December 15, 2003

Well, I've officially resigned my place in my support group. I happen to think that it's made up of great people with fascinating points of view. I have simply learned that I need a group that's more structured. And the challenge of starting a new group was really exciting to me. So, three other moms and I have started a new group in the area. There were quite a few groups in the area whose memberships were closed, so the new group was definitely needed. I only hope that I haven't burned any bridges with the group that I've left. I'm truly grateful for all of the support I've gotten as I started down this path, but it was time for me to do something else.

Reagan and I didn't get too much done today. Of course, I didn't expect us to. I started his lessons last night with that assumption in mind. We were up at 5:15 to pick DH up from the airport (he was visiting his daughter) and then after feeding everyone, I went grocery shopping.

We had errands in the afternoon and we spent a lot of time cuddling with Daddy. We all really missed him. But it's back to work on a 12 hour shift for him tomorrow. Poor Daddy. He works really hard to take care of us.

I think as homeschooling mom you're much more aware of teachable moments. You're definitely more aware of what the kids are actually studying. Reagan has a real interest in what words mean, and why they are what they are. Lucky for him, I've always been fascinated with word origins, and when I can I'll tell him where a word comes from and why. Right now we've been talking a lot about compound words, and I'm amazed at how often I've been able to use that today! For example, I made spaghetti for dinner. I put hamburger into the sauce and he wanted to know if we were having meatballs. Then he asked what meatballs were, exactly. So, I had him break the compound word down into it's two parts and then define them. I really feel like not only did he get a deeper lesson on compound words today, but that I got him thinking about how to learn on his own. I didn't define anything for him, he learned how to break a word down into smaller parts and define it himself. I was very proud of him.

Perhaps I would catch moments like this if I wasn't educating him at home. But I don't think I would catch on to so many. We had a really good day today. And it reminded me that we are learning together even when we're not doing book lessons.

Also, a friend turned me on to this great website called FlyLady where we less than totally organized moms can get USEFUL hints on reducing our clutter and restoring peace to our homes. And it doesn't involve changing personalities. Just things to work into your day that will help reduce stress. I even found an e-group on Yahoo Groups for homeschooling moms who are putting this system to work. I highly recommend it. Right now, my kitchen sink is shiny and I've only just taken off my shoes, as I've gotten ready for bed. And if you want to know why that's of interest, check out the website.

Happy Homeschooling!