What To Do?

You know what? That is a hard question. As I look at other blogs, it seems that everyone has this homeschool thing figured out. It seems as if everyone is so much more organized than me, more comfortable with the process and more knowledgeable. Ugh, what is a girl to do?

Research. Yep. That's as simple as it can get. I was and still am, being haunted with the realization that I can actually fail my daughter. What if she has to go to school next year and is not at grade level? I refuse to let that happen.

At first, I started out with great ideas. We were going to start Social Studies with Egypt, but we never finished our lessons. Then I checked out the movie Roots from the library and intended to do a family tree with interview questions for our elders. The notebook is still on the shelf. Then we researched a wonderful artist, Romare Bearden and I created a great lesson plan and tied in our family history in it. Well, uhhh....that lesson is still on the to-do board.

In panic of the haunting voice in my head, I clicked on youtube. "How to create lapbooks?" So many video's came up. That was a wonderful start. Then I found lesson plans. So, I'm happy to say that we're doing an all-inclusive lesson plan based off of the book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. There was a great lesson plan that included all of the core subjects: math, science, language arts, social studies, and art. And, we're doing it and it's not on the shelf! Next, we'll do an a'la carte lesson based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (If you need the lesson plans I'll post the links.)

And, you'll never know...I might get so good with following through with my lesson plans that we'll go back and do the other stuff I wanted to do.

Tip: Don't get overwhelmed in trying to do it all. By putting so much pressure on yourself, you'll probably create anxiety and block your creativity in your lessons.

Got Guilt?

Homeschooling is not a joke. It's not. There are a lot of parents really excelling at homeschooling. I really want to be one of those parents.

In the beginning, I thought I was doing an okay job. Initially, I was to be a part of a co-op but I realized that my schedule wouldn't allow us to commit to it. It would have been fantastic to learn with a group and have that structure, yet creative energy. But, now I'm doing this alone...as a single mother. There are no re-inforced lessons from anyone else outside of me...got it?

The deal is, you've got to stick to the lessons and follow through. How many people do you know that start a project and leave it unfinished and go to the next idea? Well, it could be the same thing with homeschooling -- if you don't commit to following through.

I've started some great lessons, but without following through they're only mere  introductions. I realized that I can actually fail my daughter in educating her. I asked Dove, "Do you really trust me with your education?" Innocently and naively, she answered, "yes." Several months later, I look around and see that we've been relaxing. I haven't honestly been utilizing our time wisely or even recording our lessons and effectively evaluating and assessing her.

What would happen if she had to go back to school? How do we know if she's ahead of the game or have to repeat the year? What if I'm not really equipping her with the best (my intention of homeschooling in the first place)?

Well...I'm about to get rid of the guilt and actually organize my lessons so that I can effectively teach my daughter.

I'll keep you posted.