We did it. As of 10:00 this morning, we wrapped up our first year of homeschooling. (Do you hear the Hallelujah chorus?) The majority of the year was great, but I've really been limping along these last couple of weeks. Here's an actual conversation I had with Perrin last week:
Perrin: "Mom, will you check my handwriting?"
Me: "Hmm... you got your d's backwards. But I don't even care. Let's just move on to math now."
Perrin: "Oh, I can fix those." (Begins erasing the offending letters)
Me: (Whining) "Do you have to? Can't we just be done already?"
Not my best moment as a teacher. In my defense, I've spent all year long caring. And after a bit of a break and a beach vacation, I'll start caring again.
Despite a rocky last two weeks, I'm really pleased with how well this year went. I taught my son to read and write! What a neat experience to share together! We've laughed and cried together over books we read while snuggled on the couch. We launched rockets, built a working wench, tested the acidity in our foods, created messy chemical reactions, studied the night sky through our telescope (and caught a glimpse of four of Jupiter's moons), played strategy games, dissected owl pellets, and explored our beautiful world as a family on several field trips and outings. We've had a blast, and I'm proud to say that Perrin has realized he loves learning. Goal achieved. (Also, kindergarten science is FUN, y'all!)
We had tough days too when the thought crossed my mind of how much easier it would be to send him to public school. Juggling my job with homeschooling was a year-long balancing act I still haven't gotten the hang of. I constantly felt like I was either being a bad employee or a bad teacher (or both). And between time working and time teaching Perrin, I often felt like I was neglecting Brielle. Sometimes I wondered if homeschooling was worth it.
But as I look back on the memories we've made this year and consider how close I am to my kids and how I've watched their enthusiasm for learning grow, I know I made the right choice. I'm already ordering our curriculum for next year and getting excited about all the fun we'll have together (after some mental rest for this depleted teacher/mom, of course). No more school for at least 6-8 weeks! Except while we're on vacation we're going to study tides and how the moon affects them... and we're going on a nature cruise to study ocean life from the sea floor... and we're going to watch the Blue Angels practice and discuss flight dynamics... and I'll probably stick some other learning in here and there. Because when you're a homeschool family, all of life is an opportunity to learn. So we never really take a break.
