Yesterday I sat with Kyrie repeatedly trying to explain a math concept. "You're not the best teacher," she finally said. "But you aren't terrible." Fortunately, I am not her only teacher and I ran through other prospective teachers: Dad, Grandpa, Grammy, Ben? The last time we were stuck, I had to take a trip and when I came back I was told Grandpa had made a break through. Whew.
There are these days when I just push through and wonder how much more. And then we hit the highlights. The light bulb goes on, the a-ha breaks forth.
Ben started an art gallery in our basement. It was all his idea and his sisters are both willing curators and contributors, proud of their walls. I stand back in amazement. They are all three thinking more about art than I did until college.
I'm not a great teacher. Teaching someone to read this year has been hard. Hard. I do not want to teach your kids to read. I am not going to agonize over math problems with the neighbor kids. I don't have those gifts. I never wanted to read and understand the difference between whole to parts or parts to whole, and I could have lived a full life without knowing what the spiral method involves.
These are my kids. I want the best for them. I've been intensely studying these children since they were born (and before). At least once a year, I consider how my life would be simpler if I put one or two of them into school. So far, I keep coming back to this: The education we can give them here at home (using some outside resources) is still superior to anything we could afford elsewhere. We can maximize their academic gains while still allowing them time to play and be children better than any of the other options available to us.
So there are some tough days. I am not always the best teacher. But when I hear Everleigh say, "Ben, will do you my school?" I have to relax. Education is a shared load around here. And I have some great help.
2 comments:
Love your words & heart & insights, Rachelle. Your kids are so lucky to have you as their mom/teacher.
I did love teaching and wanted to be a teacher since childhood. Synopsis of my teaching years....
Public Schoolmarm - Loved it. Still remember many of the great kids. It was GOOD.
Christian School Teacher - Loved it. Jesus was part of my daily life, out loud. It was BETTER.
Homeschooling Mom - My 3 treasures taught me back & forth, & I had so much Time With Them. It was BEST.
God bless you, Sara, Jill & the other moms as you make the right choices for your treasures. <3
I once spent 45 minutes trying to convince one stubborn child that the number after 10,000 was 10,001, not 1,000,000. He argued that perhaps I was mistaken (not lying to him) and that all the math books I showed him were also mistaken. Finally I just told him that he was being stubborn and to go to his room and think about it. He came out about 15 minutes later and told me that I was right and he was being stubborn.
I loved to teach my children to read. I think I liked to see the light go on in their heads and for them to jump from the single sounds to the blended sounds.
I wish I had the time to read all that they are reading now. But I've got papers to grade so I'm relying on summaries and their own accounts of the books to get me through.
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