The last two months

       It has been two months since our new adventure into the unforeseen territories of homeschooling. The process has been fun yet exhausting. In the midst of the chaos of being a mom, a teacher, a referee, a cook, a maid, and a chauffeur, homeschooling has its challenges but has also been rewarding.

During the last two months I have learned a few things about our homeschooling:

1. Routine:
I need a routine every morning. I don't mean that I need to wake up a certain time everyday, although my children makes sure I do because they never sleep past 7 am. I need a home-schooling routine and that is that before we attempt any curriculum we say the Lord's prayer very morning and start off schooling with the calendar. This way my children know that school is starting and they are more attentive for the lessons.

2. Flexibility:
Besides being a full- time mom, teacher, and wife, I also work part time as a RN. This means that I have a different schedule every week, as my work schedule is based on a three week rotation. This also means that every week homeschooling is different. I love that I have the flexibility to set a schedule that works for us. For example, we try to do schooling at least four times a week but depending on the week it could be from Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday. Flexibility just doesn't end there; I love that if there is a certain lesson that day that just doesn't jive with the kids or I for some peculiar reason we can skip it or come back to it another time. Or just skipping homeschooling for the day and going on a field trip to the park, zoo, or visiting friends because when you think about it they are still learning where ever they are.
I believe flexibility is key in homeschooling.

3. Stop Comparing:
As a mom you cannot help but compare your child. As moms, we have done it since the child was in utero. We compared how big our baby was in the womb, how much the child weighed at birth, when the child first crawled, walked, talked and so on. I know I used to be obsessed with reading those parent websites to see if my child was on par with all of his physical and social development and I would compare my child to those around me. Only nothing good ever came out of comparison. I came across a really good quote the other day and it said:
                        "Comparison is the thief of joy" Theodore Roosevelt.
Nothing is more true than that. By comparing my child I was stealing away the joy that is him; the characteristics that makes him unique and who he is. My husband and I wanted to home school to give our child a chance to be himself without being bullied and labeled because he cannot talk well or may not always act like other children. I really wanted to home school him so he would not be labeled as a bad kid, as a slow learner, or among other things. But I have come to realize that I was secretly labeling him in my mind by comparing him to other children and that is wrong. For that I ask for his forgiveness. I need to see the simple things and celebrate however minuet it may be by seeing the joy in small things.

4. Time well spent:
The most important lesson I have learned thus far is that there is nothing better than spending time with my child; in the good times and the bad. In everything I have a lot to learn, whether it is in hindsight. I only hope that I can only learn from my mistakes and never to repeat it again. But from that I learned how to be a better listener, a better mom, a better teacher, and most of all how to be patient and loving. Time is so precious and I am thankful that I am able to laugh with my child, encourage him, and to teach him the best way I can.

I may not have a certificate in teaching and may not know to silly like your aunties or how to be grammatically correct but I will learn and re-learn if it means I am up all night, because I am your mom and I know when you are too tired to learn or when you have ants in your pants and cannot focus. I know who you are because you are a part of me.

No one is going to love your child, make your child happy, make him feel nurtured and safe besides you. For that I am thankful that I live in a country that allows me to spend time with my child by teaching him the unconditional love he deserves. As this is not only for home school children but for all children who have parents who spend quality family time with them.