When it all began
When my husband and I first married back in 2009, I was not looking to home school. I myself was raised with a mother who taught in public school, and after my husband and I married, I began working as a sub for teacher’s aids in the classroom. I was constantly around the public-school setting. So, when my husband said, “Hey, I would really like you to home school the kids”, I could not believe it! Those words were never a part of my vocabulary, and I did not even know where to begin.
I’ll tell you truthfully, that I was not excited about the entire ordeal. I was sure that I would be a failure at this, and did I really want to sacrifice my time to do this? This all may sound horrible to many, but we all must be honest with ourselves when it comes to our kids. Many parents I know look forward to their kids getting on the bus and leaving for school. They want their “free time.” This truly does break my heart, but having seven children myself, I can understand.
What about socialization someone asked me. What are you going to do? How will your kids become social? I don’t know! I had no clue! My children, I only had two at the time, were not even school age to register them for home school in Ohio. Socialization was of no concern for me at the time. Not realizing that the three days a week we were at church and the one or two days a week we were at the library, and all the days we were at the store, all counted as socialization, I was lost to the idea. I did not know what to expect on this adventure.
My first steps
Okay, I got this right…. I mean seriously how hard can it be to teach your children to read, write, spell, you know all that good stuff? I started off simple. My son and step daughter were 3 1/2 years old. Yeah 3 1/2! Looking back, I can’t believe I did all this, but I did. I started working with flashcards teaching the kids their numbers and letters and signing songs. I thought it would be a good first step. They had puzzles and games and other things to play and work with, we watched learning videos and played outside often. However, I soon found myself getting upset with my son, who kept messing up on his numbers. Getting 6 and 9 confused, along with a couple of his letters. My daughter new them, why couldn’t my son catch on. Looking back on those days, I could almost cry. I felt myself to be mean, thinking that if I home school, I am going to have to prove myself to everyone that I am not going to ruin my children, and by doing so, I was making things hard on myself, and stressful on my little ones. I may talk about this more in another blog. You see, I did not know enough about kids, how they learn differently, and the whole idea behind homeschooling. I honestly believed that if I taught them, they should know. Boy, I was wrong. I soon learned the hard way, that not everyone learns the same, and that I had to start “learning my children.”
Ears wide open, eyes half shut.
When my son reached the age of 6, I had to officially register him for home school. This was the easy part. I looked through much curriculum, trying to find something I liked, and thought would work for him. I just began with the basic $10 school work books from Wal-Mart, and bought the simple composition books for writing. I also purchased a book called Teach You Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann. I thought all this to be sufficient, and it was, but where I failed at was the implementation. I struggled teaching my son to read, and became yes, angry, when he kept messing up. It made me feel like a failure, and I did not want to continue. But I stuck it out. Soon, I learned that boys learn to read at a much slower rate than girls. Here my son was only 6, and I was expecting him to get everything right away. We can not have that mentality moms! We have to be slow to anger, loving, caring, and nurturing. My son began to hate his reading lessons, and it broke my heart. I have learned to understand that home school comes with many ups and downs. Sometimes your children just might not be ready for something. Do Not EVER compare your children to those in public school. I was seeing other children my sons age reading fluently, yet, my son had trouble. What I did not see was that my son excelled in Math more so than those of his peers. See, I was to busy listening to everyone around me telling me what he should or should not be doing, and what to expect, that I was missing what he was excelling at, and only focusing on the negatives. Even to this day, my son who is now 11 does not like to read, it is just not his strong point. But, he loves Math, and he does it so well!! I have learned to close my ears to the world around me, and open my eyes to the children right in front of me.
Change for the better
We know have 7 children, 4 of which I home school. Home school has really changed my life for the better, and the lives of my children as well. I have learned that I as a mother do know what is best for my children. I know their thoughts and habits, the way they handle emotion, and the way they learn best. Moms and dads, you know your children best! When you find them failing in one subject, don’t loose heart, they might just need to be shown a different way. Home school has provided my children with a sense of self and security. They know that myself and my husband are with them cheering them on, leading the way for them to succeed. They know who they are! They move about with a smile on their face, and a willing heart. My children are strong. Home school has allowed my children to go after the things in life they love the most and excel in them.
This is the great thing about home school. Every child takes time to develop and find who they are. We as parents are here to help them along.
With all this being said, why home school? Because you are giving your child the best opportunities in life!! Because you as their parents know them best! Because you are their strong tower, their support, their everything. They look up to you, they love you, and though you may not think so right now, you can teach them! You can help them! You can do it!
Are you currently questioning homeschooling, let me know! Are you currently homeschooling? If so, what do you find you like most about it?
Thanks for reading
CallawaysCorner 