We just finished our first year homeschooling our child who sustained a brain injury as an infant. This has left parts of life quite challenging and difficult for her.
I realize it is important that children learn while in school, but I want to share with you some of what I learned during our first year of homeschooling.
Lesson #1: When I think I can’t, I can
My daughter and I became quite familiar with a phrase as we tackled our first year together. When she would say, “It’s too hard”… I would remind her that, “It might be hard, but it is not too hard. Let’s do it together.”
In those moments where I then found my own heart saying, “God, it’s just too hard.” I was reminded that, “Yes, it might be hard, but it’s not too hard. Let’s do it together.”
Lesson #2: It’s okay to get out of the box.
I had a preconceived idea of what school was. I had a scheduled academic plan that would get us through our curriculum in a timely manner. I felt certain requirements must be achieved by certain points in time.
As areas of strengths and weaknesses began to surface, it became apparent that certain deadlines were not going to be made. If we were going to truly grasp a concept, curriculum needed to be slowed, altered or even changed altogether.
I realized that I was requiring that our experience somehow fit into a certain mold or box that had been formed by others expectations and opinions. I became convinced that it is okay to get out of that box. In fact, it was imperative that I remove us from that box if we were to actually learn.
Lesson #3: School is not what I think it is.
At the beginning of our year I was sure schooling was about books, lessons and schedules. I am now convinced, schooling is life… pure and simple. All of our moments have the potential to be learning and growing experiences if we make them. Life itself should be consumed in learning, school is just a process to that end.
4. There is such a thing as unstructured structure.
Our days schedules are written in pencil. There is a curriculum selected. There is a goal of what to accomplish. However, there is also now permission to learn outside of that structure when the opportunity arises.
When a deer was hit on the highway, wandered into the front yard and passed away there… we took advantage of examining it’s hooves, antlers and other parts up close declaring it science.
When the chickens escaped from the coop requiring 20 minutes of running around, gathering them and getting them all back in their home… we called it P.E.
I learned that structure is in place for the pattern, goal and foundation. The un-structure comes as I look for those opportunities that life brings us to take advantage of to learn, discover and grow.
Are you a homeschooler? What did you learn in school this last year?
Are you curious about or interested in homeschooling? What do you wonder? What questions keep coming to mind?
We said when we started last year that we would take one year at a time. You might be interested to know, we are preparing for another year of homeschooling with our now 6th grader. I wonder what new things I will learn in school this next year?
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great post. I’m a speech therapist. I tell all my kids that a) they are not allowed to say “I can’t,” and b) it may be hard but they CAN DO IT!
(and as a therapist, I’m constantly ready to set aside today’s plans to do something else that catches my eye. . .)