Grading myself...all F's!

Back in my day (or in the "Olden Times" as our son likes to say), F's were not a good thing on your report card. They basically meant you failed or you didn't have passing knowledge about a certain subject or two. You didn't want to bring F's home from school. 

Today is the last day of our first full month of homeschooling. Wow! I can't believe we've reached this milestone and no one in our home is continuously crying, running away or missing a limb. Not only did we survive...but we actually thrived!

That being said, I thought I should grade myself, the mom/teacher/administrator/cook/nurse/cook  of our homeschooling adventure. Our son is doing great!  He is still adjusting, detoxing from the old stress of "regular school", but he is a champion at homeschooling- and my husband and I are very proud of him.

On the other hand, how am I doing??? I'm giving myself all F's, but not what you may think! Here is my report card:

• Faith-  You have to have a lot of faith as a homeschooling parent. Not only in the traditional sense (and however you may practice your faith), but faith in yourself and your family. We consider ourselves a Christian family, so we're thankful to God and to His Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for all of our blessings and for guiding us through our challenges! There were a few days (and nights) that I was uncertain if this was still the right thing for our family, but my faith got me through those times. The other great thing about this past month?  We were able to incorporate our faith in our homeschooling.  Daily Bible readings and morning prayers were a comforting way to begin our homeschooling days. Homeschooling nurtures our faith...and allows our faith to grow.
• Fortitude-  Homeschooling is NOT the faint of heart or spirit! The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines fortitude as "strength of mind that enables, one to meet danger or bear pain or adversity with courage". We joined a HUGE minority of families that chose to homeschool their children, for whatever reasons, and journey into the unknown! When you make the decision to homeschool, you may be judged, questioned and or even teased ("Oh! You're one of them, now?"). You have to continuously defend your decision- whether it be your school district, neighborhood, peers, etc. That's OK. You're an underdog now...and I always root for the underdog!
• Flexibility- You must be flexible in your attitude, time and methods of teaching. I had every intention to use a lot of one curriculum and supplement with a little from another curriculum. However, as we progressed through the month, I learned that I needed to be more flexible (and I thought I was already pretty flexible to begin with). So, I tweaked...and tweaked...and tweaked again. Tweaking = Flexibility. Flexibility = Better Learning.
• Fun- Fun, fun, fun! This is huge! Why do you want to homeschool?  I'm sure you may have many reasons, but hopefully this is a big one! We wanted to remind our son that learning is (and always will be)fun...if you have the right attitude! Learning is an adventure. A journey.  An experience that should be tailored to fit your child. Not the other way around.  It should not be a chore, a job or a "one size fits all" process.

This past month, I've learned that I have faith, fortitude, flexibility and that I can make learning fun.  The good kind of F's.