3 Days In

This week was such a whirlwind.

Wednesday evening when the curriculum appeared on our online learning environment, I sat down with my computer, a cup of coffee and started reading my instructions on how to do this whole Learning Coach thing. Learning Coach is my role in this experiment called homeschooling. At first I felt energized. How exciting! My daughter will be learning about ancient Rome! We will be building an art portfolio.  She will actually be learning new things in math.

But then I found the section labeled Advanced Prep. My heart started to race. Index cards? Oh no, we don't have index cards. Poster board, a 3 ring binder, a dictionary!! We don't have any of these things ready and school officially starts tomorrow!!! I sent my husband to the store with a list and called to add on to it 3 more times while he was there as I read about needing additional things like rice and a funnel for a science experiment. How could I not have rice?!

Ok, deep breath. Go to sleep, tomorrow is the big day. And now we have rice.

Thursday morning my daughter was up by 5:30am begging to start school. I was able to hold her off until 7am when her excitement was actually contagious and we decided to get started. She worked happily through math and spelling.  She was thrilled when I noticed her fidgeting and suggested she do some of her work standing up. We took jumping jack breaks and played math and spelling games. She read stories to her sisters. And she protested when I said I needed a break to get ready for our outing.

I love the renewed energy I saw in her.

Thursday is the day the school gets all the kids together at a local gymnasium. They have an hour of instruction with their peers and then an hour for a fun activity. The moms (and some dads) all get to hang out and socialize while the younger siblings have informal play dates. Some even sit in with their older sibling's class and get the chance to hear stories or learn math.

If you know me, you know that going to a place to socialize with people I don't know is terrifying. Something on the scale of my absolute worst nightmare. But this was different. The women were so welcoming to me. I instantly connected with 2 moms and the time flew by as we shared our stories and struggles. They are both fairly new to this too and gave me great tips on how to ease in rather than jump in. One mom even invited us to her house for a birthday party next week. I felt at home with these women. Two other moms struggling to figure out what was best for their kids and landing in this new world of homeschooling.  I realized quickly that I would benefit from this Thursday class time even more than my daughter. These women and the other parents I had yet to meet will become my community. My support. Maybe I will only ever speak to them once or maybe we will become close friends. Who knows?

What I do know is that we share a journey now and we have touched each other's lives. Homeschooling is not just the journey of the child, but the journey of the parents too. The journey of the family.

It is Saturday and I am happy for a break from school. But I am also excited for Monday when I anticipate my daughter jumping into my bed early begging to learn. Her excitement and passion for knowledge is contagious. I realized yesterday as I sat with her learning about hieroglyphics and cuneiform that she was not the only one who would be challenged. I am learning things along with her. Not just about ancient Egypt, but about patience, flexibility and not always being prepared. But no matter what Monday morning brings, one thing is for sure.

I have index cards and rice.

What more could we ask for?