When is it Enough? Wrapping up the Year

What is “Enough"?”

Do you ever wonder when it's okay to say the school year is done enough?

Like… do you really have to finish every single page of every school book? What about every project? Remember, I focus on the elementary years, so keep that in mind as I share my thoughts.

Here’s a little secret: teachers don’t finish most of their books! When I was teaching in the classroom, I rarely (if ever) made it to the end of every textbook with my students. I even vaguely remember my own elementary years—and guess what? We didn’t finish most (if any) of the textbooks then, either.

So here’s the short answer: You do NOT have to complete every page of every book. It’s totally okay to skip some pages—or even a whole chapter!

But you might be wondering: How do I skip without missing major concepts?

Well, that depends on the subject and curriculum. For example, many math programs start the new school year with a chapter or more of review from the previous year. That means your current textbook may overlap quite a bit with the one you’ve already purchased for next year. So take a look ahead—let next year’s book guide what you really need to finish this year.

Of course, if your child still needs to learn a particular concept before moving on, don’t skip it. But if they already know it—or it’s an especially easy chapter—feel free to move on!

Not sure if they’ve truly mastered it? Use the review or test pages at the end of the section to confirm. Then decide whether to keep going or call it done.

Or, depending on the subject, you might just hit the highlights and skip sections that aren’t essential.

Bottom line: this is about you and your child. Don’t feel like you’re doing it wrong just because you didn’t finish every single page. Trust me—everyone else isn’t finishing every page either.