We've been at this homeschool thing for over a month now and we are starting to find an equilibrium. The first week was difficult because we had no warning that it was coming and my husband and I had previously scheduled work responsibilities that could not all be shifted (note: this all went down so as to coincide with the first week of spring semester at our university). So logistically the first couple of weeks were tricky, but we love a new project and we had energy and enthusiasm as we flew by the seat of our pants.
Now, several weeks in, we have our good days and our bad days. On the good days I appreciate that scheduling is easier than it used to be because we've divided up the week. There are set days when I am home with Will and set days when my husband is home. I know to schedule work meetings on my non-home days when I can. (When I can't, I bring Will to campus with me and so far that's worked out.) I appreciate that we have established a number of interesting, longish-term projects in various subject areas. We have purchased access to an online math curriculum. Our goal remains to make sure that he will be well prepared to start public middle school next year, but it is hard to know exactly what we should be covering. Still, I'm confident that the quality of work we're doing with him is far superior to what he would be doing at his former school. He is getting the type of feedback and attention that he needs to learn effectively. I'm not saying it is going all smoothly, but we're getting closer to establishing a rhythm.
On the bad days I feel empty and aimless. I resent having to be in charge of so much. I'm in charge of the kids when they're not in school and now I'm in charge of school too. It is a lot of pressure. What makes it worse is that on my "home" days I constantly feel the need to check in with work and prove I'm earning my paycheck. I would have preferred to take a leave of absence for the semester, but for a number of reasons that would not work this spring. So I focus on being grateful that I have a job that allows this level of flexibility.
On the bad days Will is distracted and depressed. He looks to me for guidance while I get increasingly angry that he won't stop petting the cat, or fussing with his breakfast, or playing with his cell phone. We finish breakfast, put the cell phone away, but there's always the cat! He doesn't know what he wants to work on so I choose. He doesn't like the math software, but we do it anyway. He does math all in his head. He doesn't like to write out his solutions or consider critically his problem-solving methods. This problem will grow more significant as the math he wants to do gets more sophisicated. I need a new way to drill problem solving, just like I need a new way to drill math facts. On the other hand, he loves algebra and has an innate understanding of thinking in equations. Unfortunately, his formal skills in crafting and communicating equations are poor (note his above-referenced refusal to write as he works) and this will slow him down.
But none of this is a big deal and it is short term. The important thing is that he doesn't cry in the mornings anymore, and the chronic headaches from last fall are gone. And he knows he has a family that loves him and will stick with him no matter what. We're already made improvements in math since I started this post a few days ago. We're in the middle of some good days. I hope they outnumber the bad days as we move forward.
Now, several weeks in, we have our good days and our bad days. On the good days I appreciate that scheduling is easier than it used to be because we've divided up the week. There are set days when I am home with Will and set days when my husband is home. I know to schedule work meetings on my non-home days when I can. (When I can't, I bring Will to campus with me and so far that's worked out.) I appreciate that we have established a number of interesting, longish-term projects in various subject areas. We have purchased access to an online math curriculum. Our goal remains to make sure that he will be well prepared to start public middle school next year, but it is hard to know exactly what we should be covering. Still, I'm confident that the quality of work we're doing with him is far superior to what he would be doing at his former school. He is getting the type of feedback and attention that he needs to learn effectively. I'm not saying it is going all smoothly, but we're getting closer to establishing a rhythm.
On the bad days I feel empty and aimless. I resent having to be in charge of so much. I'm in charge of the kids when they're not in school and now I'm in charge of school too. It is a lot of pressure. What makes it worse is that on my "home" days I constantly feel the need to check in with work and prove I'm earning my paycheck. I would have preferred to take a leave of absence for the semester, but for a number of reasons that would not work this spring. So I focus on being grateful that I have a job that allows this level of flexibility.
On the bad days Will is distracted and depressed. He looks to me for guidance while I get increasingly angry that he won't stop petting the cat, or fussing with his breakfast, or playing with his cell phone. We finish breakfast, put the cell phone away, but there's always the cat! He doesn't know what he wants to work on so I choose. He doesn't like the math software, but we do it anyway. He does math all in his head. He doesn't like to write out his solutions or consider critically his problem-solving methods. This problem will grow more significant as the math he wants to do gets more sophisicated. I need a new way to drill problem solving, just like I need a new way to drill math facts. On the other hand, he loves algebra and has an innate understanding of thinking in equations. Unfortunately, his formal skills in crafting and communicating equations are poor (note his above-referenced refusal to write as he works) and this will slow him down.
But none of this is a big deal and it is short term. The important thing is that he doesn't cry in the mornings anymore, and the chronic headaches from last fall are gone. And he knows he has a family that loves him and will stick with him no matter what. We're already made improvements in math since I started this post a few days ago. We're in the middle of some good days. I hope they outnumber the bad days as we move forward.
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