We'll Just Stay Home, Thank You Very Much

Jiminy Christmas.  I cannot believe how much schools have changed since I last attended them.  Here's on news article that caught my eye:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/living/parents-middle-school-bans-balls-recess/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

And another:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=9277392

(The above article is about a school where three teachers work - all three have contracted thyroid cancer). 

The two news articles are different, I know, but they go towards my argument for parents educating their children instead of outsourcing that to school districts. 

In defense of schools and old-time-teaching, I think that there was nothing wrong with dodge ball.  True, I sucked at it and got pelted like crazy.  Still, the excitement shared by the kids playing the game was invigorating like nothing else was.  Now schools are say no to balls?  That is too bad. 
Being a 36 year old adult, I can honestly say that getting smacked in the head with a ball produces no life skills.  But the chasing, laughing, and fear are fun.  Fun is always valid and welcome. 

Taking your kid to a school where there have been cancer outbreaks?  Bad idea. 

So think on it.  Whose job is it to prepare our children for the world?  Whose job is it to keep our children safe?  It is the job of the parents. 

What I Know That They Don't Know...

Time passes by so quickly.  I can still remember when my then one-year-old son used to hand me his sippy could and would say "Bobosina."  I have no idea where the word came from, but knew that it meant that he needed more water in his sippy cup. 

I still remember how he used to climb on my back to take a nap (while I lay belly down on the floor, writing fiction in a composition notebook) back when he was two.  I loved the way his weight felt.

I love the way he climbs into bed with me and his dad every single morning for some talking and some "lovin'".  One day that will stop, too.

But for now, and for the rest of his schooling years, I have him.  I have this wonderful little man who makes me think, makes me laugh, makes me smile, makes me grow and keeps me company every single day.  There is no reason why I should dispatch my happiness-filled boy to a school that will not treasure him like I do. 

Sure, I will have to let him go one day, but what I know that others don't know is that I don't have to do that yet.  I know that this is the best time of my life.  I don't know that other parents know that. 

As Athletic As His Mom

...but unfortunately, not as athletic as his father.  Sigh.  But that is okay.  My husband and I decided that we would much rather that our son have brains than brawn.  And he is very, very, very, smart.  But, to fit in with other kids, he has to learn how to do athletic things.  At the suggestion of a teacher, we started with tossing a ball and catching it.  Sigh. 

 

 

 

Sigh.  Ah well.  At least we have a direction to head towards.   

Smile, Damn It

Part of me wants to apologize for the profane nature of the title of this blog entry.  The other part of me is reminding myself that this is my blog, and I'll say what I want.

However, there is a reason why I chose that title.  Today was picture day at my son's charter homeschool.  I was so excited.  We went out and bought him a special shirt for his pictures; we even were sure to have his hair trimmed two weeks before today so that it could look trim, but not severe.  I even made sure to wipe off all of the yogurt off of his face before the fact.

I thought that I prepared for everything.  I didn't.

My son cannot smile on command.  To do so, I have to get him to say "money" or "cheese."  If I am really desperate, I can call him "guapo" (handsome in Spanish) in a very flirty voice, which usually makes him smile. 

None of that worked today.  It was bad.  The photographer (who didn't have much patience to begin with) couldn't get him to smile either.  So, I paid $30 for really, really bad pictures. 

But who is at fault here?  The cranky photographer?  My non-smiling child (who does smile, but never when requested of him)?  Or me, for expecting too much out of him?

Maybe it's because I'm Catholic, or because I am mom, but the guilt probably lies with me.  We haven't practiced fake smiling (which we should work on.  It is a skill I have mastered.) enough.  But maybe, it is just my fault because I put too much stock into a stupid school picture.

Here's a picture of my kid giving you a fake smile.

How Could You Leave Us?

Okay; maybe the title of this post is a bit dramatic.  But when I got the news, I felt like I was being left. 

Was I being dumped?  No.  A friend of mine decided that homeschooling was not for her, and decided to put her son back into regular school. 

