Unschool?

I have been homeschooling my son for almost a year! I know I can't believe it:) We have had our ups and downs and it is definitely NOT easy. Still, I think that it is better than sending him to a school where he could be bullied or fall behind. I have tried very hard to "keep him on schedule" but feel like I'm pushing him way too hard and way to fast. I had the thought a couple of weeks ago, "Isn't that one of the reasons I chose to homeschool? I wanted to slow it down so we could focus on the places that he was falling behind."

I began to feel really bad. It's only been a year and I have lost my focus. I have allowed schedules, personal timelines, and frustrations to take over and I have began to PUSH. Maybe, I was thinking that if we could just get threw it then we would be done and I don't have to argue with him. How WRONG I was:(

I have lost the want to do projects, art, and just enjoying him. NO MORE! I have sat in prayer wondering what to do...and this thought came to me. Where is the day to just soak it in, to let it simmer? WOW! I can do that? Saturday's are crazy Sunday's we go to church and then we are crazy busy in the afternoon. So what other day is there?

Enter the Unschooling idea. My thoughts went to this idea. I had read about it but never really gave it much thought. I decided to research it a little more. The more that I read the more excited I became. I still can't let go of the idea of not having any cirriculum but to take a day or maybe even two during the week to reflect on what we are learning. A day to challenge ourselves to read as much as we can. A day to play some board games. A day to plant in our garden. A day to explore art. A day to ___fill in the blank______.

Yes, I need that Day. We actually started last week on Dr. Suess's Birthday. We did art, we read, we played, and we even learned a little. I saw both my children be kids that day and we had a BLAST! I saw them both light up and get excited about school.

We will be making this a part of our homeschool. Isn't that one of the beauties of homeschooling? The option to make changes when you need to for the good of your family. I am extremely excited about this and can't wait to see all the wonderful things that will come from or Unschool Day!

Am I failing?

I knew when I started home schooling my son that I would have struggles, good days and bad days, not so structured days and ones that go exactly as planned. A lot of people thought I was crazy to homeschool him with the Autism factor. I prayed and and prayed and our decision was yes and God would help us. I had thought about what if he doesn't pass this or fails that and had a plan. Yet, I don't think I ever thought about the days that I would feel like I was failing him. Today was that day.

Math, Art, Social Studies, and Science all seem to come easy for him and he enjoys those subject. Language Arts and Reading Comprehension is difficult for him to pick up and right now we are struggling with adjectives. I sat for 30 minutes each day last week and explained, showed examples, wrote sentences and prayed with him. Since we didn't have school yesterday we picked back up today and did the exact same thing. So I was frustrated when he took his quiz and scored a 42!

A 42!?!?!?!

Really? a 42?

I went into the kitchen and cried.

I really wanted to go hide in the closet but I wasn't going to make it that far.

What did I do wrong? Am I failing him as a teacher? Would someone else teach him better? Was this just a fluke? Tears streaming down my face quietly as I search for answers and prayed for strength because I was going to need it along with patience and understanding today.

So we sat there and tried again. This time he made a 72. Better but still not what I expected.

Side not: I am not one of these parents that expects all A's. I know that there will be things that he masters and somethings that are difficult. I do expect his best work though. If he had made a 72 the first time then I would have been fine.

So what now? Well, I am not allowing him to take the test, at least not yet. He will have a ton of worksheets this week until I am satisfied that he KNOWS how to identify adjectives. He will be drilled and drilled all day and asked to put adjectives into his everyday sentences. I have to conquer this one so when the next bump happens then I can stand up against it with confidence.

I've decided never again will I feel like this. It is by the grace of God that we have gotten this far with His grace we will finish. Just because we hit a bump doesn't mean that I am failing him. It just means I may have to find a different approach. There is always more than one way to learn something.

Do you homeschool? Any experiences you want to share?

Day 6: I'm thankful for...

I am thankful for the option to homeschool. We didn't start homeschooling until the end of last school year. I wanted to protect my son from things that were going on in his school. I believe that it is a personal choice and this is something that I had to pray long and hard about. I kept thinking...but he needs to be socialized and he needs interaction. Could I truly take this on with him having special needs and the whole deal? I was definitely scared and worried about "how I would do"...then I realized that I was going to be a tool for God to work through. He can help me do anything that He has put in my heart to do. I knew I could do this and we would be just fine.

So I am thankful for the ability to homeschool by the grace of God. I am thankful that I have found curriculum that works for us. I am thankful for the routine that has been established in our home. I am thankful that we can read our Bible and pray freely! I am thankful that I can teach all the pledges (the American flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible). I am thankful that my son is learning memorizing scripture and that will be imprinted on his heart forever. I am thankful for the flexible days when we just want to be a little lazy or stay in our p.j's. I am thankful for the jam packed days. I am thankful that he is getting the one on one attention that he needs. I am thankful that we can slow down and concentrate where he may need the most help. I am thankful for homeschool groups so he can have some buddies to play with & I get some grown up time.