Sometimes, after you're both sound asleep for the night, I sit down & wonder if I'm really a good parent.
Sometimes I yell too much.
Sometimes I get frusterated over meaningless things.
Sometimes I get aggravated over the little stuff.
Sometimes I expect too much out of you guys, forgetting that you're only 6 & 1.
Sometimes I get blinded by the craziness of life in general & forget to slow down & enjoy all of the goodness you both bring into my life.
But not tonight.
Tonight, as you're both sleeping peacefully, I'm sitting here thinking to myself "I must be doing something right".
I'm thinking about how we had our dinner at the park tonight. "The Big Park" as Kyle calls it - the one in Barrington that has tons of fun stuff for kids of all ages.
As soon as we walked into the park you, my handsome Kyle, walked up to a group of children & said "Hi, My name is Kyle! What's your name?" Within minutes you had made fast friends with just about all of the kids. You're such a personable, friendly child!
And my beautiful Isabella...you showed me a different side of yourself - you climbed up steps! You climbed in & out of structures, over & under obstacles. You went down the slide several times, laughing at yourself as your diapered bottom smacked the ground. You were your brothers shadow, following him all around the park, trying to do all the things he was doing.
Kyle, when it was time to go you didn't fuss or whine. You said "Thanks for taking us to the park, Mama! What a fun day we had, huh?".
Thank you both for reminding me that I am a good parent. I sure do love being a parent to the both of you!!
Lately a lot of people have been asking me why I've decided to homeschool. Some people think I'm crazy for NOT wanting to send my child off to school. They say "don't you need a break??" A break? Sure, every now & again I do need a break. Every now & again I do like to go out to dinner with just Daddy. I like to go grocery shopping by myself just so I can get away for a short while. But I do not need a 30 + hr per week break from my kids. I want to teach them myself. I take great satisfaction in teaching them. I feel such a great sense of satisfaction & pride each & every time Kyle learns something new as a direct result of my teaching it to him - such as reading, writing, math etc. Call me selfish, but my kids will only be little for a short while & I want to enjoy them while they're young because I know once they're older they won't want to just sit at home & hang out with me anymore. If Kyle went to the 1st grade, from 9a-3p, he would only see Jim on the weekends. And that's a fact. If Kyle went to school he would miss out on all of the learning opportunities he gets here at home just by shadowing Jim all day long. Ask Kyle to take a look under the hood of your car - I guarentee you he knows more under that hood than most adults do. He doesn't just watch Jim fix things. He helps Jim fix things. He knows the name of every tool Jim owns & he knows how to use them, too. He knows how to test a battery, how to fix a flat tire. He knows more about electrical, plumbing & carpentry than most adults. He's being allowed to learn things hands on & he's learning much more than he would if he were sitting in a cramped, over-crowded classroom for 6 hrs per day in a school that has now decided to take away the kids recess time..
Sure, he does "seat work", too. That's where I come in. Every day he writes letters to family members & friends. Every day he works on math, science, social studies, spelling. He's learning at his own pace & is already far ahead of the 1st grade level in many subjects, such as reading. And I can tell you with certainty that it is not taking us anywhere NEAR 6 hrs to teach him the very same things that he'd be taught in school on a daily basis. We work maybe a total of 2 hrs per day on paper work. The rest of the time he is learning by doing things hands on.
On Saturday he'll start karate. For all of next week he'll be attending a homeschooling class for kids his age where he'll be able to meet & make new friends. Soon he'll be joining the local recreation center where he'll be involved in an arts & crafts class, and a music class too.
So lets not worry about him not being socialized. Lets not worry about him not getting the learning resources he needs to succeed in life. I feel confident in my decision to homeschool. I feel confident in my teaching capabilities. And if my confidence should waiver then I will re-evaluate my decision. But for now I feel that we are doing what is best for our son and for our family.
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