A confession from the bottom of the pile

Ever notice that the more you try to do less, the more you seem to disappear?

Hi. It’s me. The woman who preached do less, better and then went right ahead and disappeared behind the co-op unit studies, a surgery, wrestling practices and tournaments, and 8 nights off-grid in the middle of the Northern Arizona woods learning how to be okay not washing my hair every other day, building a campfire big enough to cook on, and being disconnected (real talk: we ended up with Starlink, so the disconnection wasn’t quite as profound as it might seem 😉).

Somewhere between shivering while camping and losing my voice at a wrestling tournament, this little letter slid to the bottom of the pile, right under the library books and the sourdough starter named Fernandough. 🫨

And I’m not going to dress it up. I didn’t go quiet on purpose. Life just did what life does when you homeschool: it got loud, gorgeous, and a little bit feral, all at once.

But here’s what I noticed in the quiet.

Accidental homeschoolers kept finding me.

A mom at church pulled me aside and said, “I need to talk to you sometime because this homeschooling thing is looking better and better.”

Another mom (who I never thought would homeschool) mentioned, “If things change the way I think they will for our family, I’ll need to learn more from you about homeschooling.”

And I’ve received several DMs saying how much friends love seeing us homeschool (which is maybe a clue I should get back to my Ten AM Instagram account and share more of what we’re doing there. Should I? SHOULD I? I’m doin’ it. Come follow me and let’s chat in the DMs).

Not one of them planned to homeschool. Every single one was standing in the middle of it anyway, coffee going cold, quietly wondering how to make this work so it feels less overwhelming, more enjoyable for everyone (mom included!), and like their kids are making serious progress.

If that’s you... hi. You’re not doing it wrong. You’re doing it well. And you’re doing it with a full heart. The fact that you’re asking, “How can I do this better? How do I do more without losing my mind? How do I do right by my kids?” is enough to prove that you’re a loving parent who cares.

And caring doesn’t need a better curriculum. It needs a rhythm that fits the humans in your house. Guardrails, not a cage.

So I’m back! And frankly, I’ve wanted to be back for a long time now. I’d run out of fingers and toes if I tried counting all the times I thought, “Oooooh, I should write about that and share it with my homeschool buddies.” (That’s you! You’re my homeschool homie. Or buddy. Or friend. Or partner in this crazy life. Whatever you want to call it.)

But before any of that, I need to hear from you.

Hit reply and tell me the one thing about homeschooling that feels heaviest right now. One sentence is plenty. A full rant is also welcome. I read every single reply, usually (always?) with a very strong cup of coffee in hand.

XO,

Kimberly Crossland

P.S. I haven’t fallen totally dormant. Behind the scenes, I’ve created something new and FREE for you! My free 15-minute Roadmap is available for you when you add your email list to the sidebar. It's what I pull out when our days start feeling like a collision instead of a cadence, and now it’s yours to leverage too.