Monday was the first official day of homeschooling.
The reason I’m calling it official is up until now, there was a box of educational goodies sitting on the kitchen table we called the school box and each child picked from it what they wanted. This was going to be our first moments spent in a room I have been busting my patooty to get ready. (makeover post to come)
Monday morning after breakfast we walked into our Creativity Room(Class/Craft Room) for the first time.
I had such a lovely daydream of what this day was going to look like. Me, with my fresh brewed coffee, picking out fabric samples for the girl’s summer skirts. Every once in while I would gaze so proudly at my girls happily painting frame worthy art. As they transitioned from project to project I would be right there beside them to inspire their creativity and guide them to a love of learning.
Once they walked into the classroom, they went a little nutty. Flitting from one thing to another without giving anything time to sink in.
In the first 10 mins this is what took place.
- a few scribbles on a math workbook
- looked at a few flash cards
- barely painted one picture
- glued a few geometric shapes to paper
- maybe 30 seconds of a puzzle
- drew on dry erase boards
- colored an alphabet page
- threw magnets on the floor
I kid you not, they did all this in 10 mins. I know it was the excitement of a new room and new things to do, but it was almost my entire homeschooling plan for the day. Gone, poof, in 10 minutes.
“I’m done. I want to do something else” was repeated constantly from my oldest, my youngest was bellowing like a hyena, all the while pulling everything from the shelves.
Maybe I should just box everything up and put
it back on the kitchen table.
OR
Maybe public school isn’t such a bad idea.
Ok, maybe not.
As parents we get to exchange one dream for a new one, sometimes every single day until we experience that flicker of hope that we are on the right path. Monday was one of those days, but the last 2 have gotten a little better with each day. I expect to have perfect children with incredible focus, mindfulness and overwhelming aptitude by May. It could happen!
What were your first few days of homeschooling like?
I was laughing as I read this because I feel you! Homeschooling is a beautiful thing, but the reality of it is not always so beautiful. It’s okay. This was perfectly normal! If you haven’t read this post, yet, it might put things into perspective for you!http://redheadmom8.wordpress.com/2014/02/01/you-want-the-truth-about-homeschooling/
I had read that post before, but it definitely took on a different meaning this time. I’m glad I gave you a chuckle, but I was not giggling on Monday. Today was a relatively good day and I expect it will get better. My first mistake was not letting them go outside and burn off some energy. That makes a big difference. Thank you for taking a moment to let me know it’s normal.
Oh, yeah! Burning off energy is huge! With my girls, I didn’t have to worry so much. With my son; oh, my! PE is definitely first every day!
You’re welcome. You’ll do a great job!
Things were a bit different for us, but we’ve known we were going to homeschool from birth. So, our children have been receiving instruction, in various forms, since they could sit up. (Nothing long or tough, just basics to get them prepared for sitting still when they were a little older.)
Our “official” start was in first grade and it went off without a hitch. The kids were used to sitting through short lessons in different subjects and I made sure to have a general timeline planned out for each activity. If they got bored before the project was complete, our focus then became patience and seeing a job through to the end. Eight years and four kiddos later, we are still doing all right. We have our days, but it’s pretty smooth going.
It sounds like your littles just need a chance to adapt; they’ll get there soon and then they’ll be wanting to learn more and you will have run out of lesson plans. That’s awesome!
They are young yet so this is really more about getting them accustomed to the idea. Today went much better. We added glue sticks to the mix and that seems to be a fan favorite. So now I get to come up with all kinds of educational things that can be glued. Thanks for stopping by for some Mommy support. Always needed!
Glue is always fun! Enjoy the adventure! 🙂
I’m impressed that they lasted 10 minutes the first day! The hard part for me, is putting together fun projects, without them seeing. They get excited as I pull out fun things (microscope, instruments, art, etc) and then take over. Hard to redirect into the intention of the day. Still. But each day it gets easier. And I see that their wild take over goes further in learning than my pidly intention ever thought of.
Oh, I laughed out loud with that first sentence. Thank you for saying that.
“wild take over goes further in learning than my pidly intention ever thought of” That’s the dream right there!
Thank you for giving me a good laughing snort and for making me feel a little lighter about the subject.
Oh my, I have experienced similar days. Then good days where I think “yeah, I got this!”…followed by more days of disaster…
While I love to make plans, and used to plan down to the minute (literally), I am finally learning to LET GO. It rarely turns out like I picture it in my head. But I know they are learning, and I am learning too…
Having the mindfulness to see the learning that happens outside of “lessons” has made all the difference for me – and keeping a journal where I include formal lesson work as well as the “free learning” moments gives me that sense of accomplishment I so crave.
You will find your groove too!
Thanks for that. I agree, I think I need to keep a journal with pictures and stories so that I can see what all has come and gone. Depending on where we live in the future I may need it anyway. We went to a Nature Preserve today, the way they explored the map and talked about each bird we saw, I realized I really want more of this kind of learning. Then we came home and painted birdhouses for the backyard. It was a bit of a defining moment that class/craft time is fun, but outside exploration is what is going to keep my very “on the go” kinda kids interested in learning. So, yea, let go.
