That pretty much sums up our homeschool right now. The weather has not been very nice to say the least and we have all had the crud and therefore been locked up in this house way too long.
I have been planning and doing my lessons like always but I just haven't been finding any joy in teaching nor learning with the kids. We really enjoy the Charlotte Mason type learning we have been doing, but I can't commit fully to it.
You see when I decided to homeschool I planned on doing it for the long run. My hubby and I decided at that time that there wasn't anything that could make us put our children back into the pubic school system in our area. I felt relaxed. It was nice to know that I didn't have to shove skills down my children's throats that they weren't ready to learn just because the state says they are.
Now that relaxed feeling is gone. In its place is the worry of having to put them back in school and go back to work. It tends to be the answer in our family when things get a little tough. It's not that I am against working. I do miss teaching sometimes. However, my real concern in my children, not a classroom full of students. It was a nightmare when they were in school and I don't want to relive it.
Plus, I found out from my homeschool group that a bill in the House right now that would require homeschoolers to have to take the state assessment tests. These are one of the reasons I disliked teaching so much. This bill would make homeschoolers have to teach to the state and national standards like the public schools. Thus, the stress would return.
I do review the state standards for both of my children and make sure that we are touching upon them, but I do not fret if I try and they are not ready for a particular skill at that time. I just make a note to try again at another time. I just want to teach my children in a way in which they are not just memorizing facts but actually learning about the world and how to apply what they learn in it. Public schools do not promote this. Ug! I could go on and on.
What I am really trying to say is that I want to use a more relaxed method like Charlotte Mason, but I cannot do that when I am constantly faced with the idea that I may have to place my kids back in school. My son is my greatest worry because he struggles so much with math and even though he is making great progress with Math U See, public schools use Saxon and he cannot handle it. I fear what would happen to him at this time if he had to return to public school. He had such a horrible time before, and it has took a year to get him back on track.
I just hope and pray that we are able to keep homeschooling, it is what works for us.
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