It has been 5 months since I gave a homeschooling update. Goodness knows I’ve blogged plenty during that time (needing to put my feet up regularly has it perks!), but I haven’t officially followed up with how our plans look in reality.
What I Love About Homeschooling
1. My children are enjoying childhood.
Not hurrying out the door in the mornings or being bogged down with homework in the afternoons means that my children are playing a lot, with each other! I love that 8 a.m. can find them racing around the house in dress-up clothes over their pjs. I love that they get a daily rest time where they listen to audio books and build with Legos (or whatever else they want to do). I love that weekends and evenings are generally wide open for family time.
2. I get to be their teacher!
It is hugely rewarding to teach (I did choose it as a career, after all!), and it is especially rewarding in a one-on-one environment with your own child. They are eager students. In fact, Miles is often asking for more work! I am largely pleased with how the curriculum is working for us. And even though weaknesses have emerged, I am glad to know those weaknesses intimately as we work to address them.
Abby (left) and Miles (right)
3. We have lots of flexibility in our schedule.
Flexibility is definitely a double-edged sword. It takes a lot of self-discipline for a mother/teacher to require that the school work get done during the craziness of life. However, for the stage of life we are in right now, flexibility is a huge blessing! If a child needs to be seen at the sick clinic at 8 a.m., school can be pushed to the afternoon. School can happen on the weekend, in chunks throughout the day, etc. While a lack of routine is not my usual preference, I have a feeling this will be particularly important when baby arrives.
What I Am Learning about Homeschooling
1. Household management is the new classroom management.
First year teachers in a classroom setting spend the vast majority of their energy learning how to run a classroom (discipline, paperwork, scheduling, etc.). For the first year homeschooling mom, it’s household management that is essential. We are home most of the time, but I have less time to tend to things around the house. It is an odd and frustrating situation in which to find yourself. Maybe it’s related to the next two points….
2. Toddlers.
Yeah, toddlers kind of make or break your (my) homeschooling day. This may be somewhat related to Abby’s personality and desire to be included in everything, but other moms confirm this challenge. There are simply some things she cannot do, such as math facts or “helping” with a writing assignment, that still must be done. I have to balance training her with teaching the boys, and this can be a loud, disurptive process. At the beginning of each day, I never know what the mood will be. Toddlers are not known for their predictability!
Miles and Abby are starting to build their own play relationship, apart from big brother. This is helpful, too!
3. I am stretched very thin.
For me, and most homeschooling moms I know, the lack of alone time is physically and emotionally draining. Paul and I are working hard to find a balance that gives me some respite at the end of the day and even a bit on the weekend when possible. For awhile, I was going weeks without a child-free break. This did not work well! I am also realizing the need to be very deliberate in scheduling time with other adults. Sometimes what I need is not to be alone so much as it is to be enjoying time with a friend (or Paul, but that requires a babysitter!).
We are getting asked a lot about next year and whether we will homeschool again. The truth is, we have no idea! Homeschooling was absolutely the right decision for this year, despite the challenges, and that’s all we need to know for now.
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