Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Moments like these

I'll admit it.

There have been days where the thought of sending Jake to school has crossed my mind. Is that horrible? Can a homeschooling mom today show any sign of weakness? Of questioning? Do we have to have it all together all of the time? I don't know. Hopefully there isn't some group of people scouring the internet in search of these doubts to stack up against our efforts to teach our children at home.

Yes, I have my moments. When my little daydreamer is turning his "n"s into herbivore teeth or his pencil into a crawling bug that can't seem to stay in the lines. Or when he thinks it is cool to color apples out of the lines because they are "squirting out their juice." When his mind overflows into his mouth, imagining some story instead of completing story problems. When two hours of school pass instead of two hours of cleaning. I can even admit to paying him 1 cent per problem he gets done before the timer goes off just to get him to focus.

I have thought about nice walks in the morning on our way to school or after-school talks over snacks. But the thing I just can't get over is the in-between time. The time between 8 and 3 that he would be missing from my life.



And then there are moments like this. How could I ever give this time up?

14 comments:

Eyes_Wide_Open said...

Press on.

I love Jake giggles.

Mainely Me said...

I'm not seeing that his amazing, active imagination is interfering with his education! That was great; it brought back a lot of precious memories.("Uh. You're guessing.")You know him better than any 'professional' teacher ever could and are doing a great job, even with another disgruntled student hollering in the background:)

Kellie said...

That was great! Snakes... Jake's favorite subject!

But the part Jason and I liked the most was the littles crying in the background :)

Unknown said...

Ha ha. I didn't even notice the littles hollering in the background.

Mom, I remember that and chuckle a little when I say it to Jake.

Jen said...

At one point you tell him that he is "guessing" on the word "tell". He reads it as "let", I was wondering if he was a) reading it backwards, or b) seeing it later down in the sentence and just saying it in the wrong place.

Unknown said...

Jen, I actually noticed that as I was watching the video. He reads a lot of little words backwards. Which was actually referenced on a lot of "how to teach a left handed child" web sights. Any tips?

Sheri said...

Oh Jake, I love to hear you read. You are doing a great job!

Jodi, I noticed the little ones in the background too. You have so much patience. I suppose that is the only way to get things done! Let them cry sometimes!

Carry on, you're doing a great job!

Jen said...

Is Jake left handed?

Jen said...

I just googled "reading words backwards" and it seems like the consensus is that it's something that they grow out of. Perhaps he's more visual and it's just a matter of training his brain to go from left to right.

I've noticed that Nora does the same thing with writing. She sometimes copies the other kids on a dry erase board and it's a perfect mirror image. (Adding a rather creepy dimension to long division...) I think it's a visual thing. She has no context for what she is copying, just images.

Unknown said...

Yes. I have come to the same conclusion ofter google. :) Is Nora left handed? Another "clue" on some of those sights was that lefties will often write mirror images...partly so they can see what they are writing. (yes, Jake is a lefty) However, I am sure all of these little quirks go both ways.

Jake would rather NOT use his finger to guide him, but he does do a lot better with his left to right reading if he uses it.

Jen said...

Nora is NOT left handed, but she is VERY visual. Amazes me with her attention to detail.

David Jensen said...

I was a grade behind in reading when my mom spent every evening one summer having me read to her... my reward was a dollar a book (pricey I know, but it sure got me reading!) Now, my wife teases me for finishing novels in one or two sittings. Moms know best.. although I do feel a little guilty about the pages I skipped when she fell asleep.

Taia said...

I'm left-handed and I can write backwards (right to left) in mirror writing quite easily. I also had a lot of trouble reversing letters and numbers- cursive helped take care of this, though I did puzzle my calculus teacher when I hurried to finish an exam and accidentally wrote a couple of numbers backwards. Remember that paragraph on the internet where the letters are rearranged but you can still read the paragraph? As Jake's reading matures, I think context and familiarity will dominate his reading.

Shelly said...

Thanks for sharing. I am a mom of 5 struggling to homeschool in the midst of a trial (who isn't, right?). Maybe I should just press on.

And I have at least 3 left handed children. They spice up my life :)