I have spent all weekend engrossed in this book. Is it really this simple? They make a couple very outstanding and dramatic claims in this book. With the Moore principle and Ruth Beechick techniques, no parent should ever burn out.
Burnout is something I have felt for a long time this year. I know the importance of things like reading aloud, but I have been so overwhelmed with housework and schoolwork. I switched to a curriculum that Laura liked to take the stress off of me. She has done well with it and it has gotten her on track in many areas. However, workbooks are not how I want my children to be educated full time and long term. They are great for a season, but not forever. I've known this in my heart, but was just stretched so thin that I needed to catch my breath.
We are only a few weeks away from the local public schooled children being done for the summer. Laura is still fighting me on schooling in the summer because she wants to be off like everyone else. I agree that our schedule needs to be lighter, but not stop altogether.
I cried out to God recently in prayer for guidance in many areas. One of those areas was my homeschool. I see that Laura has a very negative attitude about school. She does the work, but there is no natural curiosity to learn. I don't think she is burned out as much as she just has a bad attitude. I think God answered my prayer with the books written years ago by the Moores.
The Moore's have some pretty interesting philosophies about homeschooling. School at home is not on their agenda. They believe in targeting a child's interests to help motivate them to learn to love learning. They believe in a child learning to work, study, and serve. I'll be honest, I haven't focused on a couple of these issues like I should have.
The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook talks about the difficulty parents have with giving up the models of school they were raised with. For me, having been public schooled my entire life, I am having a horrible time giving up the ways I was taught. Years in a classroom, both in public school and college, have left me with certain models of learning. I've experimented with other ways, but I struggle to get the knack of them. I feel like I'm cheating or that those ways aren't the correct way. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, I struggle. I feel like I'll mess my kids up if I do things differently.
I have the Successful Homeschool Family Handbook and the book Home Grown Kids for three weeks from my local library. I may even renew them. I want to get the facts in my brain and in my heart. I don't want my children to hate learning. The only thing I have noticed is that I'm not a big text book fan. However, I haven't hesitated to use workbooks and worktexts for curriculum.
The first year teaching at home was an adventure. This year, the adventure has been a bit like a rough journey. I'm giving Laura and I both a break. We are going to stop most of our formal studies. We will continue with math, some english and handwriting, and spend the rest of the time reading. I think we'll do a unit study. I want to get back to some read aloud time. No more formal science or social studies this year except what we read about. I need a break from grading papers all the time. I read an article recently that said that if I spent the same time preparing lessons that I spend grading them, the education would be a lot better and I wouldn't be burned out. I would instead be learning with my children.
I have some more praying to do about my homeschool while I am researching. The hardest truth to accept has been that, while I know it took quite a bit of courage to break from the norm and homeschool in the first place, I am not giving my best to my children if I can't escape the rigid way in which I was taught.
No comments:
Post a Comment