Convention Corner: Finish Your Year Strong

Over the years we’ve been homeschooling, I have learned there are several ways to finish your year (that is, if you happened to take a summer break). Perhaps you year-round homeschoolers have a different experience. However, keeping a typical Autumn-through-Spring schedule means that you are wrapping up sometime in the next month or so.

Some years, we have limped across the finish line and flopped down like so many dead fish. Other years, we sort of fizzled. The school year ended with no fanfare, no celebration, no acknowledgement really at all. We were just glad to be done with it.

However, there have been plenty of times when I can honestly say that we finished the year strong. We completed some (though not all) of our curricula. It was even fun to put together our portfolios and reminisce over the year we had! Last year was like that, and this year seems to be on a similar track. It’s a great feeling to get to your last day feeling accomplished and looking forward to a well-deserved break. It’s like finishing a marathon.

Let me encourage those of you who are currently staggering toward the finish line this Spring. Perhaps it’s been tough all year, or you hit a third-quarter slump that you still haven’t recovered from. You are still headed to a hard-earned break. Hang in there a little longer! You’re going to make it.

Years ago, my husband and I ran a marathon. My time was six hours and forty-five minutes. There was no more news crew or crowd by the time I got to the end. But what an amazing feeling it was to cross that finish line!

Allow me another encouragement to the beleaguered. Join us at the CHAP convention this year for a time of refreshment. At the end of the marathon, there were snacks, drinks, and hugs from friends. The winners and those of us at the back of the pack all appreciated a warm welcome when we made it to the end. Come enjoy a warm welcome, encouraging sessions, and a time of rejuvenation.