Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The challenges of schooling at home

One expects academic challenges. And the difficulties inherent in wearing too many hats (i.e., rushed meal preparations; messy floors; paperwork, ironing and correspondence all piling up). It is no surprise that it is a challenge trying to keep all the plates spinning without any crashing to the ground. Some days can really bring you to your knees--which is what God wants anyway--and only bring a smile to your lips in retrospect. What public or private school teacher ever had to deal with the following?

1) Trying to set out the day's work while holding a nursing infant.
2) Trying to maintain quiet during math drills as a 3 and 4 year-old bounce on the living room sofa and shriek in glee.
3) Trying to assist a sixth grader with math while the 3 year old repeatedly takes off his shorts to parade around butt-naked.
4) Giving a spelling quiz with a baby in a carrier, while pouring juice for the 3 year-old who has both legs in one leg-hole of his shorts.

I won't even mention diaper changes, potty training and the like. As a friend of mine who used to teach in an actual classroom, and who now schools her own kids at home said, "The difference between teaching in a classroom and teaching my own kids is that at school my students actually liked me."

It's been a long morning...

3 comments:

  1. What "School" has to deal with rowdy boys throwing around a ball and breaking something special to their mom today? This was timely.

    I'm with ya.

    I hear ya!

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  2. I live in dread of someone actually coming to the door in the midst of all this chaos...

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  3. Nadja - this is timely. Today I just want to cry with exhaustion - the kids were fine - just so much to do - I am behind with bills and correspondence and othr important things. It really is only by the grace of God we can teach and cook and do laundry and do bills and run everyone around. That's why I write all those motivational homeschool posts on my blog - more for me than anyone else!! I have to keep reminding myself that I am educating for eternity.

    (One of Matt's spelling words today was "alone" - my dictation sentence to him was "I would so love to be alone for 5 minutes!!"

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