What I Wanted to Say...

We all have those conversations that after they are over we know what we would have said, but looking back know that it didn't go that way. This happened to me yesterday and though I won't be getting a do-over with the person I spoke to I still have to say it...Lucky you! An aquaintance called me yesterday to chat about home schooling. She had just recently made the plunge and she was frustrated, wondering how I manage to work out or shower, and obviously rather deflated with something that she had started out so happy to try. I bumbled around trying to explain how I make it work while folding laundry with one hand and checking Jamen's math page with the other...but as it came to an end I could tell that I hadn't helped her at all.
So this is what I wanted to say.
-I think the greatest discouragement is thinking that we need to mimic public school. If that is what we wanted for that child then they should go there.
-Time and season applies to learning for kids as well. If you are trying and trying and they are crying and crying two thoughts come to mind #1 they are not ready and #2 maybe your not going about it right for that child.
-I think the most important thing we can have whether we home school or not to help our kids is an atmosphere conducive to learning. I am only beginning to understand this, but a couple of things that work around here are #1 Limited time in front of the TV or computer #2 Books, books, books...they are everywhere around here. You sit on them, look at them and stumble over them-the kids can't help but pick them up! #3 Be an example! Don't give up learning because you are to busy teaching! How can a child get enthusiastic about learning when the person teaching them isn't?
-Most of all trust the Lord and listen to your heart. I find the times I get stressed out about having two of my kids (for now) homeschooling is when I listen to others usually cryptic remarks about it. When I am watching my kids and listening to the Lord there is peace. The Lord knew when he asked me to do this that I had a lot of laundry, cooking and a two year old to manage. He still asked me to do it.
-Enjoy being with your kids! It goes so fast. It will matter more that you taught them about right and wrong and helped them know that you love them to pieces than whether or not they did 20 pages of math worksheets in a day.
So that's what I wanted to say, but the truth is she really didn't want to hear it. I had to laugh because I felt exactly the same way when I started. I would talk to my home school friends and want them to tell me the "trick" the "magic pill" that would make the day go right. They never told me and they would smile and say things like, "oh it all works out." As our conversation came to a close I found myself smiling and saying the same basic thing!