The First 2 1/2 Weeks of Homeschooling

 Well it's been 2 1/2 weeks since we officially started homeschooling. It's not always a walk in the park.  I've had eye rolling moments, as well as wandering attention and resistance to some of the activities I have planned.  But on the whole, I'd say it's been a positive experience.  Here are some of the highs and lows of these past 2 1/2 weeks.

Great Moments:

• More quality time with my children - Helping Katelynn and Kaleb learn means we spend more time together doing meaningful things.  We talk about more things and we've grown closer.  I love the memories we are building together and I love the opportunity I have as an influence in shaping their lives. I wouldn't trade it for the world, even when I consider the more difficult aspects of homeschooling. 

• Bible study - I have always meant to do this and now I've just scheduled it in. In just two weeks, Katelynn and I have had some deep conversations, even for her just being seven.  I'm amazed at what she understands and the questions she has. I've found that the things we've discussed come up again later in very natural settings and it reinforces what we've talked about.  I find it also makes my faith grow and holds me accountable because little eyes are watching to see if I walk the talk.

• Math stories - I'll admit that I don't really enjoy math.   Today I discovered that I could take my strength in literature and language arts and use it to make math more interesting and help Katelynn understand it better.  Quite by accident, as I was helping Katelynn learn to add by 9s, I realized that it would be so much simpler if I just told a story about it. When I explained the concept in terms of a story ("Jealous 9" who likes to copy 10, but always comes up 1 number short) it was easier for her to understand and it was a lot more fun.  Katelynn was so inspired by the story she went on to write and illustrate a story about "Jealous 9".  So now we had killed two birds with one stone - math and language arts.  So I will definitely remember this and find other stories to explain new math concepts we will be learning.

• Homeschooling groups on Facebook.  Facebook  is one of the greatest inventions to help in homeschooling.  It makes connecting with others and coordinating outings so much easier.  It makes it so easy to know what's going on and to join in, plus it's a snap to share things with others too.  Facebook has really strengthened the homeschooling community and made it easier to homeschool.  You no longer have to feel isolated.  Everyone can be connected and everyone can always find new ways to learn and get support from other homeschooling families.

• Learning Bahasa - I have enjoyed learning the language along side both Katelynn and Kaleb. We've used pod casts of Bahasa Indonesia. (We weren't able to find any Malay pod casts)  Adeno helps us sort out the differences between the two languages.  The biggest thing about learning Bahasa is that it puts us on equal footing because all of us are at the same level. That makes this subject different from others.  Katelynn and Kaleb see me forget things and make mistakes which I think encourages them to take risks in other subjects when they are learning.  If mommy can make mistakes then it is O.K. to try something even if it doesn't come out perfect.  It's very humbling and helps me remember to keep the perspective of my children as they learn.

• Teachable moments - they are everywhere.  Here's an example of one. At the grocery store today, we took down the names of fruits and vegetables that are printed on the labels in Bahasa so we could learn more words. It's a lot more interesting to learn new Bahasa words this way, rather than just from a book.  Then we tried saying them with some of the staff members who were putting out the produce.  They helped us with our pronunciation and they got a big kick out of us learning Bahasa, plus it really helped us to start getting over our shyness about speaking the language with native speakers. So even everyday, humdrum activities like grocery shopping can become exciting learning experiences.

Challenging moments:

• Not battling the traffic jams to school.  Because we don't have to "get to school" it's very easy to get slack and lazy.  It's easy to wake up later and start the day later, which I feel is lost time.  Homeschooling means you are responsible for disciplining yourself and teaching your kids discipline.

• Friends.  Starting homeschooling right after kindy was tough in the area of friends for Katelynn.  All her friends from kindergarten have gone off to various schools and Katey doesn't see them any more.  I know this would have happened even if we didn't homeschool, but this "friends" issue was compounded when Katey's best friend in our apartment complex moved away to Singapore in December.   Katelynn is by nature a reserved person and it takes her awhile to make friends, so making new friends at our apartment and during our numerous homeschool outings is going to take time. This process is hard for me too. It's not easy for me, because as a mom, it's painful to see her so sad at the loss of her good friend.  I want her to be like me.  I'm reserved too, but I have no problems pushing myself to get to know people and make friends in new environments. I will just have to be patient and keep encouraging her in this area without being pushy.

• Bahasa - I have to admit, I have not been as disciplined in learning this. To learn a language you need consistent practice.  I know we need to do it about 5 days a week, but we haven't had that good of an average.  I have to work harder about being disciplined on this. 

• Having days where I get nothing done because of emergencies.  I'll give you an example.  The washing machine and the air con in the kids' room broke down on the same day.  I also had to run some urgent errands. So all my time for homeschooling that day was taken up by these things. Sometimes it happens when I have to take care of emergencies related to my learning centers, staff, student or program issues that crop up and demand immediate attention.

• Chinese - I'd like Katelynn to learn this language, but it's really beyond me to teach.  I just cannot hear the tones.  Secondly, I know this will sound odd to my Malaysian friends, but for me learning languages is difficult.  I come from a monolingual background (Midwestern America) where there was very little opportunity to learn other languages.  I feel that learning Malay is all I can handle at the moment. I'm going to put priority on that because my children live in Malaysia and need to know the national language more so than Chinese at the moment.  Adeno tries to teach her, but he's not around enough to make what she learns stick. I think eventually we'll have to get a tutor.  

 Looking back at this short time period I can't believe how much has happened. I'm still adjusting to the homeschooling process and finding my footing about what works for us.  I look forward to chronicling more of our adventures.  It's very cathartic and I'm sure it will be nice to look back at how far we've come in the future.