I was reading something recently that got me thinking about this. I hear, over and over, people say that you'll rarely have a 'perfect' homeschooling day. Hmm. I disagree- heartily. Maybe my bar is set low. Maybe I'm still new and excited. Maybe I haven't had my heart broken by low test scores, or I have wonder kids. I don't think so. I think it boils down to our definition of a 'perfect day' for our homeschool. Mine? We get through everything I have planned. No one cries. Preferably no one complains, but if they do the complaints are minor. Somewhere in there we have a great thought-provoking conversation. That's it. One day at a time, one bite of the elephant at a time. So what if the material isn't perfect, the kids fail to grasp the concept the first run through, or my dd forgets a period? That doesn't kill our entire day. So what if no one says, "Wow, Meg, GREAT JOB! Your kids are geniuses!" The point is simply, and always, to move forward. If we've done that, I consider the day a star. What about you? Do you think 'perfect' homeschooling days are few and far between? And what standards do you have for that perfect day?
I think we have more good days than bad days. Sometimes we get in a funk and I know then we need to take a break. My standards are simple: we cover the material in a timely manner, no one is crying including me, complaints are not allowed, we learn at least one thing we didn't know the day before, we have fun and don't stress the small stuff.
What about you? Do you think 'perfect' homeschooling days are few and far between? And what standards do you have for that perfect day? ^^^I love this post. After spending a lot of my evening hours searching online for ideas, especially on blogs, and seeing the terrific photos of smiling kiddos completing super projects, I have started to feel like an inferior teacher. This is our 1st year, so I am just trying to fit the puzzle pieces together, including 2 very different children with very different needs, and a crawling 12-mo old who lately has spent more time crying than playing (or sleeping!). The transition to having 3 of them 24-7 with no break (no family near us) has not been too overwhelming, but trying to balance everything (cleaning, cooking, budgeting, therapies, activities, schooling...) is! My perfect day includes feeling semi-well-rested, getting through what we need to, and doing it with some smiles mixed in, not having to hear too many complaints from the olders, or too much screaming from the babe! When I feel that I have even the smallest bit of excitement in them (as I did during our social studies and poetry lessons Friday), it feeds my soul and keeps me excited to continue on this journey
My perfect day would be not having my 6 year old whine/cry over doing school work. Not having my younger two constantly say they are bored while I work with the oldest. I gave educational games for them while waiting but they rather be off playing. If they run off and play it is a bear to get them back. Perfect day is sitting at the table doing our group work. Then oldest goes off to do her work while I rotate between the younger two. Then we have lunch with a devotional story. Then back to our fun group work of science, art, history, music. Then everyone happily picks up after school and runs off to the playground so I can switch from teacher mom to just mom and get ready to go to all their activities.
I think in a great deal of cases the bad homeschooling days are caused by the wrong attitude towards the goals we have set for the kids. When we have a goal in mind (not a bad thing) and we get frustrated if the child is not getting there- we have set ourselves up for a bad day. When we want to be "on level" with what the school system sets as a timeline and we cannot be flexible- we again cause friction and a bad day will most likely follow. I really believe that a many times we parents have fears and frustrations that come out in the way we "school" our children. Kids are very good at knowing if we are dissappointed. Kids know if we are fearful. I know that it isn't always the case and sometimes kids just need to learn that they must not have a bad attitude, but we also should look at why they have a bad attitude. Is it avoidance? Are they afraid of failure? My son and I had many, many bad days for a couple of years. This has changed tremendously when I realized that I had to appreciate my son for who he is and not expect him to be someone else.
I would say we have more good days than bad days, definitely. And our bad days are REALLY bad days and are usually because of something - i.e. tired, sick, bored, etc. My son only really has bad days when he gives in to distractions. As long as he stays focussed, we have a good day with him. My oldest, as long as she's not hormonal! LOL My youngest? Everyday is a LITTLE tough with her, but she's a 1st Grader so she gets A LOT of slack!!!!
I guess I have high expectations. I wrote this on my blog about a year ago about a perfect homeschooling day. To me it would look like: "A day where my children are engaged, laughing, and learning. A day where groans are the response to school being done for the day. A day where tangents are freely explored. A day where my children seek after educational interests when the school day is done. It is still a work in progress. I can dream, can't I?"
I rarely have what I would call a bad homeschool day. I think any day that they are learning something is a good day. I also think that any day that they are home with me is a good day too
A perfect homeschool day is not a day that is free of struggles and errors. A perfect homeschool day is a day when we are able to make it through the obstacles with perseverance. Struggles and errors are learning opportunites; they are not a sign of failure and defeat. Thanks for this thread. I think I am going to share my post on FB. It is easy to see a perfect day as not having struggles rather than overcoming our struggles.
