In this weeks lesson we learn that there is theory, and then there is application. Goes a little something like this: in my homeschooling dreams we are done with academics by 10:00am and the children are clammoring to get into the car and go on one of our learning adventures. Perhaps we will serve meals at a local soup kitchen, or walk dogs at the local animal shelter. Or visit Arrostook County and take the potato from ground, to market ready. Or learn French and Dutch and ASL and HTML. And tour the Sappi Paper Mill. And dig for gems. And and and. There are still only 24 hours in a day, and all of this takes major orchestrating and organizing and coordinating. I understand in a new way what a monumental task it must be for a public school teacher to take her 20+ kids on a field trip. Its such an about face from what I THOUGHT my problem would be when we jumped off the cliff and started homeschooling. I didnt know what I would do with these children ALL Day long, I thought I would have to invent everything from scratch, everyday. Not so. There are other parents creating opportunities all over this great state. Ive gone from thinking scarcity, to realizing we simply cant do it all!! Well at least right now, or all at once. This is a marathon and though Ive never run one, unless you count my sprint to the mailbox, I know someone training for one, and I bake for another one. Its a pretty good deal, and Im not sure when shes going to catch on, thats she got the short end of the stick. She does our running, and I do our baking ;) ok, now seriously, this is a marathon, we are in it to win it, and the proof will be in the pudding so to speak, otherwise known as: my boys. Ya, NO PRESSURE!!! Theres also reality, even when the plans are cohesive, life has a tendency to well, happen. I caught a cold that laid me up for a couple days, which threw our plans out the window. Yet, this is not unlike kids in public school. They miss a few days of school due to being sick. So I gave myself a break. Reminded myself that the boys are above grade level anyway, so I really cant screw it up in 2.5 seconds. We get sick, the husband travels, I make those our field trip heavy weeks to make the time pass faster. In fact, We are in the planning stages of a trip to Salem Massachusetts. How timely is that? Sometimes homeschooling feels like cheating. Perhaps Im just living out my own learning fantasies? But Im pretty sure my kids arent complaining, and are reaping the rewards.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 13:42:03 +0000