I don’t write much about our homeschool experiences. I don’t know if non-homeschoolers even find the subject interesting. Some folks get a little defensive and assume I think everyone should homeschool, but that is not so. Homeschooling is definitely not for everyone. Some days I’m not even sure it’s for me.
In general, homeschoolers won’t admit to anyone besides a fellow homeschooler that they are having a bad day, or they are second guessing their curriculum choices, or their kid really is as weird as the media often portrays us. We feel compelled to always speak with enthusiasm and joy when anyone asks about our chosen lifestyle. We can list all the great reasons to homeschool faster than you can say Jonesboro, Arkansas. And our kids know better than to ever admit to inquisitive strangers at Wal-mart that they actually would like to ride a school bus or own a lunch box.
But I’m breaking rank and making a confession. Homeschooling has its ups and downs just like everything else in life. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and the last thing you want to do is explain indirect objects to a ten year old boy who can’t stop bouncing off the walls and asking what’s for lunch. Sometimes you consider dismissing school on any day that ends in Y. And if it’s a really bad day, you might toy with the idea of flagging down the next school bus that comes along and handing your kid through the door with a note for the principal that reads, “Let me know what grade you decide to place him in.”
So, in spite of what the average homeschooler would have you believe, there are a few thorns in this bed of roses. Public and private schools aren’t perfect, but neither am I, so obviously our school isn’t perfect either. Although we choose to call it, “Truitt Academy for the Exceptionally Gifted and Talented,” sometimes it feels more like, “The Remedial School for Kids Who Play with Belly Button Lint.”
One of the most frustrating aspects of homeschooling is how everything in your life gets chalked up to your chosen mode of education. If one of my kids uses the word tatterdemalion in general conversation, it’s because we homeschool. If that same kid forgets to zip his pants before leaving the restroom, it’s because we homeschool. No one ever makes generalizations about public school when other children show brilliances or inaccuracies, but my kids are scrutinized at every turn, and the one being judged is their teacher.
We had our two oldest tested for the first time this year. I’ll admit, I was a little apprehensive. When the results arrived in our mailbox in early December, I considered leaving the envelope sealed until January so as not to put a damper on the holiday season.
I called my husband and said, “The kids’ test results came today.”
“So, what’d you get?” he asked, only half jokingly.
“Thanks, Hon, I needed that,” I replied.
But it was the truth. Whatever the results were, it was a 100% reflection on my ability to homeschool.
I tore open the envelope and sighed a mountain of relief. They were at or above grade level in all subjects except Social Studies. Apparently my fourth grade son can punctuate a sentence as well as an eighth grader, but he’s not sure if the mayor is allowed to make decisions. Sometimes, the Mayor’s probably not real sure of that answer either.
Last evening I went to collect our seven year old daughter from her Awana club. She was very excited because she had won a jar of M&M’s by guessing the number of candies in the jar.
Her leader bragged to me, “She got really close! She guessed 1,008 and the answer was 1,009!”
A lady standing nearby exuberated, “It must be that homeschooling!”
When we got home daughter said, “They told us there were 1,009 M&M’s and I was disappointed because I only guessed 108, but then they said I was the winner!”
I stood there for a moment, mentally reviewing our recent math lessons and recalled that she was having a bit of trouble with place value.
I said to daughter, “Did you have to write your guess down?”
She nodded in the affirmative so, I asked, “What numbers did you use to write one hundred and eight?”
She replied, “One, Zero, Zero, Eight! One hundred and eight!”
Yep, it must be that homeschooling!
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