So this week I am having a blast setting up our classroom. When I was younger I played school all the time. As Beth mentioned I even made my sisters do actual homework!! Now I am doing it for real and OMG I am in heaven! I finally am Ms. Beadle (Little House reference for those who are not hip to the characters, LOL). Earlier this week the girls and I painted the room and yes I actually let them paint which was a tremendous practice in patience. Good news is that I wasn’t expecting perfection and they had a blast doing it. I so wish I had taken a picture b/c we were quite a sight! I have mounted a huge white board and drawn a pretty darn cute butterfly mural on the wall that Molly Scott will be painting (see there’s art class right there!). And I really lucked up at the Dollar Tree where they had all kinds of posters with addition facts, ABC’s, numbers, maps…pretty cool. I am hoping to start some summer review in July so I want this room all ready and we are well on our way. I have a feeling all the prep work will be much easier, and more fun than the school work that will take place in the room!
I ran into yet another person who asked why in the world I was home schooling and since I have pretty much mastered this answer thought I would share with anyone else who might be curious.
This year was our first foray into public school (my girls have all gone to a church school/Mother’s Morning Out) and we just were not bowled over. I grew up in public school and had a great experience but it is a whole different ball game when you are looking at it through your parental eyes vs. just being a student. Suddenly it’s not only about learning but, about who they are socializing with and what they are exposed to and I am here to tell you that it is scary! First grade and she’s hearing how to look sexy for a boy, talking about kissing and flipping her hair and talking like Hannah Montana (this is reason alone to yank her out of school…Miley Cyrus is awful on so many levels I don’t know where to begin!!). Another friend had her Kindergartner come home explaining that Prop 8 said boys could indeed marry boys! Really, in kindergarten??!! Sure some people say you are sheltering them but I think there are some things they should be sheltered from and discussing homosexuality and making out in elementary school is on that list!
Going hand in hand with this idea was our second reason for HS and that was our desire to incorporate our faith with their learning. We didn’t want God to only be on Sundays but for learning about Him to be part of everything they did. I am blown away and so grateful for all the Christian curriculums out there!! (check our My Father’s World, Sonlight, Rod & Staff).
After those two big reasons the rest were much more simple and selfish really...
-no more early school mornings!! Nothing like having to let the cat nuzzle your child awake at 6:30 a.m because you are too scared to approach the bed and get near her wrath.
-no more packing school lunch or forcing her to eat at the nasty cafeteria. Seriously running out of food ideas…by the end of the year I was throwing deli mean in a Ziploc bag and calling it lunch.
-no more fighting over clothes in the morning. Can I get an AMEN for that one! OMG, my child fought be constantly till I finally gave in and then she came downstairs each morning looking like she dressed in the dark while digging clothes out of the dirty clothes basket! This HS will be “pajamas optional”
-I can teach the way I learned it, not this “new” way that makes absolutely no sense at all! Mental math can kiss my butt and we aren’t going to “re-group” we are going to “carry” and “borrow” when we work with double digits in math!
-We can get down to business and get it done by lunchtime, woo hoo! No more busy work and we can go at her own pace however slow or fast it may be.
-Forget the witching hour/evening rush! Really having to do homework, cook dinner and then throw in an extra curricular activity during that time was my idea of hell! What it turned into was screaming matches, frozen dinners and lots of wine for mom just to make it through. Relieved that all school work will be out of the way and the witching hour will be much less witching (though there still might be frozen dinners and wine…).
Everyone who chooses HS has their own reasons and they are all valid. Our main goal is to ensure that our kids learn to the best of their ability and that they learn in a God centered way. So far I am still excited and hopeful that this is the right choice for us, if not then I will eat all these words and we will throw her back in school and pray they don’t judge!
I am headed to a HS conference this weekend and I really a little nervous. I am taking the girls by myself for this 3-day event and with a car ride and sharing a hotel room I may totally blow the façade that I have it all together and have the patience to teach my children! It may come across that I don’t even like them or want to be with them if they don’t let me get my sleep!! I feel like I am going to get there and immediately I will appear not to belong. The conference is in Beaufort, SC so of course I am scheduling in beach time. Wondering how a two-piece will go over?? See I still have my pre-conceived notions about HS mom’s and I just need to stop. I am going to walk in with my sassy short hair amongst the long hair and buns and be confident and proud…I can do this, right?? Until next time…
Other posts by (or about) Adrienne...
