I had to add another one of the kids' "engagement shots" because they crack me up.
Sorry (but not sorry) to do another homeschooling post. I fully realize that most people don't care, but since this is a huge transition in our family life, I want to record it all, especially considering this is my journal.
Homeschooling has become much easier and much more normal now. We don't even have 3 full weeks under our belts yet and it's already going well. I wasn't expecting it to fall into place so quickly, but I'm grateful for it.
One of the first days was terrible. The kids were losing their patience with me, and I was losing my patience with them. We finished school around dinner time which is RIDICULOUS. Homeschooling takes so much less time than public schooling because you get to move at the pace of one kid instead of 20+ and you don't have to do all the "fluff" that is basically time filler. We still do quiet time during naptime (which is when they do their reading) and this one particular terrible day I made myself take a nap so that I could have a fresh start afterward with the kids.
The spirit often speaks to me in that time between being awake and being asleep (probably because my house is usually chaotic and loud and this is one of my rare moments of peace), and on this particular day I was told something that made everything worth it: You would be spending as much time helping them with their homework if they were still in public school. But at least now you get to do it according to your own schedule and the kids still have time to play, have hobbies, practice dance and sports, and still have down time. You don't have to do homework with them while trying to make dinner, while waiting for Ben to get home, while getting them ready for sports/dance, while also trying to console the babies.
After I realized that, yes, our homeschooling takes barely more time to do than the amount of time I would be spending with them on their public school homework this year, I have come to appreciate homeschooling so much more.
The kids started Classical Conversations this week. To sum it up it is a homeschooling co-op that is Christian based. We meet at this adorably quaint Presbyterian church 15 minutes away where the kids have school for 3 hours. Skyler is in a class of 5 boys (ages 6-9) and Lily is in a class of 5 girls (also ages 6-9). Ella and Thad go to the nursery and I become a teacher assistant. They study history, geography, Latin, English, math, science, art, and scripture. It is more or less an Honors course for homeschoolers who choose to learn classically rather than traditionally. When we decided to homeschool, Ben and I both agreed that the kids would need social outlets and this was a perfect solution for it. If CC proves to be a little intense, we are fortunate enough to have several other options in our area. But for now, I feel strongly impressed that CC is what we are supposed to be doing.
My least favorite thing: explaining one concept countless times while I know Lily/Skyler isn't paying attention to me. Fortunately for them, I, too, was homeschooled and I have several memories of doing the same thing to my dad while he taught me algebra and he never once lost his patience with me so I know I have to do the same to them.
My favorite thing: Not just seeing my kids more but actually being present in their lives more. Seeing what they're most interested in learning about. Finding out, in more depth, what areas they are gifted in. I thought I knew my kids well, but I can now see that their teachers have been privileged to see a side of them I didn't know.
The kids' least favorite things: When the pencil sharpener isn't plugged in (heaven help me they get so mad), that they actually have to practice their spelling words each day, when Thad decides it's a good time to climb on the table while they're doing their work (I still haven't quite figured out how to separate the babies from school), and not being allowed to play outside until all work is completed.
The kids' favorite things: Going to the library and choosing out tons of books to study from (I think we currently have something around 40 library books in our house), watching lots of educational youtube videos, that they get to choose what they want me to teach them about for science, that they get better lunches than what was limited to their lunchboxes, that they can do some work assignments together upstairs by themselves.
Overall, I have to say I'm extremely proud of Lily and Skyler. Lily is handling chapter books like a champ and just spent $20 of her own money yesterday on buying new books. Skyler is advanced at math (his math schedule is only 8 weeks behind Lily's and they study from the same textbook). He often finds the solution before I finish reading him the problem. Honestly, I feel so much more purpose in my life now that I truly get to steer my children in the direction that Ben and I feel is right. After dreading all the sacrifices I would be making, I could have never imagined that overall, the biggest feeling I've experienced is freedom.
4 comments:
Keep it up! What a great blessing homeschooling was to our family when you girls were growing up (although we got a really late start in it). I think it really does help the family to be closer together.
You are amazing! I love hearing about your homeschooling successes. I can't wait to pick your brain in a few years! :)
You're kinda making me jealous that I can't/won't homeschool this year. I promise they are going to hate spelling until the end of the year. But that's ok. They'll also recognize when you're tired, and try to take advantage of that. I gave in some (because some of it wasn't super important), but tried to stay firm the whole year. I'm glad Ben is going back to public this year, because we pretty much lived in our pj's last year. Plus he practically refused to do ANY writing for me. Now he gets his "reward" for slacking. I love homeschool so much, I enjoy your posts. Reminds me of the freedom it really is. Freedom from the restrictions of the world and using your time better for your family. I never looked forward to summer vacation like I did when they were in public school. I loved school with them until the very last day.
I just have to document this quote from Skyler from last week when we were over at your place. Skyler and Lily were inviting a friend inside. (For those who don't know, their entire main floor is hardwood, and the stairs and upstairs floor are carpeted) Skyler was explaining to their friend about the inside of their house - "The stairs aren't made of wood, they're made of floor."
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