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Sep. 3, 2008
School is in and I am on my knees.
Vacation is over, the kids have been taken to Grandma's and retrieved, camp is over as is the scout trip to the Florida Keys. Shared school books are on the shelves and the student books are stowed in their users tote. Schedules and lesson plans are printed, ready to have something spilled on them. Today is the first day of school here at our home. Ger is beginning high school (OK, so when did I get that old!!!), Mic is in 7th grade, and Ed in in 2nd (that's more like it!). After all morning hygiene issues are taken care of, we will begin our day with a breakfast of pancakes and sausage. I will spend an hour getting the older boys started, then they will move to their work areas to work somewhat independently. Next it will be table time with the youngest until it is time to start lunch. We will all eat lunch together, and then the Ed will pick out a DVD to watch while he has his rest time. After the boys wash the lunch dishes, I will work with Mic on a Life Skills lesson and Ger will move on to some of his lessons on the computer. After Life Skills, I will give Mic the headphones and send him to practice the piano (it's electric) and I will spend an hour with Ger working on whatever he may need help with that day. Then he will begin his piano practice while I work for an hour with Mic. By then Ed will be ready to finish up with the last bit of his school and the older boys will be able to turn in what they've completed for me to go over and/or grade. After a snack it will be time for afternoon chores then the boys will have productive free time until it is time to get ready for dinner. After dinner they will do their evening chores, unless they have scouts or sports then chores will be done as soon as they get home. I will spend the quite evening grading papers, sewing or crafting, spending time with my husband and of course to updating my blog to tell the world about our amazing day in homeschool and the wonderful things my children learned.
So are you laughing yet? I hope so! That's the way my on-paper schedule looks right now. But anyone who knows us knows that the day is NOT likely to happen that way. Is that the way anyone's day goes?
Time for a reality check. Schedules are great on paper, but in reality they only rarely reflect the way our day will go. Every morning I ask God to show me what he wants me to do for the day, what His plans for my day are. Unfortunately the Lords plans don't usually match my schedule. Maybe I should say fortunately His plans don't match my schedule, I like structure and routine. They are sort of like my safety net, but I need Him to be my safety net. And when my day doesn't go the way I think it should, I lean on Him to get me through. That's the way it should be! Homeschooling has driven me to my knees on many occasions, what to do about the squabbles, what to do to help X child learn Z subject, how to accomplish my homemaking duties AND teach at the same time, what on earth are we having for dinner tonight (usually because I got busy and forgot to defrost something) and frequently for reassurance that He really called me to do this. I need to know that underneath all the bickering, complaining and shouting the boys are learning. Not only that, but they are learning whatever they need for the future He has planned for them. Oh yea, I really, really need to know that they are learning what God knows they need to because most of the time I'm not sure that they are learning what I think they need. So I am on my knees asking God for peace, for reassurance that He is in control and for my school to be pleasing to Him. And THAT is what it's all about!
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