Does your personal vision for HS inspire or discourage you?

[lorisuewho]

Does your vision for your homeschool and home match up with what practically happens on a daily basis?

Are they close?

Does your vision inspire you each day or does it discourage you?

[abrightmom]

Rarely. ;)

Nope.

Both. At the same time. My ideals and dreams spur me on; the "in the trenches" reality keeps me humble and dependent on God.

 

 

[Alte Veste Academy]

Does your vision for your homeschool and home match up with what practically happens on a daily basis?

 

90% of the time, but as I have gained more HS experience, my vision makes allowances for reality instead of glossing over it. My visions are no longer only wishes and dreams; they are wishes and dreams and plans and schedules and discipline and trouble-shooting and fine-tuning and flexibility and...

 

Are they close?

Close enough. :)

 

Does your vision inspire you each day or does it discourage you?

 

Depends on the day. Inspires me, mostly. But my vision of our homeschooling future, as important as it is, is actually less inspirational than my hindsight vision of our homeschooling past. I sometimes think we are getting nowhere fast, but when I stop to reflect on how far we have come, it gives me a profound sense of reward and pride, stiffens my resolve, and renews my energy to keep the vision alive going forward.

[Alte Veste Academy]

And hmmmm. This may be totally off base, so ignore me if it is irrelevant, but if you are struggling with your vision matching your homeschool day, know that I never homeschooled with toddlers. When you are in the trenches with little people interrupting and needing you when you are working with the older people... Well, that is a whole 'nother ball of wax and significantly more grace is needed. Our days are smooth now, but my kids are all school-age. For me, it is much easier to homeschool them all than to homeschool one or two while "just" parenting the other(s).

[Soror]

My vision and reality are pretty close, with expectations adjusted to meet the reality of life with little ones. I'm very happy right now with where we are and although I see where we can improve and strive to improve I can be happy with where we are at for the moment.

[lorisuewho]

And hmmmm. This may be totally off base, so ignore me if it is irrelevant, but if you are struggling with your vision matching your homeschool day, know that I never homeschooled with toddlers. When you are in the trenches with little people interrupting and needing you when you are working with the older people... Well, that is a whole 'nother ball of wax and significantly more grace is needed. Our days are smooth now, but my kids are all school-age. For me, it is much easier to homeschool them all than to homeschool one or two while "just" parenting the other(s).

 

 

 

I'm just feeling reflective as I come to the end of my second year of homeschooling. I don't really feel my reality has matched up with my vision. We followed my plans very well. I was happy with our curriculum choices, what the children learned, and their attitudes. However, the atmosphere or overriding "feeling" of the day FOR ME is not what I expected or want. I wanted our days to be relaxed and organic. We would sit on the couch and read good books and have delightful discussions and go on nature walks, etc. But in reality, I always feel rushed and squeezed, and when we read books it is in a messy living room because the toddler has done a number on it. Someone has to cry or have a nose (or bottom) wiped. Children argue with each other, laundry doesn't get folded as quickly as I would like, dinner is sometimes macaroni and cheese, etc.

 

I am just very curious about other people's visions vs. reality (especially those veteran homeschoolers who have had time to reflect and make adjustments!). Thank you for sharing your experience.

[texasmama]

I have inched my way toward a vision slowly. I have (mostly) found it, I think. It does inspire me, and the reality matches up pretty well with the daily grind. We are ending our fifth year of homeschooling so I am not too veteran, but I have enough years under my belt to know what works and what doesn't for us. The biggest issue is that life (illness, family commitments, outside activites) intrude. Most of these have value, but they still intrude. I have adjusted my expectations to the children I have and the person/teacher I am.

[Lynnae]

My vision and my reality didn't match at all. I've adjusted my vision to meet reality.

