Hi. It’s almost 2 in the afternoon, and today was a new adventure for me. I officially homeschooled 3 kids today. Not just the usual 2, but 3. All 3 of which are very active boys, with very busy minds. They range from 8th grade to kindergarten.
And if I measured today’s success based on someone else’s measuring stick, I’m pretty sure we failed. We didn’t get through nearly as many “lessons” as I thought we would. On top of managing 3 that are doing school, I have a 3 year old and a 2 year old keeping me busy. And as I manage a total of 5 kids, I’m scratching my head thinking, “We expect teachers to handle 20+?” Now, granted, they are all the same age and they use one curriculum, and teach the same material to everyone in class. But does that really make it easier to manage them?!
I had to stop sitting and directing to cook lunch and school fell apart. But I don’t know how to make soup and sandwiches and make three kids stay on task. So, we put school aside, I finished cooking, we ate, and now they are outside. I almost started doubting this whole idea, as much as I love it and want it…I thought “can I really do this?” But you know what? They all learned something today, they are all happy today, they are all fed today, and this is day 1 with 3 in school. That changed our entire routine.
Tomorrow, we’ll get through a little more, I’ll start a little earlier, and I’ll be better prepared to be a little stricter. Plus, I know a little more of what to expect.
Seriously though, if 5 kids can be this challenging, what causes us to expect a single teacher to manage 20+ students? I really can’t make sense of this at all… thoughts?
Regina Walker 