Back again for my attempt to debunk the super homeschool mom ideas! I know I’ve been guilty of believing some of these, so I’d love to share what I know now, after a few years of being in the depths of it all.
Am I the only one that thought that my child would bound out of bed, ready and willing for her math, history, science, or whatever lessons she had for the day? I can’t be the only person who imagined their child loving school because it was at home, with me, her wonderful, beautiful, amazing mother!
Love, but not love
I do think that most kids love being homeschooled, when faced with the alternative. That doesn’t mean that they will love all their assignments, or even all of their subjects. I do enjoy the idea of unschooling, and plan to toy with it a bit more with my younger kids (we are already fully engrossed in high school, so changing gears now would be more work than it’s worth). Still, I don’t think I’ll ever be okay with saying, “If my kid doesn’t ever want to learn addition, I’m not going to make them.” That means I’m ready and willing for there to be a time when my child tells me they are not happy with learning something, and we push forward anyway.
Still, listen
This does not mean that I will not listen to their concerns, and any super homeschool mom would (though I never claim to be one, but my point stands). Maybe the day needs to be moved around a bit to get the best of their motivation at the right time of day. Maybe we need to rethink their curriculum used. Not all siblings are going to be able to use the same curriculum, as much as our budget would like to tell us otherwise. And really, maybe they’re just not ready for the subject matter they’re coming across. Especially in the case of learning to read, waiting until they are ready is normally far more productive than forcing it early.
They are kids
Just remember: you are working with kids. Sometimes we have to learn things that aren’t our favorite. As much as you may have enjoyed college (hopefully, at the price tag it comes with!), I’m sure there are classes you disliked. No problem! Learn what you need and move on.
That’s what a super homeschool mom does. Just let them dislike a couple things, as long as it’s set up in the most appealing fashion you can muster.
My kids love homeschooling at times, when we are doing a fun project or on a field trip but when it comes time to sit and do certain assignments, not so much. But this is probably the case with both homeschool and traditional school. I think we have to teach our kids to learn that in life your not going to love every single job you have to do. That’s just life. The important thing is trying to keep a positive attitude about the task at hand and just getting it done.
You’re so right! The positive attitude is an important life skill that’s important, and it starts from early on like when kids learn to pick up their toys and clean up after themselves.
Nope! I don’t think in the beginning I had the image of them loving to be with me all day LOL. You are right, though. You have to tinker with things until you get it right, but there’s no skipping math 🙂
LOL, it sounds like you had much more realistic expectations than I did. 🙂
Thank you for posting to Motivation Monday!