This last week I’ve learned one more joy of homeschooling – enjoying what your children come up with in their school work. Maybe my attitude has changed from ‘that answer is wrong/right’ to ‘that’s an interesting way to look at it.’ I’m not sure, but whatever has happened, I’m enjoying it. Last week Caleb was working on a crossword puzzle for spelling. He was having the hardest time fitting the word ‘BED’ into the four boxes allowed for the question ‘what you need if you are in trouble.’ The correct answer was ‘HELP’ but because ‘BED’ was on the list and he is on his bed quite a bit when he’s in trouble, ‘BED’ was really the only logical answer. I couldn’t help but laughing with him on that one because, yes, Caleb would need a bed if he were in trouble.
Today Emma gave me her grammar assignment to look over. She was supposed to write a thank you note to her teacher for teaching her and helping her. This is her letter to me:
Dear Mom,
Thank you for teaching me school. It is very nice. I wonder how your patience holds out! I have trouble controlling my temper!
Love,
Emma
I had to laugh. She seems so mature sometimes that it catches me off guard. But, that she thinks I’m patient . . . I cannot tell you how many times a day we go head to head. I’m grateful her first impulse is to say I’m a patient person – maybe she will have pleasant memories of her childhood after all!
Those are such cute stories. I love Emma and her “temper” comment. So funny. Great job at homeschooling. You must have tons of patience I think.
I am always so impressed with those who do homeschool! I do think it would require alot of patience, so you must be doing really well to get that letter from Emma! Like you, I feel like I go head to head with Lindsey alot lately. Mainly because I don’t like how she has been treating her sister. Later I sit back and think I hope this is not setting us up for a poor relationship when she hits her teens.
Anyway, I loved the stories, and I love how you have developed your new outlook “that is an interesting way to look at it”. It is so true when we learn how they came up with the answer, it definitely shows how they think. The correct answer may not always be the right answer! 🙂
Those are fun stories! I do not know how you home school. I’m sure it’s got some great perks, but I think my kids and I would drive eachother nuts! We all do so much better together when we have some “apart” time. Ethan LOVES going to school. You must be a patient woman!
oh you’re a good mom.
How fun! Although I’m sure it’s QUITE challenging, sometimes I think I would love to home school. I just love having my kids home with me and still get kind of sad every day when I drop of Austin for just 3 hours. The main things stopping me are 1) I don’t know if I am organized enough and 2) I’m certainly not patient enough! How wonderful that your children tell you how patient you are! Sometimes our kids say just the right things to keep us going don’t they! Makes it all seem “worth” it after all! Good job!