The School Post - You Knew It Was Coming

My last couple have posts have been replete with typos and other errors - it's a wonder any of you understood what I was saying, but it seems you got the gist of it.

Things have continued to be busy at home, and not so busy for Dave at work. We are, on all levels, learning how to trust the Lord in all things. In regard to work, for obvious reasons, as it is always desirable to be able to pay the bills, and in regard to home, because...well, because our homeschool year hasn't kicked off as smoothly as I would have hoped. Again, I find myself second-guessing myself in regard to one particular child, and wondering if I can really do what is best for that child here at home. We have already had more than one day in which I've called Dave to say that I can not do it. But I have no peace about the public school, and can't afford private school - why do I keep coming back to this?! My waffling surely isn't good for said child. With the others so far, I feel no such indecision, and I'm quite sure that being here is best for them, so it isn't homeschooling itself that is troubling me, just this one person - this one incredibly smart and determined person, mind you. But if there are no other viable options right now, then God must provide the answer for how to make this work... without us harming each other.

The bottom line, as usual, is that this person works best under very defined structure, in which there is little wiggle room, because if you give this person an inch... It happens that because of Dave being out of town half the year, we've had to allow lots of inches. Some of my kids have done just fine with the flexibility, but this person has developed an even larger sense of entitlement than usual, and trying to regain good habits and routine has been a bear. 8:30 in the morning is "WAY too early" - what kind of a mom insists on her kids being awake by then, and doing their CHORES, and not reading at the table, and - WHAT?! - math? Math is pointless, torturous, and there's no way it can be done SO early in the morning, especially if one hasn't had time to "rest," then get some fresh air and exercise first....and oh, by the way, when you teach me, I don't understand ANYTHING you're saying, and I don't remember anything we've ever learned...and WHY are you so upset at me??? And by then it's almost lunchtime, we haven't accomplished anything, and the little ones have upended my house, which further frazzles my nerves. Both for myself as well as for this dear one, I don't want to keep battling constantly over everything. Since making it though just one school week can be exhausting, I wonder sometimes how we'll survive years more. And usually I can honestly say that most of my frustration stems from a desire to have this person be HAPPY and to have pleasant memories of education.

I keep coming full circle, of course, as I've done in more than one post already.

On a positive note, history is almost always a happy subject for everyone here, and we are getting ready to study the Civil War - just about my favorite time period ever. We plan to spend at least a month on it, since there are so many great books to read, and reading is another subject in which we delight. Aimee, of course, practically lives on reading, I have been so amazed and pleased to see Drew devouring chapter books these days, and Ryan showing a decided interest in learning to read (but wasn't he just my baby?! I'm not sure I'm ready for him to be exploring Kindergarten, but he is of a different opinion.) So it's not all a disaster, and I hang on to those glimmers of success!