Loosen Up - Have Fun!

If there were one big lesson I learned this year in homeschool, it is this:

Loosen Up and Have Fun!!

We chose to homeschool so we could have fun with our kids - you know - build models, do experiments, read and write books together, visit museums, explore the world, etc.  We wanted to help our kids develop their imagination, creativity, and outside-the-box thinking.  Every parent wants to give their child the ability to be awesome, right?

And then there's reality:  most days it takes everything I have just to get through 3 subjects with each child.  When school is over, we have lunch.  Then I take nap while they play computer and video games.  This happens pretty much every day.

This is not what I pictured when we decided to homeschool.  I think I pictured more of a Little House on the Prairie/Anne of Green Gables/Up combo.  You know - precocious, wholesome children.  Girls with cute braided hair and dresses.  Homemade bread and cookies.  Children who love to read and who happily complete workbooks.  And our motto: "Adventure is out there!"

What it really looks like:  We have good kids, but they hardly ever remember to say "please" or "thank you" (even though I've been reminding them to do so for about 8 years), my third grade child was a struggling learner, hates workbooks, hates brushing her hair and will not come within 100 feet of a dress.  Once in a while, she utters, "I hate school."  My kindergartner wants to "do it herself" (whatever the subject) and huffs at me when I try to teach her something, even though I am a certified teacher (this does not impress them).  We wear lots of soft cotton clothes - stretch pants, sweat pants, t-shirts, we brush our hair sometime before dinner (me included).  Tooth brushing is hit and miss.  We eat granola bars or frozen waffles for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and something from a box that I can pop in the oven for dinner.  The house almost always looks like something exploded.  Like a giant clutter bomb went off - all over.  This is not what I pictured.  At all.

So then I wonder: 


Why do I always have such unrealistic expectations?

Two Reasons:

One:  I have drive and a plan to get things done

Two:  Kids have no desire to get things done.  They just want to play.

That's pretty much it.


Each year, a little more of my get-it-done attitude has melted away.  This year (year 4), it has begun to be replaced by a do-it-fun attitude.

I have realized if I'm not having fun and my kids are not having fun, this whole experiment is going to come crashing down around us.  The end.

This is DRUDGERY.

And who wants that?

That doesn't mean that I've thrown the 3 R's out the window, but it does mean I've gotten more creative and learning has become a lot more fun for all of us (surprise!)

My next blog will address how we make learning more fun (Oooh - a teaser!)