Today was a tough homeschooling day. Language arts was looooong with LOTS of information for my restless and talkative 6th grader to process. Subjective pronouns, objective pronouns, possessive pronouns, charts and lists and more charts...... By the time it was quiz time, his brain was fried. So was mine.
Then there was science. Physical and chemical properties of matter. A never ending session with more information in one lesson than a whole library has....
Frustration is the word. For both of us.
After a lot of breaks and going back over the lessons, we finally finished. He went to watch a little TV and I went to my room to just sit quietly for a bit.
Brain overload. For both of us.
After a few minutes my door opens and Chan says, "Nanny. Come here. I want to show you something."
I almost said, "Wait a while buddy. Nanny's taking a rest." But I looked at his expectant face and I forced myself to go with him. He opened the front door. It was pouring down rain outside.
"Where are we going, Chan?! We can't go out there buddy! We'll get soaked!"
"No, Nanny, I want you to feel something! Come sit in the swing on the porch for a minute. We won't get that wet. Please?..."
Reluctantly I stepped out the door and sat beside him in the swing. The rain was hard and loud. The air was sticky and humid. I was already thinking of going back inside.
And then I felt the wind shift. It seemed that the temperature dropped a few degrees. I looked at Chan and he was sitting beside me, his head back, his eyes closed, a smile on his face. I laid my head back and closed my eyes and felt the cool mist of rain on my face, my anxiety from the day seeming to melt away. We sat like that for a while, holding hands, neither of us talking. Finally Chan said, "I just wanted you to feel that. I love to sit on the porch when it's raining and feel it on my face. I knew you would too Nanny."
Then there was science. Physical and chemical properties of matter. A never ending session with more information in one lesson than a whole library has....
Frustration is the word. For both of us.
After a lot of breaks and going back over the lessons, we finally finished. He went to watch a little TV and I went to my room to just sit quietly for a bit.
Brain overload. For both of us.
After a few minutes my door opens and Chan says, "Nanny. Come here. I want to show you something."
I almost said, "Wait a while buddy. Nanny's taking a rest." But I looked at his expectant face and I forced myself to go with him. He opened the front door. It was pouring down rain outside.
"Where are we going, Chan?! We can't go out there buddy! We'll get soaked!"
"No, Nanny, I want you to feel something! Come sit in the swing on the porch for a minute. We won't get that wet. Please?..."
Reluctantly I stepped out the door and sat beside him in the swing. The rain was hard and loud. The air was sticky and humid. I was already thinking of going back inside.
And then I felt the wind shift. It seemed that the temperature dropped a few degrees. I looked at Chan and he was sitting beside me, his head back, his eyes closed, a smile on his face. I laid my head back and closed my eyes and felt the cool mist of rain on my face, my anxiety from the day seeming to melt away. We sat like that for a while, holding hands, neither of us talking. Finally Chan said, "I just wanted you to feel that. I love to sit on the porch when it's raining and feel it on my face. I knew you would too Nanny."
Did I ever tell you how much I love homeschooling?
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