So, today. Ugh. Let’s just suffice it to say that I did NOT wake up wanting to homeschool the boys, and the boys did NOT wake up wanting to be homeschooled…in such a way that we all had a meltdown in one way or another within a few hours of the day beginning.
My dear husband, Tom, offered grace over FaceTime after seeing the state of affairs, and said, “You know, maybe it’s just not working out today, babe. And that’s okay. That’s the beauty of homeschooling.” I took that to heart, turned them all loose in the great outdoors (it was a beautiful day today), and set to work in my garden transplanting Black-Eyed Susans and Yarrow.
After a good bit of outside playtime, they slowly started coming back to me. Xander asked if he could do some coding, so he grabbed the computer and hung out in the hammock in the shade by the garden. Roman wanted to read a book on my phone (we LOVE the Libby app…get it, if you don’t have it!), and he plopped down in the teal Adirondack chair to read next to the garden. And Jonas, who was already settled into doing math on the computer on the couch inside beside the garden window, opened it up so he could feel the breeze and see/hear us while he worked. Sigh.
I apologized to each of them in turn for losing my patience and temper, held them accountable for their part (whining, fighting, throwing pencils, talking back, punching, etc.), and declared today a day of “unschooling”. Because sometimes…the teacher AND the students just need a mental health day.