 

I had visions of great books, long discussions, and lessons outside. In reality, my oldest learns best with an online curriculum. But, I've come to accept that homeschooling isn't about me. It's about what works for my daughter. I'll save my big vision for my youngest, who seems to be more likely to match my style. :)

[NASDAQ]

Yes, maybe . . . seventy percent? Seventy-five?

 

Most of the time I feel pretty good. I think I have low expectations though.

[happymomofboys]

When my vision doesn't match up with reality, I pick one or the other and change it. I've had to realize that some of the things that sounded great when my kids were toddlers haven't turned out to be best for them as they've grown older. We adapt. My day to day vision is pretty accurate, because I choose to have realistic expectations. My long-term vision inspires me because it gives me a clear idea of where I want us to end up, and I feel like every day is an opportunity to move one step closer to that goal.

[Hunter]

There WERE times it felt easy.

 

Before I had internet at home, and was only homeschooling one middle-schooler, with hardly any curriculum. My vision was small. Do better than the PS and charter school had done, which was...well...pretty easy to accomplish :lol:

 

Also later on, while I was part of the Mennonite church. I was surrounded by teens who were not graduating from high school or going to college, but were very successful anyway. Both of my boys were using American School, and most of what we did in addition to that was Morning Worship and unschooling and jobs/chores. I was in a place of trust and simplicity, at least as far as school. I wish I could say the clothing issues had been as easy. :tongue_smilie: :banghead:

 

I think fears of high school are the main problem. I think high school fear start earlier and earlier as the years pass. I think having a K-12 book like the TWTM actually increases fear, instead of reducing it. The top down teaching leaks right down to preschool. Rush, rush, rush to get to this impossible ideal that is not a practical goal for many families.

 

If American School is used to prepare for junior college, I can relax. If I start looking at direct entry into 4 year universities and Great Books lists, and high school science texts, the stress starts. Also, if I forget that I'm just ONE person in the life of a child/student and try to FIX a person, I get in trouble.

 

I've recently taken a HUGE step back with writing instruction and that has brought me a lot of peace. I've really been looking at how I write in daily life and modeling my writing instruction on that.

 

I've taken yet another step back with math. The Simply Charlotte Mason Math pdf has been great for me and just reinforces what I have observed over the decades, and lines up with Ray's, Arithmetic Made simple, How to Tutor, and Guide to American Christian Education. I've put away everything else for now, and we'll see how it goes, and generally only use ONE book at a time, until I switch to another ONE.

[Gentlemommy]

OP, my vision was similar to yours, and my reality is as well lol. Nothing else to add, but I can certainly commiserate!!!

[Alte Veste Academy]

Before I had internet at home

 

I sometimes wish I didn't have the internet. For all the help it provides, it takes away as much energy and attention...or more.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I'm just feeling reflective as I come to the end of my second year of homeschooling. I don't really feel my reality has matched up with my vision. We followed my plans very well. I was happy with our curriculum choices, what the children learned, and their attitudes. However, the atmosphere or overriding "feeling" of the day FOR ME is not what I expected or want. I wanted our days to be relaxed and organic. We would sit on the couch and read good books and have delightful discussions and go on nature walks, etc. But in reality, I always feel rushed and squeezed, and when we read books it is in a messy living room because the toddler has done a number on it. Someone has to cry or have a nose (or bottom) wiped. Children argue with each other, laundry doesn't get folded as quickly as I would like, dinner is sometimes macaroni and cheese, etc.

 

I am just very curious about other people's visions vs. reality (especially those veteran homeschoolers who have had time to reflect and make adjustments!). Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

Ah. I had a period of major self-reflection at the end of my first formal year of homeschooling (my oldest's first grade year, because we don't do formal K). I kind of had the opposite problem, as we were more relaxed than I felt we should be. I think finding your groove takes time and (near constant) adjustment. I do think it gets easier though. For me, improvement came when I got really honest with myself about what is important and what was not.

