Just trying to get some pics on here...
I'll have to do more later.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Bits of Paradise
I started home schooling my children this fall. It has been an adventure and has forced me to improve my mothering skills and face some of my less than admirable facets of my personality. Spending the majority of each day surrounded by my children is like having six mirrors running around (or crawling, as the case may be) my home showing me my every weakness and flaw, showing me the stuff I'm truly made of.
I've learned that it's not all about me, though. I've come to appreciate more of my children's talents, interests and capabilities. I think I've sadly underestimated what they can learn. For instance, I've taught my six year old to do his own laundry. It hadn't occurred to me he was capable of such a thing until I conversed with a friend who suggested it. He also can make grilled cheese sandwiches for himself and his siblings. I discovered that he loves to learn poems and the opportunity to recite them for others. After observing his older sister learn to ride a bike without training wheels, he decided he wanted to do it, too. So he took off the training wheels of his little sister's bike and taught himself to ride it.
My eight year old is well on her way to being a capable cook. She can make and serve a meal for the whole family. She can memorize and recite poetry faster than I can teach it to her. She seems to know intuitively how to calm her baby brother. Her creativity in art knows no bounds.
My four year old has learned to recite various tenets of our faith. She also loves to learn to read and do math drills. She hasn't yet learned that she really should wear panties, especially under her dresses. She ties with her six year old brother as most like "Curious George". She has some sort of obsession with food and has come up with ingenious ways to get to the foods she most likes, no matter how I try and hide it or remove it from reach.
My two year old has learned all of the letters fo the alphabet and their sounds and likes to quiz his brothers and sisters and me to make sure we know them, too. He also likes to tell knock knock jokes, but is still working on which parts he's supposed to say and which parts the other person should say.
My eleven year old gobbles up anything computer related, playing games, programming games, etc. He loves to joke around with me. When I'm in a bad mood, he seems to know exactly how to organize his siblings to make things better, or when he's feeling a bit contrary, he know which buttons to push to try my patience. He's taken to riding my bike, since I guess his is inadequate for the purpose.
All in all it is satisfying to be the one to witness my children's education, to learn with them and see the world through the eyes of a child again. No more stress about homework deadlines and what untoward thing the school has decided my children should know. No more living with this sense that their education is somehow lacking, but not knowing exactly how or in what way. No more trying to fit myself into the mould of education for the masses. Finally, the merging of my ideas of how my children should be educated with reality and making it happen on a personal and individual level.
I've learned that it's not all about me, though. I've come to appreciate more of my children's talents, interests and capabilities. I think I've sadly underestimated what they can learn. For instance, I've taught my six year old to do his own laundry. It hadn't occurred to me he was capable of such a thing until I conversed with a friend who suggested it. He also can make grilled cheese sandwiches for himself and his siblings. I discovered that he loves to learn poems and the opportunity to recite them for others. After observing his older sister learn to ride a bike without training wheels, he decided he wanted to do it, too. So he took off the training wheels of his little sister's bike and taught himself to ride it.
My eight year old is well on her way to being a capable cook. She can make and serve a meal for the whole family. She can memorize and recite poetry faster than I can teach it to her. She seems to know intuitively how to calm her baby brother. Her creativity in art knows no bounds.
My four year old has learned to recite various tenets of our faith. She also loves to learn to read and do math drills. She hasn't yet learned that she really should wear panties, especially under her dresses. She ties with her six year old brother as most like "Curious George". She has some sort of obsession with food and has come up with ingenious ways to get to the foods she most likes, no matter how I try and hide it or remove it from reach.
My two year old has learned all of the letters fo the alphabet and their sounds and likes to quiz his brothers and sisters and me to make sure we know them, too. He also likes to tell knock knock jokes, but is still working on which parts he's supposed to say and which parts the other person should say.
My eleven year old gobbles up anything computer related, playing games, programming games, etc. He loves to joke around with me. When I'm in a bad mood, he seems to know exactly how to organize his siblings to make things better, or when he's feeling a bit contrary, he know which buttons to push to try my patience. He's taken to riding my bike, since I guess his is inadequate for the purpose.
All in all it is satisfying to be the one to witness my children's education, to learn with them and see the world through the eyes of a child again. No more stress about homework deadlines and what untoward thing the school has decided my children should know. No more living with this sense that their education is somehow lacking, but not knowing exactly how or in what way. No more trying to fit myself into the mould of education for the masses. Finally, the merging of my ideas of how my children should be educated with reality and making it happen on a personal and individual level.
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