Fall planning

How on earth am I to choose what to do in the fall? So many options, so many different styles of teaching and learning.

I'll have a 3rd grader, a 1st grader, a 4 year old a 2 year old and a baby. How can I teach the big boys what they need to learn and still have time to help Bug learn how to walk? How can I keep that mother-daughter time with Girly Pie without sacrificing too much from math and reading with Finny? How can we have fun and do projects and take field trips when there is so much to do? And how can I do laundry and make meals while I'm at it? Not to mention keeping up the house. Plus I'm tyring extra hard to still be a loving and happy wife for my Man when he gets home in the evenings.

I'm not super stressed about how the year will go. But I am praying hard that this year God directs me to the right curriculum/materials for the family. He knows me better than I know myself. He knows my children more intimately than I ever will. So who better to lead me to the right materials that will make our year go beautifully?

I feel like I fail every year at what I attempt to accomplish in homeschooling. I know that each year I also succeed in areas I never even thought to plan for as well, but this year I really do hope that God shines a light on the right combo of learning materials for us. I really do want Punky to actually *like* school time - not just endure it. Clearly I've not done very well in choosing what works for us. So this year I'm just waiting for God's leading to see just what is in store for us...

So far I'm feeling drawn to either My Father's World or a mix and match combo of materials for a science-heavy year (Sonlight science looks good, or the Apologia Exploring Creation series) with some Story of the World for history and a bunch of read alouds from various places (I love Sonlight's books but can't seem to pull off a year with their curriculum at this point).

So now I'm just researching the options, looking at the year ahead, and praying daily that God will lead our family down the right path for us all. I have no doubt He'll answer those prayers and bless us in the year ahead!