The good, the bad and the Ugly ~ of Homeschooling

Since we began this homeschooling adventure we haven't had a great balance, we have been finding out who we are, how we learn, what works for us (or maybe more what DOES NOT work for us), what we want to learn, what we do well at and what our weaknesses are.  I get very focused on what is NOT happening that sometimes I fail to see what IS happening.  It's a silly little trait I seem to have picked up from two awesome people I call Mom and Dad!  Slightly critical, HUGE expectations, and a pinch of perfectionism....mix that up and WOW I'm a boiling blunder of WHY ISN'T THIS HOMESCHOOLING A WELL OILED MACHINE YET?  I've read blogs and posts and pins about what to do, how to do, why, when, where.  I think it is overwhelming but I need to read things so I remember that it's OK!  Everyone readjusts, even re-readjusts.  It's life, it's gonna happen and It. Is. OK!  So I thought about what GOOD things have come from this adventure and what I like about HS-ing.  Also what Bad things have happened or what I don't really care for. And the Ugly things, or habits that perhaps we've picked up! HA!

The GOOD!

The good is hard to focus on because like I said I am constantly thinking I could be doing more and should be doing better so I forget to think about this stuff.  The good about this year has been the relationship that my and Jo have been able to foster.  She and I have always been the head butting type, I remember MANY days driving her to school so frustrated at each other, she cried a lot back then.  I know she's a girl but she really cried a lot now that I think about it, and she doesn't now :).  We still have our head butting moments but we've learned it's because we are so much alike!  The good is that she likes me!  I think this has been great for our relationship and she is truly an amazing young lady I love her to pieces and I feel like I KNOW her now and that we can deal with our differences better than ever before.  

Adventures

A little DAD time

Fun hair do's and a cute girl!

Bonding

More good, I don't have to chase a teacher down to find out what Buckwheat learned today, or ever! HA!  That's a great feeling!  I know what he learned cause I taught it!!!

Best buddies

Family Time

Togetherness

It's calving season around here and Jo and her Dad have been inseparable!  She get's up every morning earlier than I do and get's ready so she can go with Hank to check the cows and feed, run errands and check the sheep too.  This is a GREAT good!  Having their relationships strengthened with their dad is so important to me!  They are also great friends with each other and that makes me happy!

We have discovered that we like a little freedom in our curriculum, so we might switch it up next year to decide what works a little better for us.

I've learned to..... breathe...!  It's a fabulous thing, I don't need it to go perfectly I can let things just play out.  I'm still learning but it's been good!

We can go places when other people are in school.  It's so fun to be able to go to the zoo, or to the dentist or anywhere for that matter, because most people are in school so we kind of have a little more freedom to roam and do as we please.  That's such a perk that I don't think about too often.

Yep she's all over this!

My little organizing team

Cleaning up the room

If she leaves....he will resort to playing.... better stay JO!

We can count our vacations as field trips~ YEP!  It's awesome!  We went to Southern Utah this past weekend and we left a day early (which is totally feasible when you HS).  We explored and lounged and rode bikes and soaked up the 70 degree weather.  We found lizards and rocks that had erosion lines on them.  It was a great lesson to introduce erosion and now the topic has tangible evidence behind it because we SAW it!

We clean together and they learn great life skills.  My Jo can organize with the best of them!  She's a PRO! And little Peanut isn't far behind. Buckwheat, well he's a boy and he'll help and he loves to move furniture but he'd rather play with the toys than organize them!

We love to play with the doll house

Peanut playin' away

Building stuff

Imaginations running

We actually have time to play!  We can get out toys and play and play all day if we want and those days are truly my favorite!

I love this guy so much!

Cougar!

Beauty of the mountains I get to enjoy!

Hank and I can do date's at any moment. Like we went snow shoeing one afternoon because we could! We can take the kids with us too, but we didn't on this particular day.

The BAD!
Yep there are bad days, terrible days and very very discouraging days!   But I had the same feelings (although probably more often) when we didn't HS.  There are days I threaten I won't teach them at home anymore, days I just want to send them back and not have to deal with life for a few days, days when the grocery store by myself sounds like a slice of heaven.  There are days we literally get NOTHING done, days when we have been sick (this year has been a germ fest!) and we just read.  Days when  I feel like we aren't learning a dang thing!

Some days I wonder if this is really what I should be doing or if I'm just screwing this whole thing up!

Our bad hair days have been quadrupled since we really don't need to do our hair to go anywhere. Oh dear that sounds bad!  It's true though, Peanut's hair was always done in preschool.....now....well let's just say it's a little different these days!

You constantly have to find what is working and what isn't.  Especially this first year.  We have a plan and it works for a moment, then we are back to the drawing board.

The UGLY
There's not too much UGLY abut it, well maybe our hair some days! LOL!  Maybe our attitudes on other days.

But the I think the Ugliest for me is not giving ourselves credit.  We aren't perfect at this yet, nor will we probably ever be; but we are trying and that's what counts.  Also the comparison of what others are doing is UGLY for me because I think "are my kids getting enough socialism, are my kids getting to do what Johnny does?" Comparison is UGLY isn't it?  My kids are not Johnny  my kids are mine, my kids are home, my kids need what I can give them and that should be what I focus on.

SO, with all the good, the bad and the ugly ~ HS-ing is everything I dreamed of, everything I feared and everything I needed!  Today as we talked about our plans for next year we all discussed that we wanted this HS-ing thing to be our way of life, not just a fad.  We want to do this!  That's not to say that we won't ever embark on a different journey, but we aren't planning on that happening.  We are planning to do this through high school and if the chaos of life creates a new turn we will face it when it comes.

~WE ARE HOMESCHOOLERS~