Who's teaching whom?

After years of post-graduate education and experience in education, one might think I have all of the necessary skills to successfully navigate the planning and delivery of our home-school lessons and assignments, and yet I find myself at a loss almost daily on how to best present new material, to skillfully coax cooperation, to gently encourage perseverance, and above-all, to retain patience with two little boys who would much rather run, climb, jump, build, or play than read or calculate. As a result, the homeschool experience has been just as much a learning experience for me as it has for the boys. Sure, Ryan is learning to read and to calculate using addition and subtraction, and Connor is learning his ABCs and numbers, but I am learning that I always plan more than we are able to accomplish in a day; that plans are meant to be altered; that the boys and I do not learn in the same manner; and that beautiful Fall days were intended for outdoor play, not indoor study! Maybe Winter will bring more indoor study-time, days spent next to the fire with books and eager students, a real Norman Rockwell scene... or maybe I still have a lot to learn!

Why Homeschool?

I am the daughter of a public-school teacher; I attended public schools and graduated from state universities; I have a PhD in school psychology; I worked in the public schools for 7 years; and yes, I believe the majority of public schools do an adequate job of educating our children. So, why, I am frequently asked, would I decide to homeschool? The answer is simple, although the decision to do so was nothing of the sort! In my heart, in that little place where mothers know their children better than anyone else ever will, I know that although my boys would likely do just fine in the public-school system, they would not flourish. Each day of working with them one on one, I discover another little learning-style quirk, a behavioral difference, or a blossoming passion that, in my mind, confirms they require the flexibility and time homeschooling provides to fully explore their interests and to nurture their love of learning, each in their own learning-style!