I've written elsewhere on this blog about my second child, oldest daughter. Our experience today with cursive - a subject she wanted to work on to have fancy writing - reminded me of her little 10 month old self.
She was a determined mover who developed her own system of getting around - she crawled backwards. It wasn't efficient, and she struggled to get where she wanted. Worse, she would often wedge herself under chairs, side tables, and a couch of ours. Adorable, but understandingly frustrating to her.
So the three big people in her life - her dad, me, and her older brother - did what we could to show her the "correct way." We modeled, we cheered, we inscentivized, and we even moved her body for her. Despite our best efforts, she hardly made any progress. I still remember the first time she did crawl forward on her own. She cried as if it was torture, as if each leg and arm movement caused pain and represented an unwilling surrender.
Interestingly, she hardly used her new-found skill of forward crawling. A few days later she mastered walking. She walked BEFORE she turned one, which beat the record of her older brother who had no problems crawling, but didn't walk 'til around 13 months.
I can't help but smile at her current frustration with cursive, and her insistence that she can just lift her pencil, move it to the spot she needs to finish the letter, and call it good. SHE IS BEING TORTURED, she is sure. Maybe next month she'll write a book. :)
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Friday, January 2, 2015
Blessed Bedtime
I love homeschooling because being with family gets to be the natural state of our lives.
I've heard many moms remark that they can't wait for the winter school break to be over so their kids can get back to school. I remember feeling excited to GET back to school as a kid because I was sick of being at home!
So do we homeschoolers ever get sick of our families and being with them ALL THE TIME? Despite the impression a few glowing blog posts may convey, the answer is YES!!! That is why I LOVE bedtime! Many of the homeschoolers I know have comparatively early bedtimes for their kids. I've often felt this is possible because we get all day to do all the things we WANT to do - family time, lessons, playing outside. Whatever it is, we get it done and can then BE done!
But I also think early bedtimes (at least for ME) mean mom is ready to be "off the clock," doing whatever it is she WANTS to do which is NOT meeting a thousand real and perceived needs generated by her handful(s) of children.
I've been asked before, and wondered before homeschooling myself, "don't you ever need a break?" I can honestly now answer YES, and I get it when my kids go to bed. It's yet another GREAT time of day to be a homeschooler! :)
I've heard many moms remark that they can't wait for the winter school break to be over so their kids can get back to school. I remember feeling excited to GET back to school as a kid because I was sick of being at home!
So do we homeschoolers ever get sick of our families and being with them ALL THE TIME? Despite the impression a few glowing blog posts may convey, the answer is YES!!! That is why I LOVE bedtime! Many of the homeschoolers I know have comparatively early bedtimes for their kids. I've often felt this is possible because we get all day to do all the things we WANT to do - family time, lessons, playing outside. Whatever it is, we get it done and can then BE done!
But I also think early bedtimes (at least for ME) mean mom is ready to be "off the clock," doing whatever it is she WANTS to do which is NOT meeting a thousand real and perceived needs generated by her handful(s) of children.
I've been asked before, and wondered before homeschooling myself, "don't you ever need a break?" I can honestly now answer YES, and I get it when my kids go to bed. It's yet another GREAT time of day to be a homeschooler! :)
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