I do a lot of deep, introspective thinking in the shower. One time when I said something to the kids about an idea I had in the shower, they thought that was weird. Somebody tell me I'm not the only one to think deep thoughts in the shower. Anyway, back to those thoughts I was thinking yesterday.
I think sometimes we as homeschooling moms are afraid to talk about our shortcomings or the things that worry us about homeschooling, like "am I teaching my kids all they need to know?", "ugh, I'm not very good at teaching science," "oh, man, do I waste a lot of time," that sort of thing. I think the reason we don't want to talk about our inadequacies and fears is because we feel like everyone is watching us, keeping an eye on us and making sure we're living up to whatever expectations people have for our kids' educations. Whether it's neighbors, relatives, people at church, I think we're a bit afraid to open up too much because then people will think we're not doing it good enough.
And so doing a 31-day writing challenge about our not-so-perfect homeschooling family is a little scary for me. The other day I wrote about how late it was getting in the day, and I thought the boys were doing math and Naomi was sleeping on the couch. But the truth is, I know they're learning enough and we always get caught up when they're sick (as Naomi was for two days this week).
After keeping at it as long as I have, I now have the added benefit of knowing that my first two students made it all the way through high school, scored well on the ACT and got into college. And they're doing well in college, too, which can't help but reassure this homeschooling mom.
So that's encouragement to me in the place where I am with the younger kids, to know that they will be okay even if we miss something. I read somewhere recently that we all have holes, including those of us who were educated in the system. It's just how it works. The really cool thing is that we all can read and learn and fill in those holes in our own education as we continue to grow and learn as adults. Education doesn't stop when you earn your diploma or degree. For that I'm really glad. :)
I think sometimes we as homeschooling moms are afraid to talk about our shortcomings or the things that worry us about homeschooling, like "am I teaching my kids all they need to know?", "ugh, I'm not very good at teaching science," "oh, man, do I waste a lot of time," that sort of thing. I think the reason we don't want to talk about our inadequacies and fears is because we feel like everyone is watching us, keeping an eye on us and making sure we're living up to whatever expectations people have for our kids' educations. Whether it's neighbors, relatives, people at church, I think we're a bit afraid to open up too much because then people will think we're not doing it good enough.
And so doing a 31-day writing challenge about our not-so-perfect homeschooling family is a little scary for me. The other day I wrote about how late it was getting in the day, and I thought the boys were doing math and Naomi was sleeping on the couch. But the truth is, I know they're learning enough and we always get caught up when they're sick (as Naomi was for two days this week).
After keeping at it as long as I have, I now have the added benefit of knowing that my first two students made it all the way through high school, scored well on the ACT and got into college. And they're doing well in college, too, which can't help but reassure this homeschooling mom.
So that's encouragement to me in the place where I am with the younger kids, to know that they will be okay even if we miss something. I read somewhere recently that we all have holes, including those of us who were educated in the system. It's just how it works. The really cool thing is that we all can read and learn and fill in those holes in our own education as we continue to grow and learn as adults. Education doesn't stop when you earn your diploma or degree. For that I'm really glad. :)
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