Deadly Poppy Fields…and other anecdotes.

Deadly Poppy Fields…and other anecdotes.

by earnestmomblog ♥ 1 Comment

We are six weeks into home schooling. During that time I have had surgery, 3wild3free-dad’s work schedule has had him gone 10 hours daily, we brought home a little pup and I quit coffee (this last item being a huge deal for me since coffee has been a great love of mine for decades, alas health trumps in this instance). We also read The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum followed by the movie; as I am a firm believer of reading the book before watching the movie, went on a field trip to a horse ranch, had the Young Thomas Edison video call us for a biographical lesson (thank you to my amazing brother for that!) and had my three year old ask Alexa to play Bach! So far, this has definitely been a wild ride.

To be honest, most days I feel like I am winging it. I have a planner, I have daily plans…then life sweeps in and we end up rolling with it. Homeschooling has been so liberating, stressful at first but now that we are getting into the groove of things – there is so much freedom in being able to do our own thing.

It so happened that while we were reading the Wizard of Oz, we ended up studying Claude Monet in our art lessons. Claude Monet is one of my favorite artists and I have a print of Poppies framed in our hallway, that same week we read the chapter The Deadly Poppy Fields in the Wizard of Oz. As we researched and made our own Monet sketches, I brought the kids into the hallway to see our Poppies print. My eldest exclaimed, “We have an actual Monet?!” and my middle little cried out, “Poppies?! Are the deadly?!” So far this has been one of my favorite moments; just like that, not only did they actually see an artist’s work that has hung in our homes for the last 12 years – but they also were able to connect the Wizard of Oz to it. This evolved into asking many questions of poppies which led to discussions and research from the flowers, to the seeds we have in the spice cupboard, to why we wear poppies on November 11 in Canada (yes, we are in the USA but I am a Canadian and observe a moment of silence at 11am on 11/11 every year).

This learning happened so naturally, so easily that it helped me to see that homeschooling is a constant. We are continually as parents, taking our life and applying it to where they are in their curriculums. This was an unknown element to me until a few weeks ago. I am now looking at planning from a completely different angle: how does this correlate into our current family life? I am thrilled to have this freedom.

We are now incorporating the women’s vote since it is the 100th anniversary plus an election year; we have a family field trip to Kentucky to see the Ark so the water cycle plus the book of Genesis are in our lesson plans; with family in Canada and no schoolmates to present to – my eldest will be doing virtual presentations on his science, geography and history projects to family we cannot see but online. My kids have recently watched The Greatest Showman and are obsessed, so along with our Edison era history studies I have included a study on the Barnum family and how the circus began. They learn so much more when they are interested and enjoying what we are doing. I feel like I am having as much fun as they are because I am learning too.

We do have our off days, as most do but that is life. We have the freedom to hit the brakes, enjoy tea and cookies in our jammies with extra read aloud time, and make up the math lessons later that week! When I feel like maybe we are not doing enough, I walk past our Poppies print and remember how much they are learning, even when I am not seeing all the dots connecting.

Many of the worries and fears that I had going into homeschooling are slowly fading into the background. I am leaning more on our life, values and experiences to lead our learning versus trying to fit us into some mold that resembles what school the institution says it should look like. This homeschool journey is growing me, taking me places I would have never expected; and it is incredible.

Rest Among the Sunflowers.

Rest Among the Sunflowers.

by earnestmomblog ♥ 1 Comment

Yesterday was hard. This was our first full week of home school, and it was riddled with doctors appointments, surgery scheduling, new medications and an unexpected medical diagnosis – and that was just for me! Yesterday was Friday and I have scheduled our home learning to happen in bulk on Mondays through Thursdays with Fridays as a catch up and field trip day. This Friday was tough.

We started the day out smooth and things were well, until I used out reminder boards to write the “finish up” work left from the week. The minute I wrote the reminders (which were literally; math, science, history and backgammon) my eldest shut down. Immediately there were tears, clenched jaw and fists and frustration. Not understanding what had happened I was quick to stop everything and address his immediate need. He would not talk, he just cried. Pulled a blanket over his head stood at the dining room table and cried.

