Today we are blessed to have a guest post from Nicole, who blogs at Schooling in the Sun!
A Day in the Life
REAL Life Homeschooling!
I know a lot has been said about the “myths” that surround homeschoolers. After all, we are kind of a unique breed, aren’t we? I mean, denim jumpers notwithstanding, many of our more traditional, send-the-kids-to-school friends often think that we just may have fallen off of our rockers.
And they definitely have some misconceptions of how we spend our time.
I know–I used to be one of them.
Homeschoolers were weird. Not normal. A little bit “off”.
Truth be told? Yep. I am a little bit off, and definitely not normal.
But I don’t think that is specifically because I homeschool. I’m pretty sure it’s just me.
Today I’m going to do my part to dispel the part of the homeschool myth that starts with, “your day / home / kids / rooms must be soooooo organized”.
You know that one, right? It’s usually followed up with, “I don’t think I could ever figure out how to get my kids to work on schoolwork ALL DAY LONG.”
OK–burst the bubble time:
MYTH:
All of my kiddos are up, beautifully dressed (and all matching), teeth and hair brushed, and sitting primly at the table precisely at 8:00 am for Devotions led by Dad and then a hot and healthy breakfast.
REAL LIFE:
My 6 year-old can’t seem to sleep past 6:30 am or match his own clothes. Instead of brushing his hair he opts to just put on a baseball cap. My 13 year-old catches up on her text messages during breakfast, and my 10 year-old often sleeps so long that she misses breakfast completely.
Daddy is often gone before the older kids get up, and breakfast is most often cold cereal. And only with milk if we happen to have it. Don’t even get me started on having clean spoons.
MYTH:
After this orderly breakfast, chores are happily shared together, done quickly and completely, and then lessons are begun.
REAL LIFE:
We have chores. They get done on most days. Not together. Not quickly. Not completely. And NEVER happily.
MYTH:
Lessons are lively and fun. All of the kids are engaged. The olders help the youngers, and even the “harder” subjects are done without complaining. All of the children are budding geniuses. Lessons are completed all in the morning, leaving the afternoon for “pursuing passions”, creating major projects, like self-sustaining gardens or full zipline obstacle courses, or writing poetry.
REAL LIFE:
Some days are fun. Occasionally, I will even have one or two of the kids actively listening to me while I read. My oldest daughter would rather stick a hot poker in her eye than do math or help her sister with any schoolwork. My youngest often finishes quickly, but I’m convinced it’s only so that his time is free to aggravate the rest of us.
I have smart kids, but they still struggle. We have hormonal days. We have sensory processing challenges. We have general grumpiness, math disabilities, and inattentiveness.
We do finish much of our schooling by lunchtime. Wanna know why? Because I am completely worn out by then. And instead of gardening, building, or creating masterpieces in the afternoon, my kiddos are giving their momma some quiet time.
MYTH:
Dinners are home-cooked by all of the family members, with all organic ingredients, preferably harvested from the family’s own garden. Each person has a chance to talk about their day, Dad is filled in on all of the learning that has happened, and Mom leads prayers before everyone completes a peaceful bedtime routine.
REAL LIFE:
We try to eat dinner together most nights. Whether that is at our own kitchen table, or at a picnic table at the soccer field is anyone’s guess. Our evenings are incredibly busy, and mostly from carpooling our three active kids to different sports practices. Bedtimes vary, although most days we do make baths a priority.
I give you these myths not to poke fun at or offend anyone. When / if ANY family, homeschooling or not, approaches these ideals, I think it could be wonderful. However, for OUR family, real life is real life. And it’s also messy. And spontaneous, no matter how much we try to plan it.
But what else is real life is how much we love each other. We love to spend time together, even if that time is spent over Subway at the soccer field. We do pray together, but it happens much more in the heat of the moment instead of over breakfast. We do school, and laugh, and play, but we also yell, and argue, and cry.
Real life is real. And I’m a big believer in telling it like it is. I don’t think there’s enough REAL in reality anymore.
What are some myths that you’ve heard about how you “must” spend your homeschool day? Does your reality support your family priorities, or what you think others want your priorities to be?
This homeschool mom {and so many others like me} don’t have our acts together. We aren’t as patient with our kids as we need to be, we don’t have the organizational skills of Martha Stewart. In fact, most days my husband comes home and I tell him that I just can’t do this another day.
And most of all, we are in desperate need of His new mercies…every day, every morning…every single moment.
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