Slow living in December

Our days usually flow pretty smoothly—we start with breakfast, the girls play while I clean up and set up for school, and then we dive into workbooks. But with a toddler in the mix, I’ve been rethinking how we begin. Instead of jumping straight into math or spelling, I’d love to add a gentle opening activity—something like a board game, drawing, or music—to ease us into the day together.

This fall has been especially full. Mathilde has the incredible honor of playing Annie in the musical Annie! She’s been working so hard on her singing, dancing, and acting, and I couldn’t be more proud. But between rehearsals, too many online classes, and all the extras I want to weave into our homeschool, we’ve been running ourselves ragged trying to keep up. I know that pace isn’t sustainable.

So after her big performance next week, we’re pressing pause. We’ll step back, scale down, and go into a little hibernation until January—trading the workbooks and classes for cozy reading, cookie baking, and a slow, joy-filled Christmas season.

On another note—YouTube has been so much fun for me! I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy it, but I love every part of the process. From scripting videos to designing thumbnails in Canva (though one day I’d still love to paint my own), it’s become such a refreshing creative outlet. I’m still figuring things out—I definitely talk too softly and need to either raise my voice or invest in a microphone—but the learning curve has been exciting.