The Dark Side
And now for a moment of honesty. It was about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving when the honeymoon period officially ended. It wasn't anything in particular, no straw that broke the camel's back, no tipping over the edge, just a sudden realization that all of our frustration levels were rising. For L it was the effort and motivation needed to practice reading, for the little one it was figuring out how to entertain herself, and for me it was trying to keep them both focused or occupied while my attention bounced back and forth between them. I just felt super on edge, which is apparently contagious, and the patience I had worked so hard to hone was out the window. Our Thanksgiving break came just in time!
We've also shifted gears a bit with reading. I have read so many articles and blogs written by experienced homeschool moms that stress the value of a laid-back and fun approach to learning, especially in the younger years. I realized that is exactly what we needed to recapture with reading specifically. So, we went to the library and checked out every book we could find on her reading level. Every day for the past 2 weeks I have let her pick which book she wants to read each day for our reading time- no lessons, no flash cards, no games- just plain enjoying the stories. It's amazing how much more fluently she reads when she is excited about it! I have also been reading one of the Narnia books aloud to her before bed, which she is sooooo into! After Christmas we will still use our curriculum, but at a much slower pace, with other more interesting books mixed in with it.
Unfortunately, it wasn't just a break we needed; I realized that when we picked right back up where we left off post-vacation. We needed an adjustment to our approach.
Confession: I'm a type-A kind of person. Systems, details, routines, schedules, calendars, organization, perfection – I love it all! Over the past 10 years, God has been teaching me the value of flexibility, adaptability, and confidence in Him and how He's created me rather, than what I produce.
So, week 2 following Thanksgiving we decided to mix it up a bit. I realized that so much of my frustration in life comes from always being in a hurry. There is something inside of me that always wants to find the most efficient way to do something, and when that doesn't happen (and it never does with young kids) I get frustrated and impatient. I decided that I needed to slow down. We still accomplish the same amount of stuff as before, but we do so without watching the clock and by taking breaks as often as needed. And you know what? Because the breaks refresh us all, and we seem to get our second wind afterwards, somehow we are still accomplishing all we need to get done before lunch.
We've also shifted gears a bit with reading. I have read so many articles and blogs written by experienced homeschool moms that stress the value of a laid-back and fun approach to learning, especially in the younger years. I realized that is exactly what we needed to recapture with reading specifically. So, we went to the library and checked out every book we could find on her reading level. Every day for the past 2 weeks I have let her pick which book she wants to read each day for our reading time- no lessons, no flash cards, no games- just plain enjoying the stories. It's amazing how much more fluently she reads when she is excited about it! I have also been reading one of the Narnia books aloud to her before bed, which she is sooooo into! After Christmas we will still use our curriculum, but at a much slower pace, with other more interesting books mixed in with it.
Gray areas, chaos, being still, unstructured time, messes...these are all things that don't sit well with me. The detail-oriented perfectionist will always be a part of me- and there is good in it. But I am also learning to embrace the stuff that makes me uncomfortable, because I am finding that there is so much fun and beauty in it as well. I am crossing over to the "dark side." :)
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