I love homeschooling, for many, many reasons. Some days I feel completely stressed. Some days I'm just too tired. Some days I wonder if I'm a complete failure. But then God sends something my way to remind me that He is my strength, that He has called me to teach my children, that nothing could be better (for us), and that through Him, I am succeeding. He did that the other day.
We haven't even officially started school yet. The girls began a science class that they are taking through our homeschool group, but we haven't started anything at home yet. I needed a little more time to get our home organized and my head on straight after our whirlwind summer. So, since we haven't begun, I haven't even experienced any of the above mentioned negative emotions. We still have a whole year lying before us like a blank canvas. How exciting.
But God gave me a sweet gift the other day. A little background first...Banana has never been a big reader. In fact, she has never had any interest whatsoever in reading. This truly made me sad because there is nothing better than a good book. I love to read. Kat loves to read too, and we enjoy our passion together. But not Banana. She has never had much use for books. I think it's her daddy's fault.
Early on in our homeschool experience this was a concern. Teaching Kat to read was a joy. She loved it...she loved books, she loved looking at books, she loved being read to and learning to read for herself. Banana, however, fought me every step of the way. She had no use for reading. Just didn't see why it was necessary. I really believe if she had been in a traditional school setting she would have been labeled "learning delayed" or some such thing. But I knew better. I knew it was a matter of personality and time. I had been assured by many wise parents who had gone before that patience and time were all she needed. So I read to her. I allowed her to move at her own pace. Eventually, I began to see her making progress. She knew HOW to read, she just didn't have any interest in it. Still, I didn't push. I let her read at her own pace, and I continued to read to and with her. As long as she was reading her own lessons and working independently, I knew that she was reading at an appropriate level. I didn't worry about it beyond that.
Her attitude began to change, however, last Spring. After a visit with a homeschool group to the Eudora Welty home, Banana suddenly expressed an interest in books! It was a miracle! God bless Eudora Welty! After that trip, Banana found a book she wanted to read and she read it cover to cover! And loved it! This was the book that she loved (and still loves):
So, fast forward to last week. I had gone to the library to get the girls the first books they needed for their history/literature study. I wanted them to go ahead and get a head start on the reading. Kat's book (Uncle Tom's Cabin) was available, but Banana's book (The World of Columbus and Sons) had to be requested from another branch. On Thursday, Banana and I stopped by to pick up her book. It is a fairly large, book. It's old, published in 1965, and looks like school books I remember from my early elementary years (ahhh....good memories!). Banana looked it over, and made a comment about it being old. I assured her that it was historically accurate. In the car, she began looking through the book, which surprised me a little. I didn't say anything so as not to alert her that looking at the book might be construed as interest.
That night I suggested that she begin reading a little of her book. The chapters are very short, and I showed her how much needed to be read by the time we begin school next week. There was a good deal of moaning and groaning at this suggestion, but I persisted and sent her away with the book. Later I asked her if she read the first chapter. She answered that she had read TWO! Wow! It got even better though.
Friday night I went into Banana's room to see if she was ready for bed. I found her in her bed, lamp on, and she was READING her book! Yes!!! She looked up and said to me, "This is a really good book! I know it's a history book, but I really like how it's written. It's very interesting!" I could have cried I was so happy!! To find my girl in bed reading a book was a wonderful thing! The only thing better than being a part of my children learning, is seeing them enjoy it!
