful. It is gentle and beautiful, and still teaches her with videos (this is a must for us as I am not able to teach Math anymore). She is doing much better with this now and will continue on.
Growing Roots
We moved back to our home city half-way through 2023 and it has taken us a long while to settle down. Partly because we thought we were going to be in the other town forever, and partly because my husband went into full-time ministry and this has been a massive adjustment for us as a family. The children have taken awhile to really make good friends and find their ‘people’.
But this year we found our ‘people’! A lovely family at church began homeschooling and we saw them weekly. The children also got to know a great family at Homeschool Sports that we go to every Wednesday, and this emphasised another sense of belonging. Josiah took up tennis and has done really well, now competing with a team of other boys his age. Rosalie started Girls Brigade which has, hands down, been the best thing for her since we moved here. It was a wonderful space of loving leaders and fun and opportunities for growth and challenge. She has thrived and made new friends there.
Both children also now go to Youth Group, with Rosalie starting at the beginning of Term 4. This is a highlight for them both every week and has been such a great thing for Josiah right from when we first arrived. We are very blessed to be part of a church that has a solid youth group that seeks God and His Word above all in the context of fun and relationships. So, all in all, 2025 has been a year of growing roots and development in friendships and social activities.
Good Books
As always, I think our favourite part of every year we homeschool are the books we read together each day. Here are a few of the books we read and loved this year:
Stories are so precious in the homeschooling family life and something that has stayed with us right from they were babies. They have always given our mornings richness and joy and life. We may not get through as many books as other families do, but we read eight this year, and for that I am thankful!
Josiah decided he wanted to read the entire Case for Christ series and I think they made a big impact on him. Even though some of it he said felt over his head, he devoured them all the same, and it was a joy to see him stretching his mind and faith in that way.
Rosalie enjoyed reading several Roald Dahl books on her own (which is big as she mostly only reads graphic novels) and she loved Caddie Woodlawn, too.
Mother’s Journal
Even though I can struggle to only see what I feel like we didn’t do or what we could have done better (see my last post!), when I write out my yearly review, the Lord really does open my eyes and help me see all the goodness and truth and beauty that we have explored and experienced as the year unfolded. He has been so faithful in reminding me what really is at the heart of the home education life – being together, growing in Him and together, and slowly helping the children become who He wants them to be. And this is not all done in one year!
He also reminds me that He is jealous of His glory and, if I were perfect and perfectly implemented my perfectly laid out plans and my children got the perfect education, He would not be the recipient of any of that glory of perfection – I would! So He uses me, a normal mother with strengths and weaknesses, to be the hands that guides these children of His. I work in partnership with Him, but I am the weak partner of this arrangement – He is the strength and glory of it all!
A Heart for Homeschooling 
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