Being there

When on earth do you have the time to homeschool all those kids?

The answer is … always.

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The older two are easy at this point; largely self-directed, eager learners, not difficult to motivate to the necessary things since they see the value in what they’re studying and can chart the purpose of these lessons toward an ultimate goal. My job is to field questions, facilitate conversations, and provide direction. Jack (11) is trickier. Never horribly keen to just go with the flow, he’s always pushed more for the style of education that has meaning and challenges him while not stepping too terribly far outside his interests. In our version of schooling, he hasn’t quite earned that freedom yet, and still has to slog through the foundational aspects of the bottom of the pyramid. Yes, there’s still time for some enjoyable, delight-directed stuff. But the real payoff is still a bit down the road for him in that department. This year, he’s trying out his wings just a bit by maintaining his own reading list and pacing out his own math work. I’m still his active tour guide for most topics, however.

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And then there are our littles. For this year, these guys are my challenge. No, I’m not talking about our newly-toddling Simon. John Mark is a kindergartener this year. A kindergartener! How did this happen? Phineas and Birdie are our preschoolers. Since they are all so close together, we’ve taken the opportunity to lump together in many areas, and break them out in a handful to give them more one-on-one, directed learning. The days are full already, and this added bit of educating does stretch the confines of a 24 hour day. But it’s getting done, and yes, I’m enjoying it.

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Those who know Phin are well aware that his special needs make homeschooling a unique opportunity to pour into him all the effort we can. Last fall, I attended a seminar at IAHP aimed at finding as many outside-the-box methods as possible to unleash the potential we see lurking behind those big blue eyes. Using the program developed there as a starting point, we’ve crafted an individualized plan that, while laborious, highlights as many of Phin’s strengths and undergirds as many of his weaknesses as possible. It’s a lot of work. I’m not going to lie and say it isn’t. And some days, well … some days the pay-off is a sullen, frustrated little boy who just wants to be left alone to mash the same button on his Buzz Lightyear toy over, and over, and over. But some days are different. Some days we hear a retelling of an event– with details!– that happened two month’s prior. Some days he hugs me and tells me he loves me. Some days he remembers how to count to five. And those are good days, and folks, they are worth fighting for.

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John Mark is technically younger than Phin, but  he’s already made the jump into that next sweet realm of knowing. Suddenly aware that there are words, words, words all around him, Jem (as we like to call him) is in that beautiful, wide-eyed phase of wonder where every question must be asked, and every question must be answered. He loves “school”– his word for any period of time when I sit down with him and read more than three books in a row. Right now, his mind is full of concern for Wilbur, amusement at Owl, and awe at Uncle Wiggily. I am loving watching his face glow in wonder as he counts seven pennies and realizes that yes, he has a handful of cool, shiny coins, but even more … he has seven cents! The world is his oyster right now. To be five again … oh, the joy of every minute.

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And then there is our precocious, opinionated Birdie. Unwilling (and unable) to sit by and allow all this “education” to go on without her, Birdie demands her own workbooks (we use these), and sings every song and memorizes every verse with just as much eagerness as her big brothers. She is currently enamored with finding Waldo, and yes, I count that as learning. When you’ve had as many kids with vision and sensory issues as I have, you realize the value of all that visual exercise.

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There’s so much learning that goes on in the course of a day– much of it completely unrelated to pencils and books, but entirely unsuited to photographs. How can you capture the moment that your child accurately counts napkins for the dinner table? How do you show the value inherent in that game of UNO? You can’t. Not really. Some things transcend the camera. For some things, you just have to be there.

And that sums up how I have the time to run a home and still ensure that my children have access to the tools they need to learn and grow. Being there. There’s no magic to it. But the end result is magic indeed.

 

 

3 thoughts on “Being there

  1. Thanks for linking up at the “Our Days” Homeschool link-up. Since this link-up is so much smaller (although probably my favorite) compared to the 3M, I’m going to start pinning all of the posts to my homeschool boards for other families to see. 😉

    Thanks again. :)

  2. WOW!!! With only two kids so far, I can’t even imagine having — let alone homeschooling — so many. But my mom homeschooled the four of us kids, so I know it can be done. I wonder if that is our calling, and if that’s will be our story? Time will tell, I guess. Right now I’m more concerned about feeding and diapering my 2- and 1-year-old… can’t imagine the day when they are independent learners!

    • Well, all of mine came one at a time– even the adopted ones. :-) Depending on your point of view, either it was a gentle building or the temperature being turned up on the frog’s water bath. One or the other–but far less painful than suddenly waking up to eight kids one day!

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