I wanted to share some thoughts on homeschooling, and how it's going for us. Obviously, this is our first year officially homeschooling. Coming into it, I had a lot of ideas of how it should look. I assumed it would be just like school, but at home. I would plan lessons, plan each week in advance, sit down for 2-3 hours a day for instruction time (done during Megan's morning & afternoon nap), magically have no distractions, etc.
Well, it hasn't quite been working out like that. We started the year with our schooling looking more like that, but I was unable to keep it up. It is HARD work homeschooling with 3 kids who are 1, 3, and 5. Maybe if I had a maid/housekeeper I could do it as well as I would like. As it is, I still have to run the household, take care of the younger kids (who aren't really cooperative with school-time), on top of teaching Daniel. I have been struggling with so much guilt. Am I really making the right choice in doing this? I still think that we are. I really don't want to put him in the public schools here (several Tacoma middle schools were just awarded a grant for improvement because they were in the bottom 5% of the state), and private school isn't an option financially.
My main problem has been that my expectations are not matching up with the reality of things. Especially having some training as a teacher, I feel like I could so so much more! But over the last week or two, God has been helping me to see things in a different light. Basically, He has helped me to see that things are going well, in spite of how I have been looking at it. Back in February when Daniel took a standardized test in reading & math, he scored in the 99th percentile for both. The average scores on those tests were about 150, and he scored a little over 200. So obviously, I'm doing something right. We teach from every subject, even if it's done randomly.
He really is learning- not only academically, but he's learning how to get along with his siblings (by spending so much time with them), learning manners & obedience, and learning how to fit in & be a productive member of our family. I'm keeping him safe and away from influences that he's not ready for at age 5. He is doing well. So why am I so guilty? Is it because some days we don't technically "do school" all day, even though he's reading, playing, building Legos, learning to follow directions, etc. all day long anyway? Hmm. Not that I'm advocating we stop "doing school", but I think what we've been doing is okay. Different, but okay. It's right for this season in our lives.
I'll end with a little picture to go with all these words. It's an art project Daniel and I did this week to give one of his Awana teachers. Thanks for reading this. :)
8 comments:
That is a pretty good synopsis of what our year has been like as well :)
And I love the pics from your previous post. You have always been so pretty, and fortunate that you look just as young/pretty as you did 10years ago!
You are doing a FANTASTIC job as a mommy AND teacher! Remember you are the first and BEST teacher for your children. No one knows them better or loves them more than you and Dave. Keep up the good work! love you!
Great post Michelle, I applaud you for homeschooling, it's no simple task, especially with 2 little ones! You're doing a great job and that flower pot is adorable :)
xoxo
You are one AWESOME mama!! WE will be homeschooling too!! Do you do any home school groups? I"m thinking about going with ACTS.
Homeschooling is the way to go!!! I'm 100% for it!
Just off the top of my head, Daniel can name all the states in the Union (and most of their capitals), some of his math problems confuse him because he finds them too simple, and he wrote a book report on Moby Dick. I think you're doing just fine. Love you!
Thanks for sharing! I think that is something that all homeschooling families deal with. I know that is one of my fears and we haven't even started yet. You are an amazing Mom and teacher. I hope that we will be able to get together and do some fun things together as we "teach." :)
I came to your blog from a comment in Mandi's blog.
We are homeschooling this year as well for kindergarten. It is hard. It is tough with two other little ones running around. But when you reflect on the other things that our children are learning rather then just book work, it is easy to see how much more they are learning at home then they would be at school. Due to other reasons, we are probably going to be putting our son into public school next year, but it is not forever. I would like to homeschool again.
Good luck!
Somewhere between our expectations and our reality lays the region each of us tend to evaluate and even over-evaluate. Sometimes (and this might be one of those times) a person is too close to properly weigh if they are doing well. If Daniel were in a public school, I am fairly sure he would be told to slow down so that the other kids can “catch up”. He might even be subtly pressured to dumb down is enthusiasm for acquiring knowledge by peer pressure. You have protected his values from both his teachers and fellow students and you have continued to foster an attitude in him that soaks up information just like his father did and probably his mother as well. As a grandparent, I couldn’t admire more what you do with our grandkids and perhaps I don’t say it enough. We are blessed that our grandchildren have such a gifted and disciplined mom.
Bob
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