A New Adventure

So, we've decided to try homeschooling our daughter this year. This is one of those things that sounds so much fun when you conceptualize it, but the reality is much more, well, reality. I love my kiddo. She's smart, fun to be with, incredibly sweet, and very creative. But she's alot like her mommy (no surprise there) and when she has a hard time with something, she REALLY digs her heels in! And unfortunately, the thing she's having a hard time with is handwriting, and handwriting is part of EVERYTHING when it comes to school! It's not so much math that she doesn't like, it's writing the numbers. And it's not that she doesn't like phonics, she doesn't like writing the letters. And I have to drag her kicking and screaming through handwriting itself. Sigh...and this is only the first week! Now, I know, there's transition time that I have to take into consideration, and getting on a schedule that helps her be rested and ready to learn, but really, if it was just that, then I would think we'd have a hard time with all kinds of learning. But she can sit for hours and let me read book after book. She likes phonics and math, until she has to write. So we're going to go over to school early today (I'm a school bus driver, if I hadn't mentioned that before) and see if the school has the Handwriting Without Tears program. And I might even pop in to talk to the teacher she was supposed to have, who has generously offered to help any time we need it.

I have to say, one stroke of genius I had today was that when I'm in teacher-mode, I put on my glasses (that I don't REALLY need) and asked my dd to call me "Mrs. Mommy". Later, after I sent her upstairs to lay down after a handwriting meltdown, I took off my glasses and followed her up with our kids Bible to read and pray, and she started telling me how her teacher had been mean to her today, and we talked about it as if Mrs. Mommy was a different person. We'll see if this works for long, or if it's just novel and she's having fun with it, but maybe it will help her clarify when we are in school mode. It was good to really open up the communication about how things are going though!

So, I needed to start with the challenges we're facing because I'm really feeling it today. But maybe I can get on soon and post about some of the fun and success we've had this first week too! I think I've finally found something worth putting in the effort of writing about regularly.

Have a great day, and enjoy learning something new!