Homeschooling is Not for Wimps

Recently overheard in the classroom:

While trying to memorize the Joyful Mysteries, we were reciting, “The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation, …” and Joe pipes up, “The Finding-tation!”

We’ve also been working on alphabetizing our spelling words.  Joe’s Math lesson yesterday was putting three digit numbers in order and noted that it was similar to alphabetizing.  “It’s like NUMBERbatizing”

I can’t speak for everyone, just some homeschooling moms I’ve talked to, but you always wonder if you’re doing it right.  Are my kids learning?  Are they on par with their peers in Public Schools?  In Private Schools?  Ideally, they would be ahead.  After all, they essentially have private tutors.  Those private tutors, on the other hand, are not trained educators, so maybe they’ll always be behind?

There are always nagging questions about their progress, but also about your performance as an educator:  Am I challenging them enough?  Do I provide enough variety so that they love learning?  Did I choose the right curriculum?  Do *I* even understand some of the concepts I’m teaching them??  (Yes, even with grade school Math, I have to double check what the author of the book is trying to make the students understand)  I’m always comparing myself to those ‘super mom’ homeschoolers… the ones with the antique school desks, maps all over the school room, creative and fun craft projects, and in-depth science experiments in the kitchen.  I like to be inspired a little, but truly, most of the time, I’m happy to have them finish their workbooks and follow our set lesson in Math and be done.  Nothing new, nothing special, just making it through.

Up until this semester, the boys hardly ever needed my help with things like Phonics and English (for Joe).  I had been letting them do their Handwriting on their own, too, but I began to see some very bad penmanship.  When I actually checked their Handwriting books, I saw some serious slop.  So, we started over.  More supervision by me, more hands-on to fix bad habits.

It’s a constant balance between letting them be (or hoping they will be) independent with their work and giving them lots of guidance.  Of course, being inclined to laziness like I am (as most of us are, admit it!), I would prefer independence for them.  Then, I can get more of my own work done:  dishes, cleaning bathrooms, paying bills, answering e-mails (okay, that’s not really work), writing thank you notes, etc. 

What really threw me this semester was the BABY!  When he needs help, he needs it *immediately*.  Whatever we were working on in school gets set aside.  While I’m attending the baby, I try to see if the boys have some work they can do on their own (like Reading for Joe or a Spelling worksheet for the twins)  The problem with this is that I think I’m making the kids A.D.D.  They can’t focus and finish one lesson at a time.  This is especially hard for Joe who has a hard time getting distracted in general.  The bigger problem is that in my efforts to make everything ‘more efficient’, especially our lessons that we do together (Language, Writing, Religion, Social Studies).  I end up making the boys stop what they’re doing separately before the lesson is done just because I notice that everyone is available (or at the very least, present in the room) at the same time to do the subjects we do together.  I also forget everyone is in their respective lessons when I come back from taking care of the baby.  ADD, I tell you.

Another issue I’ve heard about from other homeschooling moms is how the grandparents perceive their effort.  Of course, most grandparents don’t actually witness the day to day operations, just the end result, and those things can look VERY different.  When my dad was here for a few days when Scott was out of town, he witnesses one of the worst days of chaos in our short homeschool history… Baby screaming all morning, kids fighting, books and papers in dis-array, sleepy (grouchy) mom, potty-training issues with Andrew… pure chaos.  I wonder what he thinks of what I’m trying to do.  Does he wonder if his grandsons will be scarred by our venture?  He’s a pretty generous and forgiving guy, so maybe not.  I just feel bad that he had to see that.  It was humbling.

He’s coming back next week.  Hopefully, we’ll all do better.  I’m still glad we homeschooled this year.  Who knows about next year, but it was right for now.