The long Summer holidays are drawing quickly to an end. We've had some wonderful days with friends and relatives and visitors here holidaying themselves. The hot and humid weather for most of the break has meant that I have not done everything on the "To Do" list. It's just too hot to tackle some of those big cleaning jobs and hey, they'll still be there in April! The most important thing for me has been having a complete break from school work. Because my boys are struggling with learning problems, I found towards the end of '08 we had all become very flat and unenthusiastic. Where I have always loved teaching the kids and tried to make the school day interesting and appealing, as well as the necessary grind, I felt all out of ideas. We were struggling just to get through the (very repetitive) exercises and activities needed for their Auditory Processing difficulties.
January 27th will be the start of my 17th year of home education. Having had a good break I feel ready to meet the challenges, persevere with the day to day routine of it and hopeful I can inject a little more spark into the day! The boys are bright, average at maths, excellent at sport, love to be read to, eager to learn about the world and everything in it - they just cannot get the hang of reading. This is becoming a real grief to my 11 year old, who tries very hard, but is well aware how far behind his friends he is.
God has graciously enabled me through all of my homeschooling trials. Last year as I contemplated whether my guys would be better off at school, I knew He had hedged me up in this decision! In my heart I know that my two future men would be swallowed up in the school system. Not just because they've always been home and had a Christian basis to education, but because kids can be so cruel. 10 and 11 year old boys who cannot read would be perfect targets for the school bully. I know, homeschooling mums are softies - smother mothers ! Guilty!
Once again God has renewed my strength and my commitment.
"I will go on in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only." Psalm 71:16
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Ruby,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned 6 weeks of holidays, I did not realize it was summer! What a big amazing world we live in! You are on summer break while many here just finished Christmas/winter break!
Bethany