"Ahh ... this is the way it's supposed to be!" moments
1. Seeing my children eagerly reading to themselves.
2. Science diagrams voluntarily made and hanging on my kitchen wall.
3. A new reader reading to her little brothers.
4. "I'm so glad we homeschool, Mom."
5. "Thanks for homeschooling us, Mom."
6. Five children gathered at the kitchen tables, absorbed in art projects.
7. Overhearing my children acting out the book I just read to them.
8. "This is my favorite book!"
9. Extra children gathering as I read to one or two for their unit study.
10. Six kids snuggled happily on the couch while Mom reads aloud.
11. "Can we do spelling, Mom? I love spelling!"
12. Older siblings helping younger siblings.
13. Children writing books together.
14. Children voluntarily listening to books on tape in their bedrooms.
15. Chores that get done quickly, cheerfully, without reminding.
16. "Mom, we need another baby."
17. Siblings loving on each other.
18. "Daddy, Daddy! Look what we did!"
19. "Can you read this to me?"
20. "Can we go to the library?"
21. "Yeah! We're learning about the knights (or samurai, or Egypt) next!"
22. "Look, we got new school books in the mail!"
23. "Mom, is my chart for the week ready yet?"
24. "Cool! We've got worksheets this week!"
25. Hugs from my children in the middle of the day.
"Hey! This isn't the way it's supposed to be!" moments
1. Leaving the library with more videos than books.
2. Children fighting over who gets to pick the THIRD movie of the day.
3. "I hate school!"'
4. Six kids pushing and shoving and saying "I can't see" while I try to read aloud.
5. "I hate math!"
6. "I don't wanna ..."
7. "I can't!"
8. "This book is boring."
9. Fighting and bickering of any kind.
10. Chores dragged out for hours amid great whining and bickering.
11. "I don't want to touch that ... it's his." 12. "Just be glad you homeschool! If you went to public school, you'd have already been doing seatwork for 2 hours. So quit complaining and get busy!"
13. "Are we done yet?"
14. Children sneaking off to play every time I turn my back.
15. Siblings teasing each other about their weak areas in school.
At least I can think of more "Aah" moments than "Hey!" moments.
Thank you for the tips! I really appreciate your advice on the making math meaningful. My daughter (7) has made it through the first book of the saxon 2nd grade, and a quarter through the second book before she had her burn out. I was thinking about just having her do plain addition worksheets for a while, and then introduce the workbooks back in. I definatly don't want to buy a curriculum that will only make our math experience worse. I am so glad that I was able to get your advice before I went and bought the MMM books. I almost did yesterday! You have given me a new outlook. I sooo appreciate it!
I have heard alot of good reviews about teaching textbooks. But they are for the older grades right? My oldest isn't quite old enough for the teaching text books yet. I will just continue with what I have, and press on!
Welcome to ElCloud Homeschool blog. My name is April, and I'm married to my best friend, Steve. We have 7 active, creative children ages 14, 12, 10, 8, 5, 3, and 1. This blog is where I share about our Christian faith, our family life, our homeschool, and my reviews of curriculum and books. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is our goal for our family and our homeschool.
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Jun. 8, 2007 - Thank you!!!
I have heard alot of good reviews about teaching textbooks. But they are for the older grades right? My oldest isn't quite old enough for the teaching text books yet. I will just continue with what I have, and press on!
God bless!
Ali
Edited by Aligirl on Jun. 8, 2007 at 10:33 AM