Homeschooling Adventure: 2nd Week Blues

Romans 15:5

"Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus"


Well, I dreaded this moment and it's here already.  I think we've hit the 2nd Week Blues.  Not for me necessarily.  Iggy woke up saying, "It's school again?".  Thinking back, we had only said that on such and such day we would be starting school.  We had never discussed that it was a long term commitment.  I had to then explain it's permanency in her life's schedule for long period of time.  She loves the educational games we play, but is not so thrilled about the more disciplined things such as practicing writing her letters and numbers.  It's a little too precise a thing for her, but it's something she has to do.  I've already seen improvement in her penmanship in writing her name, but it was a tug and a pull to get her there.  Her response to me when I told her that she needed to make sure her little y wasn't as tall as her big L?  "This is the way that I do it."  I then opened a book to show her that there is a proper way to write our letters and that using capital letters the correct way, was the way they did it in books that we read.  She was still a little insistent, but eventually gave in.  Whew. 

At the very beginning, the first day of school that is, she didn't quite understand that this was all real.  She had pretended 'school' for so long, that when it was actually here, I had to keep reminding her that it was real.  That we weren't pretending.  She kept saying, "I'm gonna call you teacher" much in the same tone that she might say, "I'll be the princess and you'll be my white horse and we'll ride to the butterfly palace to get my glass slippers."  Well, after the 2nd day, Princess glass slippers was fully aware that we were in school, but periodically she would exclaim very giddy-like something to this nature, "We started school.  This is so neat!"  So, I guess we have went from pretend mode to the giddy mode, and then now on to the 'some things about school are super neat to some things about school kinda stink' mode. 

Ideally, she would stay forever in that giddy, jump up and down, let's do it again, let's do it again stage, and from subject to subject carry that continuous enthusiastic smile (as seen here),

but even I, a newbie homeschool mom, know that it won't be that way.  In fact, I think I've prepared myself for the worst - hopefully.  I went to a homeschool meeting and met some really nice ladies.  One lady shared a story about how she dealt with those tough days.  She said that she had had such a difficult homeschooling day that one time she ran out of the house and took a few laps around it in an attempt to get her frustrations out, and just came back in and apparently started teaching again.  I've got that on my to do list just in case.  : )

So, in saying all this, I am trying to keep in mind how I can be patient with her, and not lose my cool when things aren't going my way (my ideal way).  I have to remember how much patience the Lord has had with me, for it has been given to me over and abundantly.  When I feel that audible sigh trying to escape my lips, or sense my voice begining to raise out of frustration, I'm going to try to consider the patient leading that my Father in heaven is giving me.