Chapter 2 of SOTW Volume 2 deals with the British Isles as they got invaded by Anglo-Saxons. There are two stories in the chapter, one being the one about Beowulf.

We worked on coloring Beowulf and did the map work. I also printed out the brooch design for them to color. We were supposed to make brooches for their Celtic cloaks, but we gave up. Sometimes you just have to say, we have read, we have colored, we have worked on the map, we are done. Nothing bad will happen to you if you don’t do a craft for history.

Beowulf colored by my five-year-old

I just want to send this message out there into the blogosphere. I am not super mom. I don’t do everything required in a history curriculum. This marks an important step in my homeschooling journey, as I am naturally inclined to dot every i and cross every t. But, with everything else we have going on this summer, I have to organize my priorities and some things have to go.

We can run around trying to do so many things and then we end up close to burnout before the school even started. Summer can be a bit too busy, I think. And I am not even doing everything I thought would be nice to try.

Speaking of requirements, one book per week to read from the suggested list is enough. I heard it from the mouth of this curriculum’s creator, Susan Wise Bauer herself.

Celtic brooch materials all ready to go… before I gave up

So take heart, homeschooling mom, you are not the only one cutting corners. Some days are low energy, other days are just full of so much to do. You may want to tackle it all, but something has to give. Again, nothing bad will happen if we don’t do a craft for every chapter in our history book. Can you tell I am actually writing this for my own benefit?