Thursday, September 23, 2010

Homeschooling Is So Much FUN!





Homeschooling is so much fun! It is the easiest thing that I have ever done in my entire life. Everyday, we wake up and follow our schedule and everything goes exactly according to plan! It’s Wonderful! Once we come up with lessons plans (which are a piece of cake), the hard part is done and the fun begins. Mali loves being homeschooled!

SIKE!!!! LOL!

Now that I have your attention, let me give you the real low down on homeschooling!

Let me start off by saying that I really am enjoying the experience of homeschooling my daughter. I am so glad that God has given me this opportunity and I wish I could have started homeschooling both of my children earlier in their educational careers. It has been by far very rewarding and I think that both Mali and I are already starting to reap the benefits.

With that being said, I have gained a lot of respect for educators and veteran homeschoolers because doing this and doing it correctly can be a lot of work. Since we have started this process, I have to be totally honest and tell you that I have had to do a lot of modifications to the program. Yes indeed! Almost on a daily basis, I am having to admit to myself and to Mali that the direction I was going was not the right one and take a new approach.

I had all of these grand ideas of all I wanted to accomplish within the day, over a week’s time and by the end of a marking period. Day One was great! I was following the schedule down to the minute and kept loading Mali up with all of this great information that she needed to learn, worksheets that had to be completed and a calendar of the many activities she would be participating in. Day One could be marked off as a Success....1 down and 179 more to go!

Day Two...After our morning devotional and before class, I asked Mali what did she think about homeschooling after her first day. Her response was “Well, I like it and it will probably be okay—but—why does it have to be sooooooo much? I have never done so much work in my life! I thought homeschooling would be more fun than this. I don’t even get a break!”

Whoa...her statement hit me like a brick! Homeschool was supposed to be fun. It was one of the things that I promised her we would work towards when I presented the option to her. And to be honest, it WAS a lot of work and day 1 only consisted of Math and Language Arts. She was right! And I had to repent. I promised her that I would review the workload and try to come up with better lesson plans. I even got her input on how she would like her day to go.

Over the first couple of weeks, there were several more moments like these. For example — I was told that my Science class was the most boring class she ever took! Science is my all time favorite class and I want my children to love it as much as I do. Okay—not a problem—time to change direction again. Science is now a little more fun and interactive thanks to some of Mali’s suggestions.

My point is...I am quickly learning that this is not a perfect process. There have been and probably will continue to be lots of bumps in the road, detours and roadblocks as we move forward in our school year. But what will make the journey a little easier is my willingness to realize that I am human, will make mistakes and be able to make the necessary changes and keep it moving. Fortunately, Mali has been very forgiving of my mess ups so far....and realizes that this is a learning experience for both of us and for the most part, really seems to be enjoying being schooled at home with Mom.

Thank goodness perfection isn’t a requirement for homeschooling!

SN: My homeschool experience almost parallels how my walk with God has been since I became a Christian. While striving to be the perfect Christian girl, I spend a lot of time repenting for actions that don’t necessarily line up with the will of God. Fortunately, perfection isn’t a necessary requirement for our salvation either! God is so full of mercy and forgiveness and He allows for us to make mistakes, repent and keep it moving down the right path! Thank you Lord!


Until the next time,
Sasha

I will be back very soon with another "Single Homeschool Mom" blog, hope to see you then!


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