Saturday, November 9, 2013

Homeschooling Lessons Every Parent Neds to Learn

Perhaps some of you home-educators will find this helpful,
or at least familiar.
Hopefully I'm not the only one who has had a crumby HORRIBLE day with the children!


Having homeschooled for ten years now,
I feel like I have a good grip on what works, what does NOT,
and what it takes to keep everything spinning as it should.

However,
there are bad days.
Sometimes, REALLY BAD days.
Enter, Thursday.

My schedule for that day was such that I would do some bulk baking
early in the morning for orders I had to fill, then start school around 9:00.
But since Lucy saw me puttering in the kitchen, she asked if she could PLEASE
do her schoolwork while I worked.
Now, that sure sounds like a very warm and fuzzy scenario, it does.
But the red flags were flying wildly in my brain, knowing it would NOT be
warm and fuzzy in the least.
And it was not.

Long story short, Lucy needed my help, which I couldn't give her at THAT moment,
and the little honey-bunny refused (REFUSED) to work on anything else that she didn't need
my help with.

And then the drama began.
THE. DRAMA. BEGAN.
Cast of characters,  Lucy and me.

Suffice it to say that I felt all my 20+ years of parenting wisdom being
literally sucked out of my brain, as I stood in disbelief watching this little very human-being 
fall completely apart.
And then, it was my turn.
To fall apart.
No, not an anger-filled rant, coupled with a screaming lecture.
I just cried.
She was crying (SCREAMING, actually), and I was crying.
I tried to explain to her WHY I was so busy baking...and that we WOULD sit
together and do school work LATER.  
(It was only about 8:00 in the morning, for goodness sake!)
She didn't budge.  She was totally out of control mad.
And I felt completely defeated.
And I was.

I let this little person dictate to ME how our morning would go.
And I knew better.

Poor Isaiah, such a little man!
He apologized to me.
Though he owed me no apology, of course.
Little Peace-Maker.

Lucy and I later had a long talk about it all, when we were calmer.


My point is, as homeschoolers (or even non-homeschoolers!), we are ALL going to have rotten days.
But so much can be avoided if the big person stays in charge!

And that's the simple lesson I learned this week.

Clearly I'm a slow learner!




Below is a really great article that I encourage you to read.
So helpful!

Lessons I've Learned in 30 Years of Homeschooling

3 comments:

Chris said...

Don't need to be a home school mama to have those days...just a mama w/ kids and school projects. Enter Miss Perfection and my Saturday schedule...note: project isn't due for another 2-1/2 weeks.

Janet said...

Yep Chinese + girl = DRAMA.....well, all girls. But I can assure you my Chinese ones have much more drama than the American one.
I think we're on year 15 of HS---if I've learned one thing....every child is different!!!!!!!!!!
I'm glad ya'll are so far ahead of schedule, we, are not!

Patti said...

Long time lurker but had to comment on this post. I really really, really, really (did I say really?) needed this today, (and yesterday and tomorrow) post. I have a alost 3 year old and wow, it has taken all my energy to raise my "independant" girlie and it is a very good reminder that the big person stays in charge, even though she is adimant that "she is bigger now"

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