Mater's Corner: The Homeschool Rut

Lately I have lost my steam and umph when it comes to homeschooling. There's been so many worries and cares in other areas of my life and I haven't had the energy and passion for engaging learning that I had back in June. I guess I am a little ADHD too, because I am a little bored with our curriculum. Things have hit a homeschool rut. Here's what I have discovered this year. I love and hate read-a-louds. My kids are not quiet. My kids do not sit still and grow all glow-eyed and mesmerized when I sit down to read them a story. In fact, they grow louder, more rowdy and I have to project my voice to the point of growing hoarse. This is why I love/hate read-a-louds. I want my children to hear, read, and love good stories. I spent my childhood and young adulthood with my nose stuck in a book. My second eldest takes after me in this respect. He learned to read a bit late, but when he did he took off reading. He's a regular little scholar. The eldest was never much of a reader until now. She has been reading so much this year that I need to not look so pleased or she may stop. The middle two are young. 8 and six. My 8 year old has been reading his readers for school. He read one book at Christmas. But he doesn't pick up books and read for pleasure yet. The six year old does. She'll pull down Amelia Bedelia, Frog and Toad, or the Bernstein Bears and read it out loud to herself. I am a very laid back parent. I don't want to do every little thing for my children. I'm a bit lazy. I also think it's good for them to think and do for themselves. I think what I want is for them to read to themselves the interesting and exciting and beautiful stories that I want them to read. For me learning is so much about what we love. In my own case this year has been about coming back to a love that I never thought to find again. It's a love of animals and nature. While I find myself flailing at it, I also realize that this lesson in minifarm life is a window into the natural world for myself and the children. I have learned so much about rabbits, quail, mysterious predators, hunting hounds. I have watched as squirrels destroyed our banana trees and steal seeds I'd planted. I have seen vole mounds and watched one quickly burrow underground. I have seen a freeze destroy the last of my gardening attempts. All this I'm a bystander and participant in and it's been a much more interesting classroom than my book learning. Different. They're both interesting. I just hope that this time when life is interrupting my zeal for sit down classroom style learning is not hindering my kiddos. I hope they're seeing the other things going on and finding some lesson there. We still do our work and I hope as we get back into it today/tomorrow I will be more pumped and steer them in wonder and joy of whatever mysteries life has in store.