Busy week here

Well, time is just flying along. We've got tons on the go right now. This weekend is my cousin's wedding and we don't seem to just celebrate wedding's on that day. We turn it into a wedding week! Or at least a weekend! Tonight is the lingerie shower, then tomorrow the rehearsal (all the cousins/aunts are singing her a blessing song during the wedding) , which I don't think I'll make it for, then Saturday the wedding itself, then Sunday a family bbq! Not sure if I'll make it for the bbq either.

On a totally different note... I've been thinking about homeschooling a lot lately. Last year was very hard for me. It stings my pride a little to say so, but unfortunately, it's the truth. I really do believe homeschooling is the best thing for our family. But it's stinkin HARD! Ok, at least for me it is. I do see some other's that seem to breeze through the school year like they were made for teaching. I had hoped I'd be one of those. So I've noticed there's 4 different kind of homeschoolers.

1. Super Mom. Yes, she does it all. Her kids are reading young, and involved in just about everything. Her kids might just be the ones who graduate at 16. They do their chores and are responsible children too. They do lots of field trips too... They play multiple instruments. I have to admit, I've love to be a fly on the wall in a home like this and see how they really manage to do it all....

2. Balanced Mom. Ok, this one does most of it, but yet it still human. The dishes pile up sometimes, but the kids have been read the bedtime story. Homeschooling is accomplished each year, but she admits to her struggles and theirs. The kids graduate around 18, some doing just a GED. The kids go to YWAM... I like this mom...

3. Unschooler Mom. Now this mom is not going overboard and doing everything "right". She works very hard to walk upstream, so to speak. She's this way on purpose. She strongly believes that life is not to be lived by cramming every bit of useless information into them, but by self motivation they will grow and blossom on their own. Life is fascinating and she loves to give them time and opportunity to find this out themselves. The kids go to YWAM too. I like this mom too.

4. The accidental Unschooler. Ok, this is actually a lot homeschoolers. This is the mother intending to be type 1 or 2 and it's just not her. She tries some, gets frustrated, so just kinda does the minimal and wades through the clutter most days hoping against hope that somehow these kids are learning something. She wouldn't mind being homeschooler type 3, yet feels so guilty when she tries and is terrified to let the reins go to that extent. Walking upstream is hard for this mom, so she tends to kinda stand in the middle of the stream, not walking up or down. The kids are learning, but they might wear their pj's till noon. Like type 3. But they're probably taking piano lessons, like type 1 or 2. Well, I could go on for abit on this mom. I think that's because, that's who I was this year.

I was homeschooled. For all but 3 years. Those 3 years in school taught me a lot about how mean kids can be. I'm thankful that my parents mostly homeschooled me. I'm also thankful for those years in school, so I can be thankful for homeschooling. But, like any mother, going into homeschooling I had big ideas. I was gonna do it all right. I was not gonna make all the mistakes my parents made! Oh no, not me! School was going to be fun and interesting. I would never yell at my kids. Consistent discipline! Oh yes, I had it figured out!

flop

Yeah, that's how this year felt. Like a major flop. I guess the higher expectations, the farther you have to fall. Partly, my two youngest sabotaged all my efforts. They love to destroy my house. They were both in the stage where getting into garbages and emptying cupboards and climbing on tables and destroying it all, it was great fun to them! Oh yes, every time I turned to try to teach something to the older two, the younger two got into things. Shoes pulled out everywhere, baskets of laundry dumped over.... I realized that my nicely printed out schedule wasn't going to work. I had planned the day from 7 am till 3 pm, getting all our school work and chores done. ha. ha. ha. Finally, out of sheer frustration at never seeing us follow it, my hubby took it down. So then, I tried doing school work for the big kids during the little ones nap time. Well, that really did work the best, but then all the other things I normally did during this time piled up. Like, naps for me... hahahaha Ok, I rarely get to nap, but that does tend to be my down time if I need it. Laundry, sorting, etc.
I skipped out science and social. We read some books and talked about things and that's it. (ohhh would that be un-schooling!?!?EEK!) We did pretty good on math though. I found it clear and straightforward, so it was easy to teach. Once Levi learned the concept he could finish the pages on his own. English was easier once he learned to read, then he would read the instructions on his own and I would guild him as he needed it. We did do piano. Another thing that I found very hard. I realized, piano teachers give assignments and I teach the piano. They both did ok. Both in school and in piano. So I guess you could say that the year wasn't a flop. But my own expectations took such a tumble, it feels like a flop....

So now I'm reassessing what type of homeschooler I am. I see parts of type 1,2 and 3 in myself. Unfortunately, not very much of type 1.... lol Yet, I look at my kids, learning and growing. Happy, fighting at this moment, but still good kids. This year wasn't a flop, they learned to read and Levi's understanding basic multiplication already. Yeah!! Sigh.... it was just hard hard hard for me... So, either I need to change, or my style of homeschooling needs to change. Probably both. I bought my curriculum already for this year. I went with more simple books. I'm gonna cut out a few activities, or at least the high stress ones.

I guess in the end. I really really really want to enjoy my kids. I was to look at them and feel all mushy for love with them (which I do), but often the stress kills much of the enjoyment of their childhood. I realized early on in the year (when I was trying to implement my lovely schedule) that yelling at my kids was useless. I found myself doing a lot of yelling though. Time was tight, we had a lot to get done!! But, if I'm yelling at them all the time, they'd probably better off in school, then at home with a stressed mama. So I de-stressed to do that. Can I really teach the kids everything they need without huge amounts of stress? I hope so. I really find they are amazing, fascinating little people. If only I could stop and enjoy it? Hmmm Well, I'm gonna run. We're almost finished the Magician Nephew. Later all.