Relating to cleanliness
1) I like clean and orderly. I like houses that are clean. I like books stacked carefully on shelves. I like folded laundry. I like being able to walk around from room to room and not bump furniture or crush toys. I LIKE these things a lot. But, I think maybe God is calling me to embrace something other than my immediate pleasure and it is difficult and downright humbling. My biggest struggle with homeschooling last year was not "cleaning up" before diving into lessons. If I took time to "tidy up," chances were good we would not be getting around to those lessons that day. (*NOTE: I am not talking about the kind of cleaning that MUST be done for sanitary reasons, such as left-overs int he fridge taken care of or mold cleaned from bathroom toilets. I mean the more superficial cleaning, such as stacking things nicely, picking up toys, etc )
2) Lately I am feeling a rather pressing and seemingly unfair burden that is really making me grumpy. If I make any sort of comment about cleaning, it seems that whatever company I am with is all too quick to turn the problem back on me and imply that I am obviously not doing a good enough job teaching my children to clean and pick up after themselves. So not only do I not get what I would consider "fair whining," but I get reprimanded and made to feel even worse than before I voiced such a struggle. With five children there is a lot of cleaning to be done. Granted, my six and eight-year-olds help some (and MAYBE I am still struggling with holding them accountable to chores and such), but even having my oldest child do some tasks often means I have to either A) pester repeatedly until she finally "acceptably completes a task" or B) let it go with what she HAS done, which often involves stepping carefully around those sticky spots on the kitchen floor. And I do not BELIEVE there is a power in this universe that can train my three-year-old to NOT DESTROY THINGS and/or pick up the destruction he causes properly. And for the baby. . . well, destroying is part of learning so she is allowed to do so, but for anyone who has taught a fifteen-month-old to pick up toys and clean up messes, I will gladly bow to your expert tutelage!!
3) Blogs on the internet, especially the homeschooling ones I have been frequenting lately, often post pictures of IMMACULATE school rooms. My children will not have their learning severely inhibited for not having it take place in one of those such rooms or in a spotless house.
Regarding homeschool attitudes toward curriculum and such
4) There is too much material out there for me to possibly do ALL OF IT with my children. I really need to focus on what I have chosen so far and not be bullied into thinking I need more or different material in order for them to get the "optimal" learning experience. (even if said material is "free to download!")
5) This leads into my next idea which is still growing in my mind, but definitely taking on roots: It really DOES NOT MATTER what curriculum I use or do not use.
6) What matters is my attitude toward my children and toward learning. I am teaching them to love learning, not see if they can memorize every possible bit of trivia about EVERYTHING. I am coming across things as I teach them, that I did no know before (seriously, I just discovered TODAY what an archipelago is!), and I graduated valedictorian from my high school (with a 4.0) and summa cum laude from my four years at college. I really think of myself as fairly intelligent, but many of these simple things I have forgotten or seriously just did not know before and obviously I still made it through life, right?
7) Every moment of every day is a moment I ask myself, "Am I doing what God desires most for me and my family right now?" And then I detach myself AGAIN from all those things I THINK I need to be doing (or am stressing over) and get back to the heart of the matter (and often find my smile again).
I keep thinking about this post. I've been in kind of a funk lately, so I get you on many levels.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!