I’m coming to terms with the fact I’m not the craftiest of moms, nor am I anywhere near efficient in working with them at home on school-type stuff. Just today I felt like it’d be easier to french braid my own hair with one hand and my eyes closed than it would be to get Hooper to learn the numbers I was trying to teach him. My own mother would equate helping me during my school years to dragging a horse through mud. And, as the saying goes, payback is a bitch.
I’m learning as I go, as we all are. Some of the days that I sit down with Hoop are effortless and dare-I-say enjoyable. Other days, not so much. I feel like I’m at constant odds with myself: do you force a 5 year old to sit down and pay attention to a lesson or do you leave that for their teacher at school and encourage them to play instead? I can argue both sides. Like I said, I’m learning as I go.
Regardless of what the answer is, the other day I had one of those proud moments of motherhood. It was raining out and we were all cooped up in the house when Willy came in from the patio proclaiming that he had caught a lizard (catching lizards is a sport in this family, I swear). Hooper held it, examined it, and said, “hey, it’s a brown skink just like the one in my book”. And so, we got out his reptile book, found the skinks and talked some about what makes a skink a skink and, well, I felt like a winner.
It’s not like that everyday, but when all falls into place – especially on the cabin fever filled rainy days – it feels like you’ve hit the jackpot.
We released the lizard back to it’s home on the patio and watched it wiggle it’s way into it’s succulent oblivion.
Do you take the time to teach your kids at home or do you leave the learning for the school environment? And if you do sit down with them, do you ever want to punch yourself in the face too?
Haha! So I’m not the only one who thinks it’s torture?! There are days with my boys where I feel it’s impossible for me to keep my cool and teach them something. Then they go and do something witty and are in just the right mindset and everything just clicks. I still try though. I just have to give myself constant reminders not to compare one of my boys to the other or to other children, recall that they all learn in different ways and at their own rate and that eventually they’ll get where they need to. But, if they don’t…it certainly won’t be for my lack of trying!
I admit I leave a lot of the teaching up to day care/preschool, but I work full-time, so my situation is a little different. When at home I do try and mix in some learning, but it’s definitely not my priority. I do the teaching when it presents itself, but tend to not sit them down specifically for learning because that often backfires for me.
I tend to do what you do, find teachable moments in the everyday. If my son says, “I want to write a word” we do. There is so little play in schools these days, I say let them play! They learn a great deal more when it is done through play, so play away.
Even as a homeschooling Mom with a 6 year old and 3 year old we don’t sit down at the table for work. We read a lot and explore when the opportunity presents itself. They only have one childhood. I say let them play!
I think you bring up a good point… I always assumed that those who homeschool have some magic ability to put spells on their kids… but learning happens in so many other ways than sitting down, doesn’t it? Thanks for the reminder.