Not so much an update, but a starting point. Summer is here, not Summer, but schools out anyway. Which is a very good thing. I spent the last few weeks of my first homeschooling experience blundering around like an idiot. I'm sure it wasn't all that bad, but it felt like it. I am thankful for a summer to get my bearings and refocus for next year.I'm reading about unschooling and deschooling. Apparently these are terms familiar to established homeschoolers, but I am still getting used to them. I think I have more of a grasp on the deschooling.
I am finding myself trying to recreate school at home and failing miserably. For one thing, this isn't school, there isn't a classroom, teachers, principles and tons of kids. I should know better, I hate role-playing. I feel silly and contrived, how can I teach anything in that state. Not to mention that no one is buying it. My children asked me to pull them out of school and teach them, and the best I can do is make a rudimentary pretend school in my home. Pathetic really.What they wanted was what I had been doing all along. Facilitating their learning of things that interested them. Our out of school experiences were filled with them asking questions and me helping them find the answers. Why did I dumb it down and make it school? Probably because I lost the confidence that I initially had. I had been volunteering regularly and I knew exactly what a disaster school was for my kids. I knew for a fact I was teaching my children more than they were learning there. I even went so far as to say that I could change nothing I was doing and they still would be better off out of school.
So what happened? Fear, second-guessing and self-doubt. Not to mention I could no longer see into the classrooms to make sure I was ahead of them. Maybe they got their act together and were learning behind my back? So I did what comes naturally. I did what I know. I wasn't homeschooled as a child. I am the product of our educational system. Not a traditional one, but we'll get into that later. I started trying to recreate the school experience in my home. That is when the learning slowed and the frustration began. Luckily, no irreversible damage has been done. There is plenty of time.Step one is this blog. I almost forgot what I had been thinking when I yanked my kids from the school system and brought them home. Clearly I need to keep better track of my thoughts for times when things aren't so clear. I'm going to do for myself, what I used to do for my kids. Help myself find answers.
I am finding myself trying to recreate school at home and failing miserably. For one thing, this isn't school, there isn't a classroom, teachers, principles and tons of kids. I should know better, I hate role-playing. I feel silly and contrived, how can I teach anything in that state. Not to mention that no one is buying it. My children asked me to pull them out of school and teach them, and the best I can do is make a rudimentary pretend school in my home. Pathetic really.What they wanted was what I had been doing all along. Facilitating their learning of things that interested them. Our out of school experiences were filled with them asking questions and me helping them find the answers. Why did I dumb it down and make it school? Probably because I lost the confidence that I initially had. I had been volunteering regularly and I knew exactly what a disaster school was for my kids. I knew for a fact I was teaching my children more than they were learning there. I even went so far as to say that I could change nothing I was doing and they still would be better off out of school.
So what happened? Fear, second-guessing and self-doubt. Not to mention I could no longer see into the classrooms to make sure I was ahead of them. Maybe they got their act together and were learning behind my back? So I did what comes naturally. I did what I know. I wasn't homeschooled as a child. I am the product of our educational system. Not a traditional one, but we'll get into that later. I started trying to recreate the school experience in my home. That is when the learning slowed and the frustration began. Luckily, no irreversible damage has been done. There is plenty of time.Step one is this blog. I almost forgot what I had been thinking when I yanked my kids from the school system and brought them home. Clearly I need to keep better track of my thoughts for times when things aren't so clear. I'm going to do for myself, what I used to do for my kids. Help myself find answers.
