It was then I said…
Everyone has there own learning styles? What be that?
I have but one and that is “Get your work done or so help me.”
It is now I say…
Great Scott! Even I
have my own unique learning style therefore each one of my kids do as
well. Let’s seek them out and revel in
their glory. Let us dive in and help
them to blossom into productive study habits so that when they're in college and
they don’t have me to set the microwave timer on them, they will still be able
to get their work done. Yes, let’s do
that!
It was then I said…
I only know that you’re learning anything and understanding everything if we do loads of never-ending work pages. Fill in the blank, child, or so help me!
It is now I say…
No, you fool! That
does not prove they understand how to spell just because they took two hours to
copy twenty spelling words down. That does not prove they are adding sums in their heads like nobody’s business just because they took three hours to do one page of triple digit addition problems. Busy work does not prove understanding the
work. I reiterate, busy work does not
understanding prove.
It was then I said…
Read stacks of award-winning, heart-stirring, laugh-inducing
books.
It is now I say…
I am so glad I read stacks of award-winning, heart-stirring,
laugh-inducing books. We hug and kiss
each wonderful paper bound tale after we finish it and wish that it never had a
last chapter. If feels so good to be right.
It was then I said…
Read the Word of God to them every single day. It is profitable for all things.
It is now I say…
You mean on those days that I’m yelling, begging, pleading
that they stop the ugly shenanigans, I could have started our day with God’s
Word and invited the Holy Spirit to be a part of it and maybe God’s Word and the Holy Spirit would have whispered in their hearts to cut it out and my
yelling was maybe interrupting the whispers?
Oh for crying out loud.
It was then I said…
They are kids. They
wiggle. They have energy. They are monkey children. At least they are doing it in good fun.
It is now I say…
True but must they be monkeys all twelve hours that they are
not asleep? Must they be monkeys during
devotionals? Must they be monkeys during
math homework? Must they be monkeys
during co-op classes? Must they be
monkeys during children’s worship? Must
they be monkeys at 7am? I say nay and I
say it emphatically. But alas, I myself
am a monkey. They are basically being
raised by Carol Burnett. I kid you
not. I have to set the timer on all five
of us so that we can focus on a task without jokes or wisecracks or getting up
and re enacting the historical scene with a spontaneous musical number. We can make it for about 7 minutes so far. We started at about 3 minutes. If I can un-monkey us for 10 minutes
straight, it will be a go-get-ice-cream-and-celebrate kind of day.
It was then I said…
I shan’t reward you or bribe you for work completed. You must learn for learning is good and I shall not have you grow
up to be a hobo.
It is now I say…
What would you like after you get this done? You shall have it up to half my kingdom. Yes, I bribe my kids. Judge me or whatever.
It was then I said…
It is only proper and good to sit downeth in the morning and
complete all school until we are done or dead, whichever comes first.
It is now I say…
I haven’t the foggiest idea when we’ll do what today but
please get out of my face until I’ve had two cups of coffee. But for those who’ve asked, here is my ideal
daily schedule (I said IDEAL. This
happens about 20% of my dog gone life)
8:30am: Kids have a light snack and I have coffee. They go to their beds and read a chapter in
the Bible and a chapter in their reading book. My non-reader looks at picture books. I have my devotional in my room "by myself."
9:30am: Kids join me and we read a short Bible passage and
talk about how this is what God would like us to do but praise the Lord for
grace when we fail. There is no bondage in Jesus Christ!
11:30am: Brunch (we are fancy). I put on Visual Latin and IEW (that’s the
writing program we use) videos while we cook.
This is also when I prepare dinner, which is the best change to my
schedule I’ve ever made. The kids also
get their house chores done during this time.
2:30pm: We fold laundry or stretch on floor while working on
Classical Conversations memory work. I
let the kids act out the history sentence songs because they have Rees blood in
them and they can’t help it.
4:00pm: The girl goes to ballet and the boys take turns on
the computer with Teaching Textbooks math.
The girl gets it done lickety-split before or after ballet.
6:30pm: We eat dinner and they run around the yard like
crazy monkeys. I usually read our
read-aloud to them while they eat but I have been increasingly relying on
audiobooks in the car.
7:30pm: The kids get ready for bed and then we all sit on
the floor in front of the whiteboard and work on Spell To Read and Write
curriculum.
8:30pm: They go to bed and my husband and I sit around and
talk about our hopes and dreams or maybe we work on our Netflix addiction.
It was then I said…
Are they really learning?
It is now I say…
Why, yes, they are.
It was then I said…
I’m going to be so good at this.
It is now I say…
Wow. I’m really good at this...on an ideal day.
It was then I said…
I’m raising a bunch of monkeys and they’re monkeys 24 hours
a day.
It is now I say…
I’ve done it, I tell you!
We are un-monkeyed for 7 WHOLE MINUTES!
It was then I said…
Is all of this really worth it?
It is now I say…
Upon my last whir of coffee grounds…it truly is.