It's Friday and the end of the first full week of school; or it would have been, if we hadn't already needed a sick day. I feel like we haven't hit our groove yet and I'm trying not to get discouraged. Last week our school district started back on Wednesday and we mimicked their schedule with just three days of school. This week, we were going strong Monday and Tuesday, until Casia came down with a virus. She took a sick day Wednesday and just did some reading on the couch. She was better by that evening, but then I was sick. On Thursday, I lightened the academic load to just math and language arts and then took Casia to a gym class at the local Y that afternoon.
In addition to the adjusted work load this week due to illness, emotions have been running a little high. I've been coming off of medication for some poison ivy I incurred a couple of weeks ago and it has been affecting my sleep and making me a little irritable (okay, maybe a bit more than that). For Casia, the transition to homeschooling was easy over the summer. She loves all the projects and doesn't even complain too much about the writing assignments. The academic pluses were an easy sell, but now that she knows everyone is at school and she's not; now that the reality of homeschooling has sunk in, I think it's upset her more than she thought it would. I know it will just take some time and it's only been a week, but the cumulation of frustrations from my end and disappointment from hers has been creating some tension.
We've both been a bit snippy this week and neither one has been showing much patience. When it comes to the school work, Casia has been doing everything I ask with a fairly positive attitude. However, she has had some focus issues; staying on task and not becoming distracted with her surroundings. This I expected and anticipate will take a few more weeks to really settle into a routine. It's the rest of time: meals, errands, bedtimes; these are the times when she becomes emotionally volatile and I become exasperated.
I'm trying not to put too much pressure on us. It shouldn't really matter that we haven't been able to follow the schedule for even one day. It's not a catastrophe just because we haven't covered as much material as I'd planned. I'm sure she hasn't fallen behind. Even if she'd started back to public school this year, there would be an adjustment period getting back into the swing of things. I know she's learning and that's what is important. I know we're figuring out this homeschooling lifestyle together and it's not going to go smoothly all the time, or work perfectly any of the time. I know my expectations have been ambitious and I need to give us some room to get the feel for how it will work. It's just sometimes hard to see around the corner. But I'm confident we'll bounce back after a restful weekend. To quote a favorite childhood author:
"Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."
~ L. M. Montgomery
Sick days can lead to the feeling of "what happened to our week". But somehow it doesn't effect the big picture. Getting into the routine of Autumn is similar for everyone I think. I guess it is why public schools do all that review. this is our third year and it was a very rough start. But I know it won't last.
ReplyDeleteSometimes calling a friend early in the week to plan a weekend play date or sleep over gives something to look forward to at the end of the week, and reminds them that they don't need school to have friends (despite what the world around them assumes). Making some homeschool friends helps too.
Thanks for your comment, Ina. It's good to know I'm not alone!
ReplyDeleteCasia did have a friend over twice this week, plus she started two different Y classes (one with just homeschoolers) and she had Girl Scouts this week. But even though she's getting a chance to be with other kids almost every day, there is still that part of her that feels like she's missing something by not being in the school. She was always the type of kid who hated to be absent from school when she was sick because she would miss something.
It's that 'something' that's hard to put our finger on. I think in part it may just be the commotion of having lots of people in one place. Maybe the camaraderie of past notes, whispers in the lunch line and the excitement of getting seated next to a good friend.
But with everything, there's a trade-off. Last year, she almost always got stuck seated next to the boys that she would term 'trouble-makers' and they had assigned seats in lunch so she couldn't even eat with her friends and then there was the drama of the 'popular girl' picking only her friends for four-square. These are 'somethings' she is happy to be missing.
I think you're right that make friends with other homeschoolers will help. Hopefully she'll hit it off with some of the kids she's meeting at the Y.