The Bad Days of Homeschooling...
...Because they actually exist.
Before I begin, I want to take this time to admit something many homeschool parents won't: sometimes homeschooling sucks. I repeat: it sucks. And when I say that I really mean it suuuucks. But because we are advocates of school system reform, organic learning, Jesus Christ, or unconventional lifestyles, we aren't exactly allowed to discuss the suckiness that homeschool has to offer.
Don't get me wrong, I get inspired every time I bring my son to the homeschool PE class at the community center and see the other moms talking about their awesome new adventures. Those adventures, those 'I-am-getting-to relive-childhood-through-my-child's-sense-of-wonder' moments are the reason I set out to homeschool. There is nothing quite like having the freedom to discover the love of learning. I teach myself so much more than I teach my child and we're both better for it.
But there are days when things fall apart. There are times I am unsure I'm doing right by my child. On those days, I am fed up with the cliquey group of moms who seem to have all the time in the world to teach their perfect children perfect things in the perfect way all the time, PERFECTLY. I'm here to tell you: it's a front. It's the typical game face against those who swear homeschooled kids can't get socialized properly. It's a necessity against the moms who drop their kids off at school to sit for 8 hours a day and wonder how we homeschool moms can even STAND being with our kids for that long. It's a front for the curious, who want to know if it's all it's cracked up to be. And again- for the most part, yes, it is. It's all that and a bag of chips. Organic veggie chips made in a dehydrator, locally, under fair trade regulations, of couse. Ahem.
It's time for the truth to come out.
So what constitutes a bad day? Well, I am going to boldly say that as GOOD as a homeschool day can be is just how BAD a homeschool day can be. It looks like this (ok, well this is what mine look like. Results may vary):
1. The moment you realize there is no possible way you can make phone calls, plan a menu, shop, keep the house clean, AND teach your kid to read all in the same day. But you somehow have to.
2. You're pretty positive that your one girlfriend who says, "housework can wait, kids are only little once" would have shut her mouth if she saw your darling little toddler just throw her noodles in the air during lunch, while singing "It's Raining, It's Pouring"
3. When you have raging PMS and your elementary student reminds you the chips (not the fair trade dehydrated, locally grown organic ones) and the chocolate AND the bacon all belong to the FATS part of the pyramid, and you aren't meant to eat them in excess.
4. The part of the day where you are eating lunch and breastfeeding at the same time and your oldest whines, "Is this ALL we're going to do today?"
5. When you have an appointment and have to drag every child with you.
6. The inevitable moment you need one-on-one time with the oldest. Usually it means the toddler will set down the activity bag you spent 20 hours making her, planning for this exact moment, to go into the kitchen and pour the container of couscous onto the floor.
Whatever form your bad homeschool day takes, the point is that they exist. You can listen to happy frontin' moms regurgitate some solution they learned at some seminar, you can google your heart out, and try everything you come across. When nothing works, admit defeat and try again tomorrow.
I'll end it like every other advocate would, but not for you- for me- because today has been awful: amidst the chaos, there are teachable moments wrapped up in it. Perseverance and unconditional love are things not taught in our normal, everyday routines whether we school or homeschool. If nothing else, at least we know to expect bad days as a normal part of the experience. Most important is to know that when they come, we're not alone.
Take that, happy frontin' homeschoolers!