I will be the very first person to jump to her defense.  That friend is a wonderful lady with two handsome, smart, but special needs children.  I really think that schooling her son at home was simply too taxing for her, as she had so many other lifestyle and health tasks to manage with her sons. 

She gave it her best shot, though, which is excellent.  There are probably so many people out there who talk about giving homeschool a shot, but never go through it. 

But I will miss her at co-op meet-ups.  I will miss her happy, boisterous and engaging son.  He was such a good influence on my shyer boy. 

But we all have different paths in life.  Different experiences and changes benefit all of us.  It is simply kind of sad when someone "leaves" our life before we want them to. 

Routine

Having a healthy routine for a homeschooling environment works great for productivity.  Here is our weekly schedule:

5:15 a.m. - The Boy wakes up.  Sigh.  I attribute that to his farmer genes.  After some morning affection, he dashes off to the kitchen to play his morning Angry Birds time. 

5:40 a.m. - Everyone is awake.  The hubs gets ready for work, and I head to the kitchen to get the boy some water and get online to check my book sales (I'm a writer). 

6:00 a.m. - Oatmeal breakfast for me and the boy.  Every single day without fail.  It is the best way for he and I to get the day started. 

6:20 a.m. - He gets his morning Wii time.  During this time, I finish up whatever it is I am doing online and then proceed to dress (and put make up on), make the bed, straighten up the living room before starting the homeschool lesson.

7:00 a.m. - After he is done with his timed Wii time, he gets changed and comes to the kitchen table for the morning's homeschool session. 

9:00 a.m. - We are usually done by the time.  After this, we do chores, get ready to go on play dates, coop meet-ups, or whatever errands we might have.

1:00 p.m. - Additional penmanship, art, or math work occurs. 



The above schedule only occurs between Monday through Friday.  On Saturdays I do zero homeschooling (which my son does not approve of).  However, I will grade whatever voluntary work he does.  On Sunday, I take about an hour and a half to do the homeschool planning for the following week. 

The above is what works for me.  On a personal note, I find that getting dressed and putting makeup on makes me feel more prepared for my roles and my day.  Let's face it - keeping house, tending to kids AND homeschooling them is not one job, but THREE jobs.  We have to do whatever we can to give ourselves a boost for the day.

Making Mistakes, and Why We Should Make More of Them

I think that it is easier for a school-aged child to fail around their teachers than it is to fail before their parents.  If you think about it, they only see that teacher for a short time a day, but they live with us during their nights, weekends, holidays, and over their summers.  They are much more vested in their relationships with us than they are with their teachers. 

So, the homeschooling child will probably react quite negatively to criticism in regards to their work.  I've seen it with my son. 

I  hate seeing my son get so upset with himself.  I try to express that it is okay to be wrong, but what we have to work on is learning from our mistakes.  But I think that he gets hung up on his error and cannot see beyond that. 

But I found a way to let him know that it is okay to make mistakes.  I began to be quite vocal with my mistakes.  For example, during cooking, I sometimes misplace cooking items and utensils.  This is what I would say:

"Whoops.  I accidentally put the salt in the fridge, again.  I got a little confused."  I then would then place the item in the correct place (while my son watched me). 

Here's another kitchen mistake:

"Oh, no.  I spilled the flour on the ground.  My mistake.  I'll just have to be a little more careful next time."   I would then calmly clean up my mess. 


I make mistakes when I write, too.

"That "p"  is a bit too sloppy.  I can do better than that."  I would then calmly erase it before redoing it. 

Sometimes, my mistakes are deliberate.  My son's penmanship is a bit sloppy at times.  While writing, I'll sometimes draw a messy s or g.  "I can do better than that," I would calmly say before correcting my "mistake." 

My son still makes mistakes, but now he'll say things like: "I got confused," or "my mistake," and even "I can do better than that." 

I was told that my behavior was called modeling, and I must say that it works.  So keep that in mind when you watch your homeschooling (and regular schooling) child when he/she makes mistakes.  Make some of your own and be vocal about your correction.  Our little sponges are watching and listening, after all.