I soon realized that if I was ever going to get anything accomplished, I'd have to teach them separately. Reagan doesn't understand why she has to be quiet & Addie doesn't have a clue what rounding numbers is all about. Every time I would ask Addie to identify the shape/number/letter, Imagen would blurt out the answer. Next thing you know, Addie is crying because Imagen won't let her answer the questions. So, why make them suffer??? It was evident that I had no choice but to teach them separately. Now Addie doesn't have to cry because Imagen won't let her have a turn. Imagen doesn't have to keep telling Reagan to stop trying to color on her paper, and Reagan well she doesn't have to get in trouble for interrupting me every five minutes. So it all works out!!!
I discovered *breaks* are a must!!! You know it's time for a break when they start staring off into space, or when you have to start telling them to sit up in the chair & pay attention. You can keep requesting their attention, but you're not gonna get it. And if you keep teaching the lesson anyway, they're most likely not going to remember anything you said. It's the classic example of... "it's going in one ear & out the other". But after a short break, they're always ready to go again!
I've found that I have more success if I get the "easy" subjects done first. When I say easy, I'm talking about the subjects that can be covered in the shortest amount of time, or the ones that your child considers easy! If you start with the subjects that require a lot of time & energy, the kids will get burnt out & want to quit for the day. And when that happens, you can forget about trying to get them to hang in there for another hour. For instance, I can cover spelling, handwriting & math in about an hour with Imagen. Yet reading, science, & history require a little bit more discussion, thus requiring more time. I've noticed that if I get the first three out the way, Imagen seems to perform better than when I reverse the order.
I've learned that just when you think you can't, you can!!! Yep, yep... After about a week and a half, I began to wonder if Addie had ADD, dyslexia, or some kind of other learning disability. Don't get me wrong, she's very smart when it comes to certain things. For instance, she has exceptional memorization skills. She can memorize song lyrics after hearing a song only once or twice. At times, I have thought Addie was a musical genius. But next thing I know, Addie can't count objects. She was able to recite the numbers 1 through 10 in perfect order every time while staring at the ceiling, looking at me, or dancing in circles. But what she couldn't do was count objects. I could put crayons, blocks, or even spoons in front of her, but ask her to count them & she couldn't. I would show her how to count by pointing to the objects & saying the number. You would think after a few days anyone would start to pick up on what they are supposed to do, but Addie wasn't catching on. I never realized teaching someone to count could be so hard. I tried to explain to her that when counting objects, it was just like when she'd look at the ceiling and count 1 through 10. But every time she tried to count objects, she would say random numbers like 1, 2, 4, 10. When she would mess up, I'd tell her to stop looking at the objects, look at me, and count 1 through 10. She would immediately count 1 through 10 in perfect order. It was very frustrating & I began to doubt myself. Suddenly, out of no where we had a break through. A light bulb went off somewhere, or God answered my prayer. Addie had finally learned to count objects!!! :)
So, would I recommend homeschooling to anyone??? It's definitely not for everyone, and it requires a ton of patience & discipline. I would probably say, give it a try... What have you got to lose??? And besides, you never know what you can do until you try!!! I have gained a new respect for the teachers that somehow manage to teach 30 kids at once, yet I'm thankful for what I've learned about my children while homeschooling them. I hate to admit it, but in only 2 weeks time I've come to realize that my children are a lot smarter than I ever gave them credit for. I didn't look down on my children specifically, I just never realized what kids their age are capable of. WOW!!! I'm utterly amazed at how fast they catch on, and very surprised at how much they already know that I didn't realize they did.
Finally, I would like to say that it's so important to sit down & talk with someone. No matter what their age is, everyone needs to feel that their thoughts & opinions are appreciated. So just pick someone you haven't really talked to & ask them about something or anything for that matter. One question can change a lot. I suppose I haven't always taken up time with each one of my children individually. I've always done things with them all together, but not on an individual basis. We can all watch movies together, or blow bubbles together... But I've found that individual interaction allows us to grow beyond ourselves. Working with each of my children separately has not only strengthened our relationships, but helped me to see the things I've never noticed before. I never realized that an 8 year old was capable of holding such an intellectual conversation. I think maybe my kids think I hung the moon... Well, not really!!! But I've been taking advantage of the fact that they now believe I know every thing, and now believe anything I tell them. *laughs* Don't worry, I'm not that cruel... I'm am so thankful that they've started talking to me & asking questions like never before. In a way, I almost feel like there was a wall between us, or maybe they were in a shell. But whatever happened, I'm happy to see this side of them!!!
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