Homeschooling Can Wait Until After the Fair

In our hometown, all things wait for the fair. In most towns, people get back from the summer schedule after Labor Day, but in our town everything waits for “the fair”. Nothing really begins until after the fair. You have summer and fall, and in between an interlude called fair time that lasts almost the entire month of September. It is our town’s Brigadoon: time stops and doesn’t start again until the big tent is taken down.

Our kids await each August for the booklet with all the possible crafts and cooking that they can enter. They pick a few projects and a few food categories to enter. We then have to plan to create and get their projects there on time. Today is one of those days. Last week, the crafts and photos had to be dropped off, but tomorrow is the day for the cooking to be dropped off. Needless to say, DD has taken over the kitchen and is created her one crust pie and getting ready to begin the Junior baking contest recipe. DS can’t wait to finish his math so that he can cook up a batch of oatmeal Craisin cookies (he doesn’t really like raisins so he wanted to try it with dried cranberries). The neat thing this year is that while DD is cooking, I’m out here on the computer and working with DS on his math. She is doing it all on her own. I will admit that it is difficult for me to release enough to say that what it is it is and not want to oversee everything she is doing. We decided this morning that I have a very specialized form of OCD, it focuses directly at her. When she has a hair out of place it haunts me. If she is making a pie that has even a small issue, I will want fix it and make it perfect. So it is taking me a lot to stay away while she works. I know that she feels very adult working on her own. This year if she gets a ribbon, it will be all hers. DS still needs a little helping hand.

DS has already spent all weekend at that fair putting in community service with his Boy Scout troop and will be back tonight putting out recycling barrels for water and soda bottles. Tomorrow, we will be dropping off the food entries. DH and the kids will all be back down there on Thursday and maybe another time or two in between. The fair certainly messes with our regular schedule, but at the same time in gives us reason to explore some of our other talents. We’ll get back to our regular schedule “after the fair”.