"Mama said there'd be days like these..."

Ok, so I'll admit that not every day is a great day for Homeschooling. As every kid does, Charlie has his moments of defiance and my reaction to these is not always ideal. In his head, he is tired, hungry, thirsty, or just wants to do something else at that time. He gets frustrated when he spells a word incorrectly and wants to give up. He gets overwhelmed when he has to write too many sentences. And we simply do not do enough hands-on activities. In my head, we need to get the schoolwork finished before we play, watch a movie, play computer games, or have Hope over. (Hope is his "girlfriend"- the daughter of our very good friends the Ratliffs, from whom even half a day is far too long to be away.) And so we butt heads at this point and reach an impasse. We end up sitting at the table until the work gets done. I don't give in; he must. And man, can he sit for a long time!

Today was one of those days. I must keep in mind that "Mama said there'd be days like these," and keep on keepin' on. We decided to home school for a number of reasons and one of those was to make school more enjoyable. To have school as a team, as a family, and to have fun in our learning. I know that we are still in the "honeymoon" phase of this new endeavour, and I am sure that it will pass. Tomorrow is a new day and Charlie has assured us that he will do his work with a good attitude. We are confident that we are doing what God called us to do, and so I will seek to find a balance with Charlie, and look for teaching styles to match his learning styles. I will rejoice in the good days and small victories. I will continue to encourage him when he is frustrated and celebrate every word spelled correctly. Pray with us as we work through the struggles and please continue to support us in our decision.