[Farrar]

I could just second everything Kristina said. :)

 

It matches most of the time here - probably about 90%, but that's after a few years and making allowances for life. However, I would still say it matches my original vision maybe 60-70% of the time, which isn't bad. I see it as a constant push and pull between more structure and less, between organization and chaos, between things not working and working. We started out more relaxed - very little for K, and have slowly ramped up, but it's not been a direct course, you know? But I'm okay with that.

 

Most days I find my vision inspiring, but I don't think about it that much. When I stop and reflect and feel that things don't match up, then I just recalibrate us a little. I usually don't let it get me down. My vision is there for course corrections, not guilt trips. Which is not to say that occasionally I don't want to throw up my hands and scream, just that it's usually passing. ;)

 

These are interesting questions. I feel like a lot of homeschoolers don't start with enough vision... but on the flip side, when vision is getting in the way of appreciating what you've got, then that's no good.

 

ETA: And I do think toddlers, big marital troubles, and big financial issues can all really interfere with your vision and those are all things I've been blessed not to have to deal with while homeschooling.

[Soror]

I would say we have those issues at well yet I am still satisfied, as I have accepted those things as part of our life right now. You have to be organized to homeschool well, especially with small children afoot. I can keep my house reasonably clean most of the time. However, it will never be perfect right now and with little ones there will be moments of disaster and chaos. The biggest factor in the mood of our school however is something I can change though and that is my attitude. I continually work on being patient and peaceful. Setting aside certain hours of the day to school and to just focus on school. If I wait until all is done to turn my complete attention towards school it will never happen. We can live in those moments and enjoy them.

 

So in a nutshell:

1) Lower your expectations!

2) Simplify, organize and delegate so that things run as smoothly as possible w/ as little effort as possible

3) Be the peace you want yourself, when it is school focus on school and let the rest go

 

*Not that there are not moments when I'm less than patient or just utterly grumpy. I try to keep an eye towards that with vigilance and turn it around when I notice it happening. I try to be patient even when I don't feel so. I try to be peaceful even when inside at times I might be screaming- "JUST PAY ATTENTION- STOP CRYING- CAN YOU GIVE ME A BREAK HERE!" and it is becoming easier and easier. If all else fails and I need a moment then everyone gets a break :)

[boscopup]

I'm just feeling reflective as I come to the end of my second year of homeschooling. I don't really feel my reality has matched up with my vision. We followed my plans very well. I was happy with our curriculum choices, what the children learned, and their attitudes. However, the atmosphere or overriding "feeling" of the day FOR ME is not what I expected or want. I wanted our days to be relaxed and organic. We would sit on the couch and read good books and have delightful discussions and go on nature walks, etc. But in reality, I always feel rushed and squeezed, and when we read books it is in a messy living room because the toddler has done a number on it. Someone has to cry or have a nose (or bottom) wiped. Children argue with each other, laundry doesn't get folded as quickly as I would like, dinner is sometimes macaroni and cheese, etc.

 

I am just very curious about other people's visions vs. reality (especially those veteran homeschoolers who have had time to reflect and make adjustments!). Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

<southern accent>Honey, you have a 2 year old. :D</southern accent>

 

Things got a LOT better when my 2 year old grew up into a 3 year old. Now he's almost 4 (*sniff*), and our school days are fairly relaxed and easy. The house is a lot cleaner (I wouldn't say it's CLEAN, but it's cleaner than it was!), and dinner is on the table at 5pm every night. For dinner, I made a 6 week dinner schedule, with input from DH, and I just follow that mindlessly most of the time. I'll sometimes get a wild hair and make a substitution to try something new, but for the most part, I know what to make each week because it's posted on the fridge. If I'm *really* on the ball (and I'm not lately), I'll even do the week's grocery shopping on Sunday so I don't have to leave home during the week for grocery shopping. Some of the meals, like pot roast or a big ham, have leftovers that can be frozen to provide another 2 or 3 meals, which means less cooking next go-around. ;)

 

I need to set up a cleaning checklist for the kids again. It worked very well. It basically had them picking up their toys 3 times a day (though we're working on picking up toys as soon as you're done with them - one kid is good about it, one kid is getting there, and one kid needs a LOT of reminders - and that one isn't the 3 year old :tongue_smilie:). If we keep toys picked up at least twice a day, the house doesn't look so bad.

