Homeschool Reflections

As this year of homeschooling comes to an end, I thought it would be fun and interesting to take a trip down memory lane. So I’ll be posting a series of homeschool posts from my past (old dead blog) every Thursday and reflecting on what I’ve written and if things have really changed. It should be an educating journey.

February 2004

Homeschooling?

We are very close to making the decision to homeschool. At first I was just considering homeschooling Chris who’s 9, but now I’m considering Joey (6) as well. I was the one who said I could never homeschool my oldest son because of our personalities. He’s a high Choleric/Melancholy, and I’m a high Choleric/Melancholy. He thinks he knows it all and isn’t afraid to let me know it. But he is the reason I would be homeschooling. He is an “A” student and really likes school, but he talks constantly and that disrupts the teachers… even in art and science class he is getting notes sent home. So instead of trying to make him conform to the the very structured school setting, I’m willing to try and home school him.

Yet, while my heart says “Yes”, my head cries “What, are you insane?” My biggest issues are the fact that I will have four at home ages 9, 7, 4 and 2; that I need “Me” time daily (typical melancholy), I can set my expectations too high and demand perfection (Melancholy… Choleric), and the big one (the one I’ve been working on) is when I get stressed with the kids I “YELL.” I don’t want to blame my growing up in a New York, Italian family for my temperament issues, but “Yelling” was how my family communicated. So it’s my first reaction to stress. I don’t want to subject my children to a school year of this… but on the other hand our family is so stressed by the school schedule, I’m hoping that this will help my stress level. That coupled with the fact that if I lower my expectations and just have fun, I think I’ll be okay.

Wow! Everything I feared was warranted. Three years later and I still need “Me” time, I still get stressed and yell, and I still find it hard to juggle four kids at home all day. Though I have to admit the first two years homeschooling with a toddler running around was INSANE. Luckily, Grace went to pre-school the first year we homeschooled and I was able to do all of Joey’s math and grammar on Tuesdays, and all of Chris’ on Thursdays when she went to school. All the other days it was like a scramble trying to keep her out of stuff and educate the big kids. Very often she got pushed to the side, or sat in front of the television. She also spent a lot of time at our 80 year old neighbor’s house.

The next year wasn’t much different, except I had a mother’s helper so Grace had a little more play time with her and me. Leah would often read to the boys while I spent time with Grace. Then when Grace turned four, my life changed. She seemed to have matured overnight. I was still pulling her off the counters and out of the pantry, but she would actually sit at the table for five minutes at a time!

Much of what I feared happening is a big part of why we’ve been searching for alternative schooling for next year. We’re leaning heavily toward my boys’ old school for the younger ones, and a new school for the boys. I know in my heart that my vision for next year will re-establish peace in the home and let me have more time with the little ones. I know this next year aways from each other is just what we need. Now God needs to work out all the details because there’s probably a waiting list at the little one’s school!