I haven't blogged much about Home schooling. To be honest with you it isn't something that I have been passionate about for a long time...........too long! It started before I had Joel, before I fell pregnant with him. Gosh, that is longer than 14 months~! A lot of it had to do with plain old exhaustion. It doesn't matter what people tell you, homeschooling a large family "IS" hard. I have always had toddlers and babies together with the school age children and one of the biggest battles is juggling the two. Then there is housework, and cooking, and cleaning. Anyway, Like I said, for a long long time I just haven't had any enthusiasm. The children have pretty much worked by themselves. Most of the time I have little involvement with them. I have thought a lot about school, especially this past year. Michael actually asked to go to school in term one. It shook me up! As much as I had thought along those lines it was still a shock to hear him tell us that he wasn't happy at home. Steve had a chat with him and discovered that Michael dislikes the stress at home. He finds the noise of the toddlers and baby very distracting. He gets upset when I am stressed. He was bored, with only a sister of similar age at home he spent a lot of time teasing her. I knew that a lot of his actions were typical boy behavior akin to boredom. We tried to sort things out in his bedroom so that he could work in private. It has helped...........slightly!
This past week I was forced out of my comfort zone to look for a Math curriculum for Michael and Rachel. I spent a couple of days browsing homeschool sites. It was strange but something clicked inside me, something familiar but long unseen or felt.................a passion! a passion for homeschooling! It felt good, strange but good! I feel more enthusiastic than I have in a very long time. I know that I need to take it slowly, not overdo things again. I feel like I am getting back on track................