 

And for picking up the toys, I've found that one thing the kids enjoy is getting a laundry basket and sticking *everything* in it (that's on the floor). Then periodically, I'll tell the kids to put 3 or 5 items away from the laundry basket. With 3 kids doing it once an hour, that basket is empty pretty quickly, and the kids enjoyed it. The really nice thing about the laundry basket is that it gets things off the floor quickly, so you have this immediate sense of clean, and that calms YOU down. ;) I also like to have them pick their toys up before a meal. They're more motivated that way, because they want food.

 

As my kids get older and are more helpful in the housework, the house is getting better. It is also helping to get rid of clutter. The more I declutter, the less stuff there is to make a mess with!

 

But really, your kids are young, and you have a toddler. Lower your expectations for that short season. This too shall pass. It's amazing what a difference a year or two can make!

[Alte Veste Academy]

I could just second everything Kristina said. :)

It matches most of the time here - probably about 90%, but that's after a few years and making allowances for life. However, I would still say it matches my original vision maybe 60-70% of the time, which isn't bad. I see it as a constant push and pull between more structure and less, between organization and chaos, between things not working and working. We started out more relaxed - very little for K, and have slowly ramped up, but it's not been a direct course, you know? But I'm okay with that.

Most days I find my vision inspiring, but I don't think about it that much. When I stop and reflect and feel that things don't match up, then I just recalibrate us a little. I usually don't let it get me down. My vision is there for course corrections, not guilt trips. Which is not to say that occasionally I don't want to throw up my hands and scream, just that it's usually passing. ;)

These are interesting questions. I feel like a lot of homeschoolers don't start with enough vision... but on the flip side, when vision is getting in the way of appreciating what you've got, then that's no good.

ETA: And I do think toddlers, big marital troubles, and big financial issues can all really interfere with your vision and those are all things I've been blessed not to have to deal with while homeschooling.

 

 

Ok, I'm in a better mood today so I'll say that it doesn't quite match my vision, but this is not to say that the reality is bad. What has been most difficult for me is that my 2 kids are completely different. And it's challenging to put on my various hats as mom, facilitator A, facilitator B, wife, moody individual, etc. I often feel pretty alone in juggling all of that too. It's rewarding and torturous at the same time.

So that's where I'm at!

 

I am :lol: at these two posts because if this question had been asked earlier last week, my response probably would have been similar to Wendy's first one in this thread. :tongue_smilie: We had a very meh day followed by a Very Bad Day (to say the least). The wanting to throw your hands up and scream. Uh-huh. Pretty sure I did. Also pretty sure the windows were all open, so I really did regret that. LOL

 

The truth is that homeschooling is like everything else in life; there are good days and there are bad days. You can't hold yourself up to an impossible standard of nothing but good days all in a row, even when you have nothing but good days all in a row. The hammer of reality will come down eventually. :lol: Here I am, mostly happy, with my always homeschooled kids in 4th/2nd/1st (meaning no one requiring constant supervision or lots of physical care), and I can say, "La la la la, life is a song, and I'm happy as a clam!" one day and "#@*!$&, where's my margarita?!" the next. That's life, you know?

 

The truth is that there is always something I could be doing better. Always! I think I do a pretty good job of homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, wifeing (LOL), self-educating, and everything else is on my plate, but I could do every single one of those things better. In the end, I am a human being and so are my kids so perfection is just not going to happen here.

