On Homeschool and Life

Well, it's Friday, and it's before 6 in the morning. Am I nuts, or what? lol Been up since 4 something. Part way through my second cup of coffee. Been reading on my current WIP, hoping for inspiration. I can see some things i need to get rid of, but not sure what I'm going to add to it, next. Also, I've been planning out my day. Got to teach the children, after all.

Speaking of homeschool, or is it home school? I don't know. Never said I was an editor. lol Anyway, speaking of teaching at home, promised y'all a post about it, so here goes.

Not too long ago, someone asked me, "How is it coming, your in home teaching, I mean?"

In home teaching. I guess that would be opposite from out of home teaching, you know, the kind you do out on your front lawn? haha! Maybe, in home teaching is opposite from teaching on the roof. I don't know. lol But, the lady who asked, well, her brain doesn't work like mine, so I was nice and said something like, "Oh, it's going fine."

But, here's the real heart of the matter. Home school is a balancing act. I believe that spending time with my girls in any capacity is the point. Sometimes, our days are filled with handwriting, math problems, reading and science lessons straight from a book. But, other times, we play pretend, we play barbies, we talk about something the girls heard on TV, or we just cuddle. Balancing between it all is the hardest part. If we spend too much time with the books, all three of us get frustrated, but if we spend too much time outside the books, all three of us get lazy. It takes constant prayer to walk somewhere in the middle.

Another thing home school is, is tiring. :) My kids can run circles around me and not think twice about it. One day this week, they were complaining and crying around, not wanting to turn the TV's off and get started. Quite honestly, I wanted to whine and crawl back in bed, too. It would have been so easy to give place to the devil and take a day off. But, if I don't put forth an effort, how can I expect my girls to put forth one. So, we went to the piano, and I took a seat on the bench.

"Now, girls," I said, "we've been talking about mammals, reptiles, fish, birds and amphibians, right? So, while I play a song, you have to go around the room and act like one of these animals."

They pretended to be birds, and I played and sang part of "I'll Fly Away." lol They played musical chairs while we all sang, "This Little Light of Mine."

When they grew tired of this, about twenty minutes later, we sat down and got started with school. Turned out to be one of our best days yet.

Something home school is not, is boring. My girls are always saying something funny or asking questions. I'm always finding new techniques of teaching sighted kids without sight. Some ideas on how to teach sighted kids when I can't see are tried and true things, but some are new, so they take some practice. When one thing doesn't work, I stop and try something else. By the time they graduate, I'm gonna be a pro. Ha! Something that helps me a lot, are those foam numbers and letters my mom picked up at Dollar General. I know what letter or number I'm holding, and my girls know it, too. My girls like to pretend and make up stories like I do, so we make the letters in to characters. For instance, I pretended to be the letter C. As letter C, I say things like, "Hello. My name is C, and I start words like cookie and cry. What's your name?"

My 4-year-old holds up a letter A and says, "I'm A."

Every day is a challenge. Every day is a blessing, and every day I am reminded how little I know. Sometimes, a home school day is a success, and i spend all evening on cloud nine. Other days, I wish I could start all over. still other days, I wish they had never come. It's a balancing act, home schooling, writing, and somewhere in there i have to wash clothes, wash dishes and keep up with friends and family. I guess life is full of ups and downs for everyone. We can't concentrate on them as separate things, though. We have to remember the end goal and keep on keeping on, even when the way is rough. If I fail, I have to get up and try again.

My husband has this saying that I absolutely love. When our girls were smaller and learning to walk, they were always tripping and falling down. When they fell, as long as they weren't hurt and crying, he'd say, "Get up and do it again."

That's what we have to do in life. whether we home school, write, teach in public school, nurse sick folks, or greet people at Walmart; if we fall, we have to get back up and do it again. Failure isn't final, and giving up is not an option.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard a well-meaning person tell me, they just don't know how I do it, being a mom who can't see and all. If I'm in the wrong mood, I might say something like, "Well, it's not like I can get any help, anyway, so I might as well keep going." But, that's not the right answer. The answer is, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Give up just because I can't see? Not on your life. Give up because I didn't graduate from college? No way, y'all! Where there's a will, I'll find the way, and when I find it, the Lord will be there to guide me through the obstacles that the devil tries to put in my path.

"I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's holy word, a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. It's words will I hide in my heart that I might not sin against God." Amen?

Have a fabulous weekend, and we'll see y'all on Monday.