One Month In

We've been homeschooling for about a month now. It's been a crazy busy whirlwind (though who could expect anything less since we did it without any preparation, prior planning, or purchased curriculum), but as hectic as it has been, I have to say, I never dreamed I would enjoy it so very much. Okay, I'll admit I was always a bit of nerd and I was a teacher because I truly loved learning, so I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised that this is so fun. I got a workbook in the mail over the weekend and I was just giddy. It looks like so much fun. I can hardly stand to wait until after Christmas to start on it.

Homeschooling has also brought with it some unintended benefits. One of the primary reasons we had origionally abandoned the idea of homeschool for public school was because Kate and I clash fairly regularly, especially when it comes to me teaching her something new. A definite plus to this new arrangement is that we are having to practice this multiple times every day now and it has gotten better. That's not to say I never close my eyes as she sits in my lap during reading time and just will her to quit fighting with it, but we're both gaining ground on this.

I'm also loving that I know what she's learning. And my is she learning! Her reading skills have flourished. She was able to write a little paragraph today and I helped her with a couple (literally two or three) of the letter sounds and the writing of only one of the letters--she started off only being able to write the letters in her first name and a few others.

I like that her interactions with other kids her age are limited. I know that this is a reason that many people opt against homeschool entirely, under the feeling that they need to allow their child to be socialized. For Kate, however, I was very fearful of what that would mean. She's very bright, but socially she wants to be accepted, regardless of the cost. If others are doing it, she hops right in. I felt she really needed some more time to mature before being pushed in to situations where she's not fairly closely monitored--she would have been the very youngest in her kindergarten class had she gone. She does play with other children outside of our home, but I was glad that today I was there to watch and be able to talk to her about it afterward, so she learns appropriate behavior.

Another side benefit is that Nate has gotten on a nap schedule. The girls had fallen into a schedule on their own, but Nate never really had. He isn't much of a sleeper and never has been. He started off sleeping at night right away, but doesn't require a lot of rest. As Kate and I were working I started noticing that there were times that he needed my undivided attention, which had not been problematic before, but now was, so I put him to bed and off he went to sleep.

Of course Miss Gabriella is learning some of what we're studying too. She's not with us all the time, but she has picked up some numbers and letters. She particularly likes to study money and cooking with us. She's also great at occupying Nate's attention while I'm working with Kate.

Then there is the benefit to me. It does eat up a good bit of time that I was actually planning to have more of this fall, but for the most part, it is fun. I get to pick what we do and how we learn it, so it is less like work and more like play. It also gives me something to talk about. I was getting awfully boring here in TN. I don't have any friends here yet, so it is nice that when Justin comes home in the evening I actually have something to tell him about our day. Plus I get to do arts and crafts, read tons of books, and play in the office/school supply section. Who could ask for more?