Hi there. This is my first comment here. I’m checking out different homeschooling blogs and I am finding a lot of good ones out there! I have been doing an online public school for the last 6 years and only recently am I starting to consider “doing my own thing.” It used to scare me but now I am realizing how much better this really will be. I liked this post a lot. I’m assuming your kids are little. I have a 9 and 13 year old and when I read your post I laughed too (even though I KNOW you were not laughing at the time) because we do tend to get excited about how things are going to be and the truth is, we have no control over it, especially when we are dealing with little creative minds. Anyway, I am excited to get started. We are starting to ask a lot more questions and I have a feeling that the kids and I will be interacting in a more meaningful way with each other and all of us will be learning more than we ever did with a planned curriculum! I’m excited for you as well and I look forward to reading more!
It’s better than that first day for sure. You are fortunate in that your children already know how to do basic things like….sit down, don’t throw puzzle pieces, don’t lay on the table, don’t eat the crayons.Ya know the basics. Mine are young, 2 and 4. Too young most likely, but my 4 year old asked to go to school and learn Math so that is what she is getting. So from what I understand you will be pulling a 9 and 13 year old out of public school. It’s a good age to do that. A lot of questionable things are coming their way. I imagine you are a bit scared. A fellow blogger told me “if you aren’t scared then you won’t do all the necessary work to make sure they get a good education.” I think she’s absolutely right. That fear really just translates to wanting the best for our children. I’m trying to keep that in mind.
It was actually encouraging to me to read about your first day, because your kids responded about how I’m concerned mine will! 🙂 I have a 3 year old and a 4 year old, and while I know they’re a bit young for real home”school”, we. need. SOMETHING. I’m really hoping to incorporate some lessons and a better daily structure…but right now the vision in my head is one of placid acquiescence, beautiful and peaceful art time, engaged learning time…HAHAHA. I know I need to get a little more realistic with my dreams so I don’t get discouraged when things go crazy.
I’ll be keeping up with your homeschooling journey!
I haven’t given up on that dream, just delayed it for a while. I’ve had about 15-20 minutes of that dream for a few days now. But inevitably someone starts climbing on tables, pulling hair, painting on the walls, throwing magnets etc. Then there is the moment, when the oldest writes her name for the first time and the Earth truly stands still. Because it’s a BIG moment. It’s the moment my kiddo felt the joy of “I CAN”. And I was there, not some stranger, me, her Mom. I truly had no idea how powerful those moments were going to be. I want to be there for all those moments.
We have been homeschooling for almost 5 years. Our first year was like that – haha!! It was trial and error for sure until I found what curriculum worked best for each one of my boys. After that it is easy breezy…for sure, undoubtably the BEST decision we ever made.
You will NEVER regret it!! Have a great day!! Love, L.
You are so sweet! It’s gotten much better since that day. But me oh my, I was not expecting the craziness that came that day. My little ones are young still, so I’m really just getting them used to the idea. The part that has been incredible, is seeing that they have actually learned something in just a few weeks. It lets me know I’m on the right path. A lot of it had to do with glue sticks. Somehow, if a glue stick is involved, they will sit for anything. Thanks again for the support. It was a rough couple of first few days.
There’s something about glue sticks, isn’t there? My “first day” ended in tears within the first fifteen minutes, too. Refreshing to find we’re not alone. Three years later, glue sticks are still very helpful. I really appreciate your blog.
Good to know glue sticks are still going strong. I pick up a pack every time I’m at the store. I do not want to run out! It’s the one thing no matter what, both with sit calmly and do.
Thanks for the support and kind words. It’s gotten better since this post,but it’s definitely nice to know we are not alone.
We are still in the “School Box” sort of stage, but we do have monthly goals set up where they are visible (on the fridge), and daily “themes” for each day of the week, so we always have a different focus. We always go over certain things, like numbers and literacy, but otherwise it is us trying to explore the daily focus. Activity is so super important with my little boy, and if he doesn’t get enough of a work out before we start, we will be often interrupted by spontaneous dancing episodes…. which is pretty fun and good too, as we are also working on music appreciation and dancing in our lessons 🙂
We keep music going all the time. It’s so much fun to watch my girls paint. They dance and choreograph their brush strokes to the music. I have yet to really create any goals. Mine are young and the oldest seems to want to learn so I thought it was a good way to pave the road without demanding they take the journey yet. I’ve been trying to do themes. This week it’s butterflies. What is truly fun is I am learning too. Did you know when Monarchs come out of their chrysalis their body is huge and their wings are tiny? They pump fluid from their body into their wings to enlarge them? I didn’t!
Haha, it will get better with time (but you will still always have these days pop up too). I teach Kindergarten…until June when I become a stay at home Mom 🙂 and I can tell you teachers always have to have more on hand than they possibly think they could finish because some days the children fly, have no interest, catch everything easily.. but don’t worry it will be balanced by the times you had planned to teach something in 30 min. and find yourself adjusting it for six 30 min. lessons because they just don’t get it or better yet they do but they really want to go deeper than you had planned. 😀
You sound like such an excellent teacher. The way you talk about your lesson plans and how you keep yourself open to what, how and when your kiddos learn. That is what I wish all teachers could be and I am finding that so few are. Have you considered homeschooling your kiddos?