{a recent science experiment- do apples float?}
:: The good days are blissful and lovely and oh, so good. The bad/hard days are just that; in every sense of the words. Kind of like parenting in general, I guess!
:: I get insanely giddy about lesson planning. I went to school for early childhood education, so it makes sense. I just forgot about how happy it makes me!
:: Speaking of lesson planning, the days go so so much better when I plan a little bit ahead. Not so much that we get bogged down, but definitely enough to help the day have some sort of flow.
:: My kids dig art projects. Every. Single. Time. I already knew this, but it has definitely been reaffirmed countless times in the last month. Audrey could do projects all day every day if I let her or had the ability + time to plan for it.
:: Give my kids one-on-one time in the morning during school and they pretty much spend the rest of the day playing happily without me. Works so much better than the mulitasking (dishes + read to the kids + making dinner + playing with the kids...) that I was doing before. I get way more time with them and I get stuff done. Crazy.
:: It is definitely possible to allow my perfectionist tendancies to reign when it comes to homeschooling- especially when it comes to lesson planning. I am learning that it is okay to plan but that I need to let go after that. When I release control, things usually turn out much bettter than I had planned. When I release control the kids are able to use their imaginations + creativity in amazing, beautiful ways. When I release control the kids are inspired + excited to learn. Must. Not. Forget. This.
:: There are way too many things to do with the letter A and apples and autumn. I stretched our A week to two weeks just to give us a little more time, but geesh. We've got to move on eventually, even if we don't get that apple pie baked or those leaf rubbings done.
:: I need more sleep. And more patience.
:: Worship time is always more fun with instruments.
:: It is way harder than I expected to motivate Audrey to do workbook/worksheet type activities. In the past she has really enjoyed that kind of learning, but she is way more of a hands-on learner than I had realized. I am learning that I need to use her love of games and art more to teach her the basics like math and language arts.
:: That being said, I am still looking for creative ways to encourage her to try her workbook pages in language arts and math. I don't want to force her or give her a hatred for schoolwork, but at the same time I don't want her to give up just because she is lazy or something doesn't come easily the first time. I am learning the balance. I am not a huge proponent of using workbooks for everything, but I am finding that there is a place for them- especially when it comes to learning how to write!
:: Elliot actually likes workbooks. Huge shocker. Seriously.
:: I desperately need to get more sleep. (I know I already mentioned that, but it is true!) That means going to bed earlier. Not something I am good at.
:: I desperately need to get up earlier.This would help the day flow so much better, but I am so not a morning person. Really, really working on this!
:: I really really need to make sure I have time with the Lord every.single. day. It is impossible to keep the right perspective during the day and be filled with patience without His help!
:: While I can learn so much from other homeschoolers, I need to be careful about playing the comparison game. Some of my hardest days homeschooling so far have been the days when I compared what I was doing with what others were doing. While I love reading blogs and getting ideas from others, I need to feel confident and at rest with what I am choosing to do with my kids. And it is absolutely impossible to do everything that sounds fun and amazing. There is always next week, or next year, but if not, I need to be content with what I have the time and energy to do. Yes, there are a million and one things you can do with pumpkins, but do we really need to? My perfectionist tendencies really, really struggle with this, but I am learning!
:: It has been said time and time again by other homeschooling mamas, but I can't get over how much I am learning while I am teaching the kids! This month I learned all kinds of cool things about ants and apples and bees that I never knew before.
:: I am having so much fun! I fully expected to enjoy this journey, but I have been blown away by how blessed I am to be able to homeschool my kids. I truly feel so honored to have the priviledge of sharing their moments and days with them.
I am sure I will have pages and pages to add to this list during the upcoming year! Fellow homeschooling mamas, what are some things that you have learned so far this year or been surprised by?