Beginnings...

Yesterday was the worst day of school ever!  It was only our second day, and all of my high hopes came crashing down around me.

I had hoped the kids could pick up where they left off last year, that very little was forgotten over the summer... And they did--attitude wise.  Within moments of pulling out the school books there was fussing and crying, bickering and fighting.

At first, I tried to remain calm, thinking that if my attitude was correct, theirs would follow.  But after an hour or two, I lost it.  Broke down crying.  I was at a total loss and didn't know what else to do.  This got the kids attention, and my oldest came crying to apologize.  The others looked on, a bit lost themselves, at my outburst.

When my husband came home, I told him how the day had gone, and he said the words I had been dreading.  "Maybe public school would be better for them, even for a short while."

I know he may be right.  I was thinking the same thing all day.  The way my children are behaving is one of the things I greatly dislike about homeschooling:  Because Mom is the teacher, it is 'okay' to pout, whine and fuss whenever you are told to do something you don't want to do.  There is none of the peer pressure to conform or hold up emotionally.  They don't like something?  They throw a fit.

I know my children are not alone in this.  It is one of the inherent problems of homeschooling.

So, what to do?  I prayed, and talked to each of my children individually.  We talked about attitude, and how it controls the way one views life.  How the most fun things can be boring, if one is bent on complaining, and how trying times can be fun, if one faces them with a good attitude.

Consequently, today was much better!  The kids are loving Animal Farm and are filled with questions as to the why of things.

• Why are the pigs taking the best things for themselves?
• What happened to the puppies?
• What does this have to do with government?

When it came time for book learning, they started to pout, but then remembered our talks and forced smiles.  The little ones, who have never been in school before, couldn't wait to have their first reading lesson (which they had been denied yesterday), so I had Mr.Muscles teach Goose how to divide while iBoy worked independently and I taught them.

Cuggles and BakerBoy

They were so excited to learn that after tackling the letter A we went on to learn the letter T.  Cuggles was a bit overwhelmed at that point, but refused to quit.  Meanwhile, BakerBoy was begging for more, which he got, in the form of workbooks!

Thank God for a better day!!!  
To go forward as we had been or to send them to public school--both choices just felt wrong.*

I am praying for an equally good day tomorrow, and the next day and the next... for the rest of the year.



*This is not intended as a put-down towards public education.  The public schools in my area are excellent, with many wonderful teachers.