Enjoyment

Over the the past three years that I've been homeschooling I've had many stresses, moments of doubt, guilt, and midnight worries. As human nature dictates, I've neglected to emphasize the glorious, the happy, the laughter, the hugs, the cuddles, the amazing realization of your child's understanding. You can see the door opening in their minds, their connections forming, the glee in their eyes, the pride of accomplishment. I wouldn't want to miss this. I like my job.

My job is to guide, teach, and prepare my children for life. Many days I feel like I'm not making any progress, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. I see glimpses of triumph, snatches of time that elucidate real thinking and character building. I talk to Boy's teachers and they all have only good things to say about him. I must be doing something right.

As I pour over my planning for next year, I realize that the goal of a worthy education is not only attainment and success, but enjoyment. If we don't enjoy the process, it's quickly forgotten and discarded. However, if we learn in an environment of trust, familiarity and love, you can bet the learning will stick and remain much longer and be processed at a deeper level.

As I struggle to tweak this and that for Boy, I see him as he is and accept him for who he is. Yes, he's an energetic boy who's easily distracted and frustrating to teach on some days, but he is who he is. It's my job to work with him and not against him. Yes, he needs to learn to sit and do his work, but it's my job to prepare the environment and make it easier for him to do so. My main job? Enjoy myself. The more I enjoy myself, the more I want to do this, and the better my children's education will be as a result.