We Survived our First Week!

Part of me (well, a lot of me really) can't believe it.......I'm a homeschooling mom! We completed our first week! I'm amazed and exhausted and happy and frazzled. I'm at ease, nervous, and in shock all at the same time. And I'm definitely still not used to hearing myself reply when asked where my kids go to school, "Oh, I homeschool." It sounds so surreal.......

I was one of those moms who said emphatically, "I can't homeschool. I admire those that do, but I will never, ever, ever, homeschool. WWIII would erupt in my house. I don't have it in me. I lack the patience that it requires. So, nope. Not me." And here I am....God has a marvelous sense of humor, don't you think? He knew all along, with every determined denial I made, that I would be homeschooling right here, right now. I can almost hear Him chuckle...

I wish I could say my first week was a breeze. Learning classroom management is really hard for someone like me, a person with very little patience. But the joyous moments combined with the realization that with each passing day, I'm doing the right thing and didn't make a monumental mistake, far outweighs the frustrating moments. Yes, the tears and whining (and that's just me) can seem overwhelming to a task oriented person (it throws our whole schedule off when I have to deal with melt downs!), but in reality, they're just little hiccups in the day.

These are some of the surprising things I learned this week:
1) I love teaching. I always knew I loved learning, books, homework, reading, etc.... but always thought I didn't care for teaching. What a wrong assumption!
2) The kids I thought would be difficult, weren't, and the kids I thought would be easy, ended up testing my sanity every chance they could. Go figure.
3) Packages of books arriving every day is far more exciting than new school clothes (at least for me).
4) Melt downs don't mean it's the end of the world, or at the very least, the end of the school day. It's a signal to take a deep breath and have that child take a break. That's all.
5) Snuggling up on the couch reading a book to the kiddos is as important as making sure they get their seat work done....(an idea that goes against the grain of my A-type personality).

Can't wait to find out what new things I learn the 2nd week!