The 'blogosphere' can so easily present a false front of an ideal life, so--with much humor--I must share a few snapshots from one particular day of homeschooling this week.
I showed up to the schooling room to find that one child had tied the baby gate shut with yarn in an attempt to lock me out. "You can't come in now, so we can't do school!" Indeed, I couldn't open the gate, so said I was going to get scissors to cut off the yarn.
The child replied gleefully that a babyproofing lock had been affixed to my supplies cupboard so that I couldn't access the scissors either.
Of course, being an adult, I could step over the baby gate and remove the baby lock to cut away that yarn, but I couldn't help but laugh at the daunting start to our day of education.
It probably wasn't a day that was going to go well!
And then I had to laugh again when I discovered a fabulous feature on our old portable DVD player: the Hold Button! By sliding the hold button, a baby can bat at the machine all he wants without pausing or stopping the video. This opens up whole new horizons, such that I can put on an educational DVD for not only my three-year-old but my one-year-old too and zombify them both during school time!
Why yes, I was THAT mother on that particular school morning! Did I ever think I'd put my two tiny tots in a pack-and-play with a television screen? Certainly not! Oh, with what scorn the Less Experienced Katherine would have looked at the More Experienced Katherine.
But Mama's got to do what she's got to do in order to homeschool the children. And the little ones get immense time with me, interaction, wholesome reading, and educational opportunities. But sometimes, when I'm trying to teach math or reading to older children, and I have no Teacher's Assistant, I just need those children to be quiet and still!
So, here I am, THAT mother I never thought I'd be . . .
To top it off that same day, to make sure I didn't think of my homeschool as some false, ideal bubble of Joy at All Times, one child was so angry at me for making said child do the grammar lesson, the child wrote an angry face (with sharp teeth) and large Xs (which never mean anything good) next to each answer.
Just to make sure I knew the child's feelings toward me at that moment.
Yes, dear, I really do know how you feel. And I love you anyway. And I'll keep educating you!
Great post!
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