So far, so good
I guess the fact that my "Day 1" post was a month ago is an indicator of how we're doing so far.
We're busy.
But then, again, we're not that busy. We're not nearly as busy as we used to be. We're not rushing to get out the door in the morning, rushing to get home and do homework before an evening activity, rushing to get into bed on time because tomorrow's a school day. I'm not running from drop-off to drop-off or pick-up to pick-up, racing to get to a volunteer commitment or a school party.
Maybe the word isn't "busy." Maybe the word is "together." We're just together. All the time.
I get one, three-hour window a week completely to myself while the girls are at P.E. This is the first time I'm getting to take advantage of it and I've been practically paralyzed by my array of options. Should I exercise/cleanthehouse/dolaundry/write/read/dobiblestudy/practicepiano? Should I shop/planmeals/cutcoupons/getcoffee?
So far, I've found that my challenges as a home school mom aren't what I expected. I came in prepared for battle - expecting to butt heads with my strong-willed one and to be pulling teeth from my laid back one, but we've had no relational problems thus far. Zero. Instead, I've found that the question isn't "will my kids be disciplined enough?" or "will my kids be social enough?" but "Will I?"
Reading, Writing, Bible and Math are filling up the mornings nicely. We're also getting in daily piano practice and plenty of PE. (We start as many days as we can with a visit to the park - add soccer, dance and free play to that and we've got that requirement covered.) I'm finding that history, science, Spanish, etc - basically anything that would come after lunch - is where my lack of discipline as a teacher is evident. Because really, who wants to do anything after lunch, besides nap?
The bigger issue, most of the time, is my lack of discipline as a productive individual. I am going to have to be intensely deliberate about my use of free time in order to maintain or develop any sense of identity other than "homeschool mom." I am going to have to make dates. Call (not text) friends. Make (and accomplish) exercise goals. Enforce quiet times. Set up "office hours."
We have a lot to learn, but my answer to the "how's it going?" question remains: so far, so good!
We're busy.
But then, again, we're not that busy. We're not nearly as busy as we used to be. We're not rushing to get out the door in the morning, rushing to get home and do homework before an evening activity, rushing to get into bed on time because tomorrow's a school day. I'm not running from drop-off to drop-off or pick-up to pick-up, racing to get to a volunteer commitment or a school party.
Maybe the word isn't "busy." Maybe the word is "together." We're just together. All the time.
I get one, three-hour window a week completely to myself while the girls are at P.E. This is the first time I'm getting to take advantage of it and I've been practically paralyzed by my array of options. Should I exercise/cleanthehouse/dolaundry/write/read/dobiblestudy/practicepiano? Should I shop/planmeals/cutcoupons/getcoffee?
So far, I've found that my challenges as a home school mom aren't what I expected. I came in prepared for battle - expecting to butt heads with my strong-willed one and to be pulling teeth from my laid back one, but we've had no relational problems thus far. Zero. Instead, I've found that the question isn't "will my kids be disciplined enough?" or "will my kids be social enough?" but "Will I?"
Reading, Writing, Bible and Math are filling up the mornings nicely. We're also getting in daily piano practice and plenty of PE. (We start as many days as we can with a visit to the park - add soccer, dance and free play to that and we've got that requirement covered.) I'm finding that history, science, Spanish, etc - basically anything that would come after lunch - is where my lack of discipline as a teacher is evident. Because really, who wants to do anything after lunch, besides nap?
The bigger issue, most of the time, is my lack of discipline as a productive individual. I am going to have to be intensely deliberate about my use of free time in order to maintain or develop any sense of identity other than "homeschool mom." I am going to have to make dates. Call (not text) friends. Make (and accomplish) exercise goals. Enforce quiet times. Set up "office hours."
We have a lot to learn, but my answer to the "how's it going?" question remains: so far, so good!
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