How's Harris liking it? I hear this question every single day. I love that people are interested/concerned about Harris and his opinion on all this crazy home school stuff. For those who know Harris, you know he has had opinions about things since he came in the world. We knew that he would have an opinion about this when we first decided to move forward. We also knew that to not ask his opinion would only be offensive to him. So we talked to him in detail about our options and what a home school day would look like, just in case he thought it meant staying in pajamas and watching Harry Potter all day. He had no less than one million questions, all of which were GOOD, VALID questions.
"Will we have field trips?"
"Can we read as long as I want?"
"Can we finally do multiplication tables?"
"Will I still see my friends?"
"Will I get to have recess?"
On and on and on the questions went. Eliot and I answered them for as long as he would ask them, because his heart mattered more than anything else. After he had his curiosities satisfied, he concluded with,
"I can't wait to home school. I won't get in trouble for talking anymore!"
That's it. That was his conclusion. I guess I was expecting the sky to open up and angels to start singing, but nope. He had just figured out that since he's the only student, what he has to say will be able to flow freely. Again, for those who know Harris, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Big kid, Big ideas, Big stories to tell.
So along came Day One. We kicked off our home school day with hot chocolate from Starbucks. That was about the only major thing I had planned. I had some idea of what I wanted to accomplish that day, but really my main goal was for my boy to be able to talk my ears off, drink his hot chocolate and to end the day with a smile on his face. Because my plans had been so loose, we spent a lot of time staring at each other awkwardly that morning. If I could've read his thoughts it would've sounded a lot like "Good grief. This woman has no idea what she's doing and Daddy has let her pull me out of school. This is going to be a disaster!" Thankfully though, because Harris has one of the kindest hearts you'll ever find in a kid, he didn't say what was undoubtedly running through his mind. His grandest statement of the morning was,
"There isn't a schedule on the wall. You need to hang a schedule on the wall."
Cue me trying to explain to my Little Einstein that we home school now. We don't have to stick to a written schedule on the wall. We make our own schedule. Cue him looking at me with doubt in his eyes while I stare at him with a huge, goofy grin on my face.
Aaaaaand, that's kind of how the morning went.
Then he asked, "Can I read on the couch instead of at the table?" Sure you can, kid! That's all it took. He thought that was just the coolest thing, to be able to pile up on the couch and read his school book instead of sitting at the table in a more formal fashion. He read the first chapter of Little House in the Big Woods and that began great conversation. More on that conversation in another post...
It was while he was laying on the couch, happy that he was able to do something so simple, that I realized my goal to have him talk and drink hot cocoa and have a smile on his face had been accomplished. For the first time in a long time I was able to be a student of my child and really get an idea of what he needed. My plans had been fluid that morning which allowed for us to just be together. There was no agenda, no to-do list, nowhere to be except right where we were. On the couch, reading Little House in the Big Woods.
How long had it been since I had slowed down that much? How long since I had studied my child and WATCHED him read? I'm ashamed to admit that it had been entirely too long. Three kids and a husband who travels doesn't exactly lend itself to peaceful days around here. But now, the ball is back in my court. I get to step on the brakes and step off the *Crazy Train. This is why we made this choice. I'm redeeming the time I have with my kids. There are so many things screaming for my attention out there and so little time to meet all the demands. There's only so much of me to go around so I had to decide what the top priority is. Is it the noise of the world? Or is it my family? Enough of all the outside noise. Back to the basics around here.
And sometimes the basics involve Harris finding a strawberry that looks like a butt and us both laughing incredibly too hard about it. Maybe we were just anxious, maybe our nerves took over, maybe I'm as immature as my 8 year old, or MAYBE just maybe, a butt-shaped strawberry really is funny and I've just been too busy to notice until now!
Our first day was a success. We did it. One day down!
*This is where I offer a word of encouragement about the Crazy Train. If I could offer any word of advice, it would be this: Moms, please reevaluate your time and priorities. You don't have to start home schooling to do this. Heck, you don't even have to be a stay at home mom! Simply look around your world and decide what's taking your mental energy that doesn't offer eternal value and in turn, true joy. Those things must go. They serve no other purpose than to distract you from more important things. I don't know what your days look like, but I'd be willing to guess that most of you are being asked to do a MILLION THINGS every week. Some of those things are good things, but they are a drain on your emotional and mental well-being. Lay those things down, Mamas. Practice saying "NO, I cannot do that right now, but thank you for thinking of me." Lay them down. "I won't be able to commit to that at this time, but I'll consider it in the future." Lay them down. If your family is dependent on your salary, don't lay that down. Please. Just look at the extra stuff- the volunteer work, the hard-to-cook Pinterest dinners, social media, etc. Lay those down. Find some mental rest and giggle at butt-shaped fruit. The way I see it is that God made butts AND fruit so I'm sure He wouldn't mind you giggling. He probably giggled a little too.*
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