 

Like I said, OP, you have the opposite problem I had. I felt I was too relaxed where it sounds like you feel you are all go, go, go. Well, I got more scheduled, and that was good for us, but one thing I feel kind of goofy about is that kids do naturally get older and more mature, wipe their own tushies :tongue_smilie:, make their own breakfast, clean their own rooms (without direct supervision!), grow longer attention spans, become able to do some work independently, get absorbed in their own interests, etc. I do think that coming up with a good schedule was very helpful for me, but we were just destined to emerge out of that very busy, frenetic season anyway, you know?

 

I've said before that the best thing about a schedule for us is not that it organizes our school time (although it does, and that's awesome); it's that it protects our free time. Formal school doesn't blot out the rest of life. I know so many here talk about how school is organically part of life, yes. Inseparable. Sure. And you are just as likely to find my kids writing out of school hours as during school hours. Or reading/doing science. Or whatever (except math :lol:). But there does come a time of day when what I have scheduled is over and I am "just" mom, without requiring this, that, or the other or just generally feeling frustrated and hrumphy about what we still need to do.

 

OK, now I'm just babbling, and what I'm saying probably isn't even relevant to you. :lol: I do hope this thread keeps going. I love, love, LOVE threads like this. I might dig up my old one for your perusal. I think these are very natural feelings.

[Ghee]

My vision inspires me, but, sometimes, I find bringing the vision to fruitition to be discouraging :p

 

I do find that planning ahead, setting a schedule we can stick to, and compromising on outside activities (little enough for me, while still being out enough for them) really help. It also helps if my home is clean and orderly. Even my worst day, in a clean house, is infinitely better than a mediocre day in a mess LOL

[freeindeed]

It depends on the day for me. Our good days match my vision, our bad days...well, let's just say they are the polar opposite of my vision. Also, having a child with significant special needs has radically changed our lives.

[NASDAQ]

I was thinking about this more.

 

My life is pretty chaotic. My toddler, for example, more or less makes chaos as is purpose in life. Sometimes my preschooler helps him out quite a bit. But I don't think of that as home schooling. Most days home schooling is the part of my day most likely to go _right_.

[lorisuewho]

Thank you for all your responses. It seems many of you have treated your vision and reality like things in motion. . .that you have sometimes felt the need to slide your vision, sometimes slide your reality. I think I need to see these as more fluid also.

 

As I was reading all the responses, I was thinking how I don't really think the problem is my vision or my reality with the children. I think the disconnect is really in me. I think I see myself as someone else.. . .that as I homeschool I will become more relaxed, more earthy, more something, and instead I am still me. I didn't become someone else. I still have the exact same personality. I need a vision that accounts for me, not just for the children.

 

I was thinking about this more.

 

My life is pretty chaotic. My toddler, for example, more or less makes chaos as is purpose in life. Sometimes my preschooler helps him out quite a bit. But I don't think of that as home schooling. Most days home schooling is the part of my day most likely to go _right_.

 

 

I love that you have mentally separated out the youngers from your homeschooling vision/reality.

[lorisuewho]

Ah. I had a period of major self-reflection at the end of my first formal year of homeschooling (my oldest's first grade year, because we don't do formal K). I kind of had the opposite problem, as we were more relaxed than I felt we should be. I think finding your groove takes time and (near constant) adjustment. I do think it gets easier though. For me, improvement came when I got really honest with myself about what is important and what was not.

 

 

 

Hee hee. I was just reading through the thread you linked me to and I laughed when I saw your first paragraph with this quote

 

"I have an idea of who I wish I were, and that obscures my understanding of who I actually am."

 

This is it in a nutshell for me too!

[Alte Veste Academy]

Hee hee. I was just reading through the thread you linked me to and I laughed when I saw your first paragraph with this quote

 

"I have an idea of who I wish I were, and that obscures my understanding of who I actually am."

 

This is it in a nutshell for me too!

 

I am so glad if that thread proves helpful in any way! Once I started being (what's a gentler word than brutally? LOL) honest with myself about my true nature instead of planning based on wishes of who I was, everything got much easier for me.

