Homeschool Examen
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
—Socrates
“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain hearts of wisdom.”
—Psalm 90:12
“Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord.”
—Lamentations 3:40
“Test all things. Hold fast to what is good.”
—1 Thessalonians 5:21
This weekend, I spent my quiet time on Saturday reviewing and reflecting on our homeschool week through the lens of a spiritual practice known as the Examen Prayer. Saint Ignatius of Loyola created this method of spiritual exercise in the 1500s as a way to look back over your day and notice the presence and work of God.
I like to use it to recognize where I saw God at work and where I may have resisted His work, and then carry into the next week a greater awareness of where I need to make room for Him in my life.
This week marked our second full week of homeschooling so far this year. We also have an impending hurricane approaching our little tiny island of Oahu. So by the end of the week, I was feeling a little frazzled and strained.
Some things felt unfinished. My patience felt thin. And I was already contemplating taking a week off instead of finishing our six-week “plan.”
With those feelings swirling, I realized I needed to take some time and examine our school week through the lens of God’s faithfulness, not just my human frailty.
As I pondered and journaled, this little Homeschool Examen was born.
As I walk you through my week, I hope you’ll consider walking through your week and see if you can find more of God and less of the human failure we so easily find.
1. What went well this week?
Our morning flow of devotions, chores, and skills time is working well. All of the kids are finishing their skills work on time.
There were no meltdowns during our weekly art project and only a minor sibling squabble during our family science experiment time.
2. Where was there friction in your flow?
Leaving for swim practice and gym time for Mom was a high-friction point for the six-year-old. She had a meltdown each day when it was time to leave.
The transition out of our peaceful home rhythm and into the car, swim practice, and gym childcare is clearly an area that needs some attention.
3. What felt peaceful? What felt rushed?
Everyone’s skills work and chore time felt peaceful. Taking care of our skills and caring for our home felt like it was flowing.
The family science lesson still feels rushed, as do the subsequent workbook pages.
We tried doing the science lesson with lunch, but notebooking with messy hands is not very smooth.
4. What did not go well?
What were the “little foxes” this week—the seemingly small things that disrupted the good work happening in our home?
The transition out the door for swim and the gym was one.
But as I reflected, I realized hurricane preparation itself was not a “little fox.” Preparing our home and animals for an approaching storm was necessary work.
Perhaps the little fox was my expectation that we could prepare for a hurricane and have a perfectly normal homeschool week.
Sometimes the disruption isn’t the problem. Sometimes our expectation that life should continue unaffected by the disruption is.
5. What, practically, was accomplished? What, practically, was not accomplished?
Everyone’s skills work was accomplished: reading, writing, and arithmetic. We completed two science lessons and the workbook pages. All of the children memorized the weekly memory verse, John 15:1–2. We did devotions every morning. We completed our cloudscape art project. We completed our family science experiment—a high school biology experiment. We completed hurricane preparations. We went to swim practice. Our dancer went to dance practice. Our high schooler went to work. I got to lift three times. Our high schooler finished all of her required work.
What did we not accomplish?
The middle schoolers did not complete their dictations. We did not finish our Botany lessons. We did not finish the high schooler’s extra second experiment.
And there it was in black and white.
The week I had been carrying around in my head as unfinished was actually incredibly full. The things left undone were far smaller than the things faithfully accomplished. My feelings had told me we were falling behind. The Examen invited me to look again.
6. Evaluate.
Compare the two lists from #5. Was the unfinished work vital? Was it a skill not worth neglecting? If it was vital, place it first on Monday or in the next appropriate work block (not on Saturday!). If it was not, let it go. Not everything unfinished needs to become next week’s burden.
For us, the high school science experiment needs to be finished Monday. The middle school dictations are optional for Monday. And Botany? We are simply going to keep going. There is no reason to turn unfinished Botany lessons into a debt that next week has to repay.
7. Review: What do I keep? What do I release?
Keep Morning Time and skills work going. Let go of the manufactured Botany catch-up. Just keep plugging along. Keep Little Bear for horizontal time so the six-year-old will be still and Mom can nap or simply rest. And this one needs to be written plainly: I must nap or join the kids on the couch during horizontal time. Rest cannot be the thing I schedule for everyone else while I use the quiet to accomplish more. I also must guard my quiet time. Even if I wake up “late,” I need my time to journal and prepare my heart and mind before jumping into another homeschool day.
8. What does the Lord have for us next?
You do not need to solve every problem or create the perfect plan for next week. Based on what you have noticed, what is the next faithful step? Ask the Lord for wisdom for these children, in this home, in this season.
I began this Examen wondering whether we needed to abandon our six-week rhythm and take a break. I ended it realizing that very little about our homeschool actually needed fixing.
We need rest. One experiment needs finishing. A difficult transition needs some attention. Botany needs permission to simply keep moving forward. And the rhythms that are already bearing good fruit need to be protected.
The Lord had already given us far more good than my tired mind could see.
Maybe your week needs a second look, too.
Before you open the planner and start arranging another week, take a few quiet minutes to look backward. Remember what went well. Notice the friction. Name what was accomplished. Release what does not need to follow you into Monday. And ask the Lord for wisdom about what comes next.
I hope you’ll take some time to examine your week with me.
