Back on Track!
Things are finally getting back on track here on the home front. It’s been a rough summer and I’m sorry to say, The Homeschool Scuttle simply wasn’t high on my priority list. I know you understand what I’m saying.
I think we all struggle from time to time managing our work schedules, homeschool outings, housework and the like. It can get to be a little overwhelming more often than I would care to admit.
During a short stint as an Avon lady many years ago, our representative/trainer taught us to simply smile and nod while customers chattered away. Since that time, I’ve learned that many aspects of my life can be handled quite easily, by simply smiling and nodding. Somehow, through all the struggle we manage to simply smile and nod.
The true test of a families cohesiveness comes when the entire family shares an illness. For the past 10-weeks, we have had such a bonding experience and at times, it really wasn’t pretty. All thought of homeschooling flew out the window. The entire family went into survival mode. Keeping things clean and germ free is the order of the day. We take turns on the couch, manning the phones and folding clothes. Bedding is washed often.
My soon to be 14-year old has matured in ways I never thought possible over the past year. We’ve discussed with him many times what it means to be a man — especially a man on integrity. I won’t lie and tell you I didn’t have my doubts from time to time because I certain did. I have even been guilty of threatening to send my son to school (oh, no, the dreaded S-word). I have even been tempted to follow through with that threat.
While this new school year got off to a bumpy start and we haven’t accomplished nearly as much as I had hoped we would during these first few weeks of this new year, I don’t feel the time has been lost. My goal is more than just teaching my son the 3-Rs, my goal is to help him grow into a fine young man, who is self-sufficient and able to think for himself.
Life certainly isn’t a bowl full of cherries but we are headed in the right direction. I think we boys we really have to allow them to set the pace. My son is still very immature in many ways but he stands heads above his public-schooled peers in maturity.
We just had him read The Art of War, a must read for all teens, in my opinion. The principles that Sun Tzu wrote about in the 6th century BC are as true today as they were then and can be applied to so many areas of our lives. He read it with ease and asked for a pocket copy, so that he might study it further. I was encouraged.
We have been working on English, specifically the parts of speech and critical thinking skills, like the importance of thinking things through. Just tonight we discussed when it’s important to ask for help or clarification. Our kids need to know that we don’t expect them to just know it all.
I’ll be writing more often, now that I am starting to feel better.
How is your homeschool year shaping up?