At the tender age of 34, I'm in Kindergarten.
For our first official year of homeschooling, the goal was simple: develop discipline - for me and for our children. Sure, reading, counting, blah blah blah... but mostly, getting into the daily habit of working. Routines. Dedication. Follow through. Such is life.
Now that the kids have reached school age, I've had to step up my game. Full days spent playing are no longer enough stimulation for these growing minds. I had no hot clue what would be though! What do they need?! I don't know what to do!!
Visions of magical yellow buses began to dance in my mind...
Maybe skilled teachers would have more to offer my children than I do.
Maybe their appetite for learning would be best whetted in a classroom with
other children and fun songs...
Maybe I could have a whole new life... you know... generate an income...??
I asked God for some clear guidance, not wanting my fears or desires to drive the decision.
I shared my concerns with hubby. Days later, he came home from work with a desk. I wasn't excited. Our house is about the size of a matchbox and there's just no room for extra furniture.
But
I took it as the guidance and encouragement it was.
(So much for the magic yellow school bus! ... guess we're doing this thing!)
So.
The desk found a home in our basement-turned-school room. The play-all-day toys were removed (don't worry - they have toys elsewhere! I'm not insane...) and our exciting classroom was born.
And it's changing my life already!
Before, work sheets and experiments would happen at the dining room table.
It was gruelling work for me to invest 30 minutes at that table with them.
I thought it was perhaps because I'm weird or not natural at this. Or maybe because I'm a crummy teacher.
But then we spent time in our new classroom, and the hours just slipped away! We cut and paste food pictures into food groups, work on math sheets, do some action patterns and take turns leading... and suddenly half the day is gone.
Aha! It wasn't me being a crummy teacher! It was distraction!
From the dining room, I can see the piano, my books, the couch, the yard... all these fun things I'd rather do than hover over math pages. Stacks of dishes, the crumbs under the table... they call to me.
I'd rather do anything else than school work.
But in our new classroom, there is nothing to see but closed doors, walls (decked out in 'school-y stuff' of course), and each other. I'm mentally available. Mostly because I don't have a choice.
My friend, we just took a big step toward understanding this elusive mystery called... self discipline.
You know, guys get alot of flack for their 'one track', single-tasking minds. Especially by multi-tasking women.
But I think they're onto something.
Something brilliant.
"That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity.
Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean;
to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there,
you can move mountains." -Steve Jobs
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