I was baffled. So I enlisted the help of my husband with the younger two so we could work through what ever this was that had infiltrated my son. I squeezed him close, got to eye level and asked what happened. He pointed to the reminder boards and said “Those are too much pressure. Last year at school Mrs “Teacher” would write our names, the list of work that we needed to get done and if it was not done we would lose things. We would lose recess, we would lose game time or even iPad time. I always lost out because I could never finished in time.” He sobbed. I could not help it, I cried too. While I completely and utterly respect traditional school, this felt like we needed to detox and shake off the old “school expectation” pressure and hand in hand, walk into home school expectations together.

I walked him over to the little reminder boards, held him close and said “Buddy, please know I am not your teacher – I am your mother. We are safe, learning at home and this school work will never, ever be a threat over you and losing out on anything. The amazing thing about learning at home is we do not have to be restrained by overwhelming deadlines, timetables and keeping beat to someone else’s drum. We are in this together, all of us at home. It is safe here.”

The rest of the afternoon called for a break – early day this Friday. He hopped in the truck and went to a work run with dad, then in the middle of the run they stopped to explore the sunflowers. The huge blue sky above, the reassuring foundation of earth beneath their feet at the cool breeze blew the sweet smell of sunflowers on his face. The deadlines, pressure and frustration all blew away on that same breeze and he found joy in the pure simple beauty of the sunflower field.

Home learning this week was not exactly as I had hoped, we had our ups and we had our downs but we also had the power to take any break needed and literally stop to smell the flowers. I went to bed excited to see what this year has in store for us, as we learn at home, together.

A Light Unto My Footsteps.

A Light Unto My Footsteps.

by earnestmomblog ♥ 1 Comment

It is the end of August, home learning begins in one week and I have to admit, the last 4 or 5 nights have been disrupted by the whispers. The whispers that creep into my mind when I wake and cannot fall back to sleep at 3 am. The whispers that begin to remind me of my failures, my incompetence and my often repeated mistakes. I cannot stand those whispers. Some nights I can push them down, say a quick prayer and fall back to sleep. Recently, on the heels of this change in my child rearing, I cannot shake them.

You will fail, they say.

You made the wrong choice, they say.

Just send the kids to school, they say.

There is nothing like these middle of the night conversations I have with myself, they always leave me shaken, upset and full of doubts. Last night I had to physically get up, out of bed and kneel to pray. I needed a voice of truth in the midst of my battle. There with my knees on the cool hard wood planks alongside my bed, I found it. The reminder of who I am, I am a simple woman called to be a wife, a mother and now a teacher. In my mind I have this impossible measure that I must be SUPER at all of these, then love speaks to my worried heart: You do not have to be super because you serve a super God. There it was, in the twilight of the wee hours in the morning. Cold, clear truth; I do not need to be perfect, He already is.

Psalm 119:105 speaks to how God’s word is like a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our paths. That brings so much into perspective for me and this home learning journey we have begun. I am doing all I can, reading, writing, printing, planning, trying to be as prepared as possible yet – it is so new I am absolutely struggling to find confidence in my abilities.

A lamp unto my feet, a light on my path.

Have you ever been camping and had to go to the bathroom that one last time before you fall asleep? You grab the flashlight, slip on your shoes and into the brisk summer night from the safety of your tent. It is dark, it is quiet in the noise of nature and you shine the light just in front of you so you can see your path. The flashlight does not light the entire path from the tent to the toilets, but you can see enough to keep your steps safe and quick, occasionally looking up with the light to see you are headed in the right direction. That is the light that I have going into this unknown. I have the strength to keep stepping forward because the light in my path is not my own, it is His.

As the scripture speaks I must have faith. Not in my abilities, but faith in what God can do for my family and I. I cannot see the finish line, I cannot envision what the end of next week will look like, yet I can see the lighted footsteps below me and I know that I find all confidence in God’s abilities. I find so much peace. Just keep stepping forward, one lighted step at a time.

Tonight, if I wake, I will have that beautiful truth to remind me. He has this, He is in control, and He will guide my footsteps so long as I keep my focus on Him. What a blessed truth to know.