Monday, September 10, 2012

Happy Homeschooling

It was Tuesday morning, the day after Labor Day.  The first day of our second year of homeschooling.  The very first day of kindergarten for my boy.  After the baby's usual 6:30 wake up for a quick diaper change and a first breakfast before her first early morning nap, I tip-toed down the hall to fire up the coffee maker.  The house was silent.  Outside a steady rain fell from the dark grey sky.

I was nervous.  Excited.  Ready.  Maybe not so ready.  Ready enough.  Yes, that was it.

The schedule for the week was printed out and each little science booklet had its own little staple on the spine, ready for four sets of small hands to read or color or shred, depending on the age of those sweet fingers.

Our all-summer-long play room was once again the school room- the wall calendar with the velcro numbers proudly displaying "September", hanging files empty, waiting patiently for corrected worksheets and illustrated poems.

Will he like "doing school"?  Is this the right thing for him?  What if he ought to go?  I sat down on the floor, absentmindedly picking up the stray toys we'd left out the night before.  A little shadow appeared in the doorway.  Sweet Paul.

"Come here, buddy."

Four quick steps and he was in my lap, curled up like a sleepy cat in that early morning darkness.  I stroked his rough hair.  Scratched his back.  And I was so, so, very glad.  So glad I wouldn't be taking him out in that rain to spend hours of his little 5 year old day in a big building without me.  So happy we could take our time easing into that blustery morning.  So happy that I've been given the opportunity and the grace to learn alongside my children every day.

One week in and I am so, so grateful.













18 comments :

  1. This is so sweet. Makes me want to homeschool mine. Although I think my ridiculous lack of organizational skills would work against me. ;)

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  2. bravo to you for your courage and heart to homeschool. I know I could never do it, but I sooo wish I could! Everyone looks so happy in the pics. Good times. :-) You'll do great all year!

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  3. I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry, papers that need grading, and there's no wine in the house (I know, it's only Monday).....thankfully I was able to escape the madness tonight for 5 seconds to read your blog. Now I feel like I can do this!! I can homeschool four crazy boys with a baby on my hip! Thank you!!

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    1. I'm right there with you, girl. About to crack open a beer at almost 10 p.m. on a Monday because....well, because I'm the mom and I said so!

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  4. Yay for happy homeschool days that make everything all better!! And double yay for late night beverages!
    Hopefully these are the memories our kids take with them into adulthood, and not those "other" homeschool days we don't need to mention.

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    1. Most of my days are "other" days. Like...um...how the evening after I wrote this turned out? Yes.

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  5. I, too, loved this Dwija. I think that when it comes time to homeschool my own...I'm going to feel the exact same way. I love hearing your journey with schooling!

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  6. It's lovely to hear your perspective on this. Gives me a bit of insight into what mum's thoughts may have been when she homeschooled us :)

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  7. This completely captures how I am feeling right now - I just started homeschooling my oldest daughter. A lot of my friends are having to deal with sending their kids to school for the first time, and I am so very grateful I don't have to deal with that right now! I am SO glad that we still get to spend our days together!

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  8. Homeschooling with a new baby. You rock lady!

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  9. To be able to stay at home and learn more than you would in school, because it is real world too, and not totally all textbook ... sounds good to me!

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  10. I love homeschooling~just if today I can get the 11 year old to cut out the sulking and keep the 2 year old out of the dog food, i will be doing good.....sigh

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    1. Oh yeah. I got my sulkers and my fit-throwers, too. But isn't it nice to know that we can say "Hey, cut that out." when a teacher wouldn't be able to? Love the consistency I'm able to offer my drama queens :)

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  11. ....I do know what you mean though! On the nasty days I am soooooo grateful we homeschool!!!

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  12. Two weeks ago we were dealing with Hurricane Issac (we live in south La) and I was so grateful that I didnt have to wait for the school board to tell me what to do with my kiddo!!! ;0)

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  13. I'm so happy for you! It's overwhelming at times but the big picture is so wonderful hats it worth the little snippets of crazy. I am, at the moment, living with my in-laws who have not once, not twice, but about 5 times, tried to sit down with us and convince us we are not capable of providing a rigorous enough education for our children. They are truly afraid they will not be taught at a level that the schools could provide. Really frustrating. We are perfecting the smile and nod (like I didn't already have that down!) and reminding ourselves that we can do it and everyone will be the better for it.

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  14. I love this! Yes, we all have those not-quite-so-lovely homeschooling days (today for me, lol), but then there are those moments, sometimes even in the midst of the hard days, that make you remember why you're doing this. I have a little kindy boy too and I'm so happy not to be sending him off to a classroom. Granted, he's a big challenge to teach, but I can offer him so much more freedom, flexibility and LOVE than he'd get otherwise. I have been a little overwhelmed these last couple of weeks as we've started our homeschooling year (and good grief, I don't even have a new baby!), but overall, I'm glad I heeded the call. I love hearing your thoughts and experiences! So often, you write much of what I'm thinking :).

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  15. I also am glad during our hundred plus degree days that my kids don't have to be out there. We have homeschooled from the beginning and I am forever grateful our path in life led us to it.

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