Getting Schooled

I haven't written much lately--mostly because I'm finding out how arrogant I was to believe I could keep a house, raise two kids, home school one of them, hold down extensive church responsibilities, and return to work part-time--but I think I have a few minutes today to talk about a few of the things I've been learning.

~It's funny how life slaps you around a little when you think you know things. I used to think home schooling families were weird religious zealots, all dressed in skirts and long braids and otherwise ignorant about the real world.

I couldn't have been farther from the truth. These kids are smart, fun, and educated (and dressed just like my boy is, as if that matters). Some of their parents made religion at least part of the reason they home schooled, but many just genuinely feel this is a better option for their little ones. To each their own.

~Home schooling, done correctly, is not easy. For me, the shock is sort of like knowing you'll be fat after having a baby and then finally seeing how many pounds you've gained when you put your pre-pregnancy clothes back on for the first time. I end nearly every day tired from everything we've learned.

~For us, life has actually been more peaceful. I love that we aren't rushing in the morning. When we're ahead on the hours we need to put in, it's no problem to take a day off and head out for a field trip. If we're sick? No problem. I'm the administration around here, baby.

~I love too, that Jackson can pursue his interests, as long as they're the right ones. I definitely don't fall into the camp of parents who think children should be in charge of their own learning. If I say we need to read, we will be reading today. Jackson can pick when we do it, but he knows that by the end of the day, his reading will have happened. If he wants to learn about space and I have a space unit planned later for science, that's another story. We rearrange schedules when he's asked for something I already anticipated doing. If he feels ready to learn it, I figure that will be the best time to teach him.

(After all, this isn't entirely a dictatorship.)

~Mostly, I've learned that it's okay to do what you think is right. Sometimes, that means going with the masses, and other times, it means trying something a little less mainstream. As long as we're working hard, I figure we'll be alright.