[happypamama]

As you know, my household is still tipped "in favor" of the littles and will be for some time. I try to keep my vision as "shoot for the moon, because even if you don't make it, you'll land among the stars," so that it's inspiring, and I remember that we're still doing wonderfully. Sometimes it's easier to look at it in terms of what didn't happen, and that can be discouraging. I think we need a balance in our vision -- great enough that we aim high, but realistic enough that we don't feel that we've failed when we don't achieve everything on our list.

[lorisuewho]

As you know, my household is still tipped "in favor" of the littles and will be for some time. I try to keep my vision as "shoot for the moon, because even if you don't make it, you'll land among the stars," so that it's inspiring, and I remember that we're still doing wonderfully. Sometimes it's easier to look at it in terms of what didn't happen, and that can be discouraging. I think we need a balance in our vision -- great enough that we aim high, but realistic enough that we don't feel that we've failed when we don't achieve everything on our list.

 

 

I thought I would become you when I started to homeschool! Turns out I'm still me :lol:

[happypamama]

 

 

I thought I would become you when I started to homeschool! Turns out I'm still me :lol:

 

That's okay, because I've seen so many things that you do, and I often wish I was more like you! Even I'm not the me that I am online or in my nicely organized plans; I'm some shadow of the me I want to be. It's all good. :)

[*Lulu*]

First it should be said that my vision for our homeschool NOW, is not the same as the vision I had for our homeschool before we began. (Or after year 1, or year 2, or even year 4)

 

Sometime during year 4 I had this revelation that I was trying to teach the students I had anticipated having instead of the students I actually had. It changed my outlook entirely. My big picture, end game, overarching goals didn't change much, but my plan to get us there and my expectations of our daily routine sure did! And while teaching my imaginary students is easier, teaching my real ones is rewarding.

[lorisuewho]

And while teaching my imaginary students is easier, teaching my real ones is rewarding.

 

 

I love this! :001_wub:

[Mom2TheTeam]

I have a 7 year old, twin 5 year olds, twin 3 year olds and a 6 month old. Honestly, I really didn't have any expectations of what it would look like in practice. But, I am often stressed and frustrated trying to school with so many littles around. We often don't get to anything but the 3 R's. Sigh. I do have a vision for what I hope our school can look like once everyone is schooling. I think it is realistic based on what we go through now to get school done.

 

So, in answer to your specific questions:

 

No, the vision does not match up because what I would like to be able to accomplish and what we can are vastly different. However, it's more about what I would like to happen rather than what I expected.

 

They are sort of close in that even though I would like to get more done, I don't have any real expectations for what our HS should look like day to day.

 

My vision inspires me most of the time because it's about the long term goal of what our HS will look like someday when they are all older. So, I am generally inspired to keep pushing forward to get there. But there are days when I feel very discouraged about it and feel we will never get there.

[freesia]

I thought I would become you when I started to homeschool! Turns out I'm still me :lol:

 

Yes, you are you and your kids are themselves. My vision has changed and is fluid year to year. I, too, had an organic, relaxed "vision" that was very hard to realize with 3 young children. As, it turned out, my oldest needs and thrives on sequential, organized work. He does take rabbit trails but needs me to be more structured than I had imagined. And, as it turned out, I,too, did better with a good schedule.

 

Had my second been my first we would be on a very different path.

 

The next question is--what if my children need different visions? LOL

 

I find it helpful to reflect on our homeschool every 3 months are so. Are we in a good place for all of us? Are they progressing? Do we need to relax or tighten? Do we need to go a different direction? Am I doing thing bc they are easy or bc they meet our goals? Do I NEED to do the easy, but not vision meeting curriculum bc creative, relaxed won't happen at this time bc of a toddler or other stress? Are we finding joy?

[kdownie]

OP, my vision was similar to yours, and my reality is as well lol. Nothing else to add, but I can certainly commiserate!!!

