It's that time of year again

Do you just love it when the new school year rolls around? It's time to shop for new curriculum and plan out the lessons for the year and cover the kitchen walls with classroom decorations and what else? What else do we do to prepare for the new school year as homeschoolers? One thing that's important to us is making sure we have enough flexibility in our schedules to allow time to do the things that catch our eye. I think it's important that kids learn how to follow their own interests, so that they can build a life that revolves more around the things they enjoy. there's success to be found in EVERY fiend and when a person is engaged in a task they enjoy it just doesn't feel like work.  I was interviewing the owner of a plant nursery the other day and she couldn't believe she'd been in business for 12 years. She said it felt just like yesterday when she opened up. She's been successful, but it didn't feel like work. I wonder if her parents ever told her to come inside, get out of the garden or to stop digging in the dirt all the time. I wonder if all those other things she learned in school have been forgotten, save for the knowledge of how to care for herbs, succulents and roses. The nursery was beautiful and she really helped drive home the idea that it's more important to let the kids decide what their course of study is.