A new school year is right around the corner, and somehow I’ve found myself with backpacks, library books, coloring sheets, chemistry experiments, algebra review, picture books, field trips and approximately 47 ideas stored in various note apps on my phone.

This year looks a little different.

I’ll still be homeschooling Preston, who is officially in the tenth grade. How is that possible and time please slow down! We’re starting the year in English with “The Hobbit,” working our way into Algebra 2, Chemistry, and building US History around actual people and places whenever we can.

Preston will also be doing a little teaching of his own.

He’s expressed an interest in teaching and working with kids. Instead of just talking about it or wondering whether it might be something he’d enjoy, we’re going to let him actually try it. I’ll weave him into some of my days with the younger kids, where he can help plan activities, work one-on-one with them, read with them, help on field trips and learn what it actually looks like to teach.

And, yes, he’ll log the hours so he can receive credit.

We all know, those hours will end up teaching him more than anything he could read in a textbook.

I’m also adding new little learners to my days. I’ve been hired through an agency (part time) to go into a home and teach three kiddos. I’m so excited!

We’ll spend our days reading books, practicing letters and sight words, writing, doing crafts, cooking/baking, visiting museums, taking field trips and probably making a much bigger mess than necessary.

And then there’s my new little friend I’ll be nannying part-time. Some weeks will be structured. Some weeks will be completely unpredictable. I’m learning to be okay with both.

Meanwhile, JP is doing his own thing and thriving.

His art continues to amaze me. There is something so surreal about walking into a coffee shop or café and seeing something your child created hanging on the wall.

I look at both of the boys right now and feel ridiculously proud.

They’re so different. Their gifts are different. Their paths are different. And I get this incredible front row seat to watch them figure out who they are and what they might want their lives to look like.

I know how priceless that is.

As much as I joke about the chaos of my schedule and how many different things I have going on, the truth is that so much of my life right now allows me to be with the boys. And I know this part is fleeting.

There will come a day when Preston won’t be sitting at the kitchen table doing algebra or tagging along with me to help teach little kids.

They’re growing up.

Maybe that’s why I’m not in such a hurry to make this school year perfectly organized.

I want the kids to be curious. I want Preston to have room to discover his skills and what matters to him. I want the little ones to associate learning with books spread across the floor, flour on the counter, and trips to the museum and state parks.

More than anything, I want to pay attention.

To the art on the walls.

To the books on the table.

To the conversations in the car.

To these ordinary days when I still get to have the boys close. And build relationships with new kids who I’ll grow to love.

Slightly organized. Heavily caffeinated. Armed with library cards, crayons and a flexible definition of a classroom.

Cheers to the 2026-2027 school year!