 

:iagree:

 

I pictured it all so much more organically than it feels 90% of the time. Field trips feel organic, but that is about it. I'm hoping it gets better as the kids get older, as I'm officially homeschooling 1, doing preschool with another, and still have a 2 year old and infant that need lots of attention.

 

I've handled it by realizing that even though it isn't what I pictured, I'm still very thankful to have oldest dd at home, learning the way we do.

[kdownie]

OP, my vision was similar to yours, and my reality is as well lol. Nothing else to add, but I can certainly commiserate!!!

 

:iagree:

 

I pictured it all so much more organically than it feels 90% of the time. Field trips feel organic, but that is about it. I'm hoping it gets better as the kids get older, as I'm officially homeschooling 1, doing preschool with another, and still have a 2 year old and infant that need lots of attention.

 

I've handled it by realizing that even though it isn't what I pictured, I'm still very thankful to have oldest dd at home, learning the way we do.

[fourisenough]

Great thread. To be completely honest, I don't really know. I feel too close to the subject to objectively measure whether my vision and reality are close to one another and, on any given day, if I'm inspired or discouraged. Parenting kids is like that; seems like there is always a monkey wrench thrown in, even when you're super organized and experienced and confident in your role (I've been doing this long enough that I should have some expertise). I think the big problem is that our outcomes are so long-range that you may not get much feedback on how effective you've been until many, many years down the road.

 

But then you have an experience like this:

Last week my sister and her kids were visiting from out-of-state. We attended a play/stage production in which the sole actor/director pulled kids from the audience to act it out. The subject was Lewis & Clark's expedition. My 8-year old daughter was randomly chosen to be President Thomas Jefferson. She was handed a nearly full-page letter (a primary source document) that Jefferson wrote to Lewis tasking him with specific goals for the mission. Folks, she read it loudly, clearly and with nearly perfect pronunciation. She was beaming and felt so terrific about being a part of it. After the play, she explained that she had time to read through the document once and saw one word she wasn't certain how to pronounce, so she leaned over to a "big kid" sitting near her and he 'verified that it was pronounced ge-o-graph-ee'.

 

I was proud of her confidence, her reading ability, her resourcefulness, and her own sense of pride (she knew what a good job she had done). It was definitely a moment where she shined and in which I felt that we must be doing something right at home. My vision was totally fulfilled, if even for that brief moment on stage.

 

Next time a monkey wrench falls on my path, I'll try to revert back to the way I felt that morning and know that this, too, shall pass.

[lorisuewho]

I have a 7 year old, twin 5 year olds, twin 3 year olds and a 6 month old. Honestly, I really didn't have any expectations of what it would look like in practice. But, I am often stressed and frustrated trying to school with so many littles around. We often don't get to anything but the 3 R's. Sigh. I do have a vision for what I hope our school can look like once everyone is schooling. I think it is realistic based on what we go through now to get school done.

 

 

 

Now THAT is a lot of littles!! I can not even imagine!

 

 

 

Had my second been my first we would be on a very different path.

 

 

 

Interesting observation! I bet that is true here too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've handled it by realizing that even though it isn't what I pictured, I'm still very thankful to have oldest dd at home, learning the way we do.

 

Yes! Me too!

 

 

 

I was proud of her confidence, her reading ability, her resourcefulness, and her own sense of pride (she knew what a good job she had done). It was definitely a moment where she shined and in which I felt that we must be doing something right at home. My vision was totally fulfilled, if even for that brief moment on stage.

 

 

This was such an awesome story about your daughter! I loved it!

[pixeldog]

Fantastic thread!

 

For me:

plan

organize

work

reflect

tweak

(repeat)

 

My vision is fluid, as is our homeschool journey. Sometimes I like that and sometimes it's unsettling.....I suppose we have gained so much from it, though, it's worth the ride.

[lorisuewho]

 

 

 

plan

organize

work

reflect

tweak

(repeat)

 

 

 

This is great! It would also make a great signature line :o)