The Truth About Homeschool
The Truth About Homeschool is a candid look into our experience as a homeschooling family.
We are getting a piano. Sounds nice right? WELP, I thought so too. I mean it’s not that I am not thrilled to hear the piano played in our house or have this beautiful piece of furniture in our living room.
What’s not been fun is the struggle to move it from one place to the next. It’s for my daughter, Paris. I didn’t anticipate or factor in the cost to haul it over, the difficulty of finding one in decent condition or the tuning needed once moved. My dreams of singing Christmas carols with the family wearing a terrible sweater were quickly squashed as the “no we don’t haul pianos” were uttered on the other end of the phone over and over
Wouldn’t you know it, just as I start to think it’s a bad idea? She appears at the doorway at that very moment of doubt to inquire about its whereabouts. UGH. It’s like the kid knows I am about to throw in the towel on this one. How do they do that?
Perserverance
Sure enough I have persevered and the piano should be here at our doorstep this upcoming Saturday. She couldn’t be more excited and so I am happy to spend the small fortune to get it here. This idea clicked in my mind just days ago. As we were doing our usual schoolwork at the kitchen table.
I looked over and thought, wouldn’t that be nice to add music lessons to this? And just like that, it was happening. Calls were made, my phone warm in my hand from the obsessive scrolling, coffee in the other.
You see, I am full of big ideas and they do not stay in my mind for long. When I say something, you can be sure it will be done or I will be dead from trying to do them. That’s just who I am. I have accepted it even when they turn out to be failures. Some people say things, some people do things, and the world goes round and round.
Homeschool was one of these ideas.
I often wonder how stuff falls so well together in life as they tend to do. How did I get here, at the kitchen table daily with my daughter? Some days are better than others. There’s frustration on both parts, tears on off days from my teenage hormonal girl, and my want to give up in hard moments. But the beauty of it has far outweighed the difficulty.
Unanticipated Benefits
I have for the first time been able to see her struggle with her learning disability up close and personal. To understand that she NEEDS that break between lessons. I know when she’s at her max for the day, her learning capacity is reached. In our house, our mental health and self-esteem are far more important than any lesson I have to teach.
My daughter is a hard worker. She tries her very best and sometimes I need to remind her that it’s ok to fail. We are here to learn, not know all the answers .After all, what would be the point?
Homeschool is a place for minds to bloom on their own time and not in a classroom. In other words, I am witnessing my child fully understand a topic before we decide it is time to move on. As the teacher, I get to decide when she is ready. There is a tremendous gain in that for our children. Especially if your child has a learning disability and has felt left behind in complete confusion on topics as mine has too many times in public school.
There is more than the general educational aspect of learning that has taken place. Simply put, we are learning this together and we are in this for the long haul. There are times when I am not completely understanding the lesson myself, and I feel frustrated. Those big dark eyes miss nothing. They see every bit of me and how I work through those moments. I realize this is a lesson in itself. The day-to-day tasks, the way we choose to start the day, and everything in between.
Reality
The truth about homeschooling is that it is not intended for everyone. It can be brutal, thankless, and one of the most irritating parts of the morning when things don’t go as planned. They often don’t go as planned. We are human and not every day do we fill up to the tasks laid before us. But we do our best for how we feel that day and I believe that’s all that is necessary for life.
At the end of most days, my brain is mush. I go to bed TIRED and sometimes if I am honest, a little defeated. But I am oh so grateful. Grateful for the fact that I GET to do this. In past jobs, I wasn’t able to but working for myself affords me this luxury I don’t take lightly. The real truth about homeschooling is that it is HARD but it is worth it.
Our kitchen table gets USED. It’s cleared many times a day for lessens and it’s here we have all our meals, together. We have always been a close pair her and me. But I believe this homeschooling thing is bonding us even more so. To watch someone learn, struggle, try, fail, seeing them finally GET IT.
Victory…
As Saturday draws near and our school week comes to an end, I am getting the space ready for the piano’s new home. Smack dab in the middle of our living room for all its glory to show and to be heard.
With any luck, it will arrive unscathed and on time bringing with it, a brand new set of challenges that await us. I am ready for them, however messy it may be to add this to our schedule. The hours allotted to such a challenge will be rewarded with time.
For now, it’s a place in our day. A time on our schedule that will fill the house with the sound of uncertain keys being struck repetitively. Until one day, a tune will be recognized and the blooming of a new skill will take place once more in our little homeschool.
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