The Homeschool Experiment

I can't say it made my list of favorites or that it was beautifully crafted, but it was fun to read as we resume our summer school schedule.

The Homeschool Experiment, a novel by Charity Hawkins, reminded me to laugh at the inherent craziness that takes place in the daily life of a stay-at-home mom or a homeschooling mom.  I wish I was better at making fun of myself (and the situation) on the challenging days, but I tend to take things too seriously.

I laughed as she described her children:

Our children are absolutely adorable, like three stair-stepped angels, with their dimples and button noses and doe eyes.  When they're in a good mood, that is.  When they're in a bad mood, they have furrowed brows and scowls and fire shooting from their eyes.  It all depends on the day, really (37).

And I laughed again at her attempts to organize and schedule her day:

"Mom," Daniel cries.  "Michael needs you!  He has a poopy diaper!"
Argh.  Poop is totally not on my schedule. (84).

 I was reassured that I'm not alone as I think her little Michael might be my Tornado Teddy's long lost twin:

I kept having to stop chopping vegetables to get Michael out of trouble.  He got into the craft cabinet in the laundry room and spilled beads all over the floor.  He  climbed up the stepstool into the sink and turned the water on. (He was trying to brush his teeth.)  He pried the lid off his sippy cup and spilled milk all over his chair and the table, getting it on Joy's math book and making her cry. (122)

The book is written as something of a journal with monthly entries.  I like the idea of the book--that of sharing both encouragement and commiseration with other moms in the trenches--but I think it would have been better if authored by a stronger writer.  It has the quality of a blog so it would have been more enjoyable to read in shorter sections rather than to read it in a couple days like a novel.  It got kind of old as it lacked plot, characterization, climax, and other elements of a well-written novel.

Having said that, I appreciated the book both as a reminder that we WILL HAVE crazy days (and that's ok!) and for its definition of some of the end goals of home education:

They have freedom to run, to yell, to tumble around.  They can work--making castles, collecting shells, finding treasures.  They don't need or want 'entertainment.' Real life works fine, thank you very much.

This is how I want to raise them and one of the reasons I want to homeschool.  I want them to get to explore the world, marvel at God's Creation, be awed by His power rolling in on the waves and breathless at His beauty hanging in the clouds.  Not that they couldn't do that if they were in school--I guess I just want to be there for it.  I want to be there with them as they discover this world, not only on vacation and in the summer, but in the quiet of ordinary days. (76)