I have been very quiet on the blog lately, mostly because I have been intentionally resting as an attempt to recover from what felt like a burn-out towards at the beginning of July. While Tiger has been spending most of his time doing what I said we would do for the summer, I spent some time looking through the past year's diary and worked out some stats.
We clocked a total number of 139 days out in the past academic year, which means that we were out nearly half the time (42%)!
That comes to an average of 13 days out each month!!
To make sure that I get an accurate view of how we spend our time, I include only those days when we go out for either classes, seminars, or field trips. That ensures that things like grocery shopping (we still buy our groceries off-line) and sports classes that are within 10 miles from our house don't get counted. The picture I get shows that field trips take up more than half our time (55%) outside, while going to one-off classes and seminars is the other reason to be out and about.
We clocked a total number of 139 days out in the past academic year, which means that we were out nearly half the time (42%)!
That comes to an average of 13 days out each month!!
To make sure that I get an accurate view of how we spend our time, I include only those days when we go out for either classes, seminars, or field trips. That ensures that things like grocery shopping (we still buy our groceries off-line) and sports classes that are within 10 miles from our house don't get counted. The picture I get shows that field trips take up more than half our time (55%) outside, while going to one-off classes and seminars is the other reason to be out and about.
No wonder I feel exhausted! Right. I'd better go and lie down somewhere to recover from the shock of it all...
Wow-no wonder you are tired. You have had some wonderful trips and given me plenty of ideas. We don't get out so much probably either a group or trip a week although there are regular local classes which I don't count!
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering why I was starting to feel burnt out... Now I know. :-) It's interesting to see where our time has gone to and to evaluate whether the time spent has been worthwhile -- most of the time the trips have been really good so I can't complain. :-)
DeleteHwee,
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have lots of interesting places close to where you live. And all those workshops and classes too. Getting out and experiencing things first hand is a wonderful way to learn even if it is tiring! We don't go on many field trips because we live in a very quiet area. We arrange 3 or 4 days away now and then so we can visit museums, art galleries, caves, the beach and other places. In between we stay home! Graphing your stats ... what an interesting and useful exercise!
Sue, I am fortunate that we live in an area with access to many interesting events. However, they are not right on our doorstep so we do have to travel a fair bit to get to them. :-) I feel that we ought to make the most of the available opportunities while we have the chance to do so. Going to places gives us the experience of learning from different people and in different situations, so that has been very valuable.
DeleteYou are amazing, Hwee! And not only did you go on all those interesting outings, but you took the time to share them with us, too, so we get the benefit of vicarious trips. ;-) I'm pleased we (well, C) managed to join you on one of your outings, this year, too.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your well-earned rest.
Thanks, Lucinda. C is really delightful, so I'm very glad to have met her on the outing. :-) I do feel the need to have a proper rest before things start again in September, so I must have overstretched myself quite a bit this past year. Hope you're all enjoying your summer!
DeleteYou are a rock star! I like talking to new people--but even so, I have to drag myself to even things I want to do--in some ways, having a child has made me more social than I would have ever been on my own. If I do more than one or two things in a week, I feel drained. (I'm decided I'm going to start napping. pH gave up naps at 2 and I figure she can read and I'll catch up on my sleep.)
ReplyDeleteBut I so envy you for all you have available to you in the UK!
-qH
Thanks, qH! Never thought of myself as a rock chick, but I can get used to that! LOL.
DeleteMaybe because I haven't grown up in the UK that I find everything new and fascinating, so from that respect I approach going to place in a way very similar to a new learner learning something for the first time. I guess that helps when it comes to homeschooling! :-)
I'm not the social butterfly sort either, so I'm like you in the sense that I have become much more sociable than ever before because of how homeschooling forces one to approach new people either to make friends or to organise outings (as I have done a few times). It has certainly been an interesting learning journey for both my son and I.
Going out so much has certainly taken its toll on me, as you've seen in this post. I think I'll be much more selective about our trips from September onwards. :-)