Academy of Excellence

Homeschooling is a mixed bag. Of course I love it. How could I not? I get to make sure that my kids are learning what I want, in a way that makes sense to us as a family. It's great to have the kids at home, to get to spend all of this time with them. 

On the flipside- the kids are always home with me. Ahhh cha cha.

I do think however that it is really hard to read about someone's homeschooling and get a clear picture of THE REALITY. It's one of those things that people only want to mention the good stuff. Because you know we are always being judged-gasp! And what if a state educator reads that you actually skipped a day because the kids were acting like flaming turds?!?- swoon!

At this academy that stuff does happen. Your kid can get absolutely and irrevocably in a state of mind that would drive the Dalai Lama to drink. At least mine can. I can wake up in the morning with good intentions and then get caught in an Internet Timesuck and realize at about oh...1pm that I should actually you know, educate.

I would say that time regulation is the absolute hardest bit of the schooling at home. I will freely admit that 90% of our schooling attire happens to be pajamas. I will admit that somedays I would rather gouge my eyes out with a spoon than fight with Ev over Math- again. 

But it's also wonderful this homeschooling gig. We can change the schedule to meet what is happening in our life. We can choose to go off on a tangent in History. We can choose to spend Science Days looking through the telescope at things we gathered on a walk. Ev can do her reading assignments in a tent, in her bedroom with her favorite music softly playing. We can take the things we love in life and translate them into really cool things to do as we educate our children.

I just realized the other day that I have this 7 year old that is actively discussing Beowulf, Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the different writing styles in each. I have this 7 year old that would rather read than watch a movie. I have a 3 year old that grabs his little preschool workbook and follows me around with it waiting until it is his turn to be taught. 

So that's what it's like. You have some good, you have some bad and you have some pretty cool stuff that comes out of this endeavor. I have folks tell me all of the time, "Oh I just don't think I could do that",  and I tell them, if you are a mother or a father, you already understand enough to know how to do this. It is doable. It can be amazing. It just won't be amazing all of the time. 

You would be amazed to find out what counts as "school". Puzzles, board games, gymnastics, walks along the beach, walks along the marshes, walks around the neighborhood, reading of amy kind, legos, building blocks, arts and crafts, museums, science museums, art history programs, music, playing music, learning about different music types. There is an opportunity to teach your children around every corner. That is the best thing about homeschooling! It doesn't just happen at a desk or in "the classroom"- it happens with life. And once you start teaching your kids in this way? You can't stop. Cooking, cracking geodes, building volcanoes- it's all good.