Homeschool Journey and Journal #4 ~ We're connecting

As I take the time to reflect over this past year of homeschooling and write in this journal within my blog. I think the thing that stands out to me the most is that my oldest daughter and I are connecting at a heart level. I know her, she knows I know her and that I like who she is becoming.

Since choosing to homeschool we have faced some difficult and very isolating and rejecting moments. Even with that I would say that my daughters attitude and heart are so much softer than last year. We have truly connected and I see her in a new way and understand her so much better. She also is learning about me my weaknesses and strengths. Being so close in proximity so often has brought out the best and worst in both of us. I remember one day we both went to our rooms crying after a math lesson. :)

I am so grateful for this past year with my daughter. I have no regrets in keeping her home at all!

I still get concerned if she is learning enough and if  I am providing her with an education that is full of life and inspires her to want to learn and is with in her learning style.

I have grown in not worrying about her being behind or ahead, which level she is at and that has been a huge burden off my shoulder (and most likely hers too ;)). My child will learn and is learning and her pace is her own. We have time and so I think next year will be a bit more enjoyable as I am a really learning to stop comparing or pushing my daughter ahead.

Lastly encouraging my daughter to find something she loves has been a bit of an adventure with highs and lows but at the end of this year I see my daughter really delving into this creative passion of Art Journaling, plus she also has started to excel in her piano and is starting to really see the fruit of her labor which is an awesome lesson.

In both of these things, being piano and art journaling we have given her privileges as we have seen her excel in these talents. For art journaling I now allow Autty to have a secret pin board on my Pinterest where she can pin all different kinds of art journaling examples. She has the freedom to pull them up whenever she needs, to use when she is journaling.

With piano we were going to go down to only one lesson a week because of time and money, however after our daughter did her first recital and experienced what practice can bring and the thrill of preforming she asked if she could stay with two lessons a week until at least summer. We agreed to this and have seen a fresh desire in her love for music and piano. With both of these interests they could stay or they may go but the thing that I love is that she has found something that she is good at and loves and it fuels her desire for learning overall. 

Autty at her first piano recital. :)

Learning and understanding our kids is an art and it takes time and time being with them, watching, listening observing, putting away my wants to engage in theirs.

I have so much to learn and honestly it makes me nervous sometimes, but at the end of this first year of homeschool (being still a month left), I am hopeful about our homeschooling future. :) I haven't seen results in her math like I was hoping or her writing per-say, she has excelled in reading and spelling but all this is not how I am measuring the success of this past school year. I know my daughter better, we are connecting this is success to me!!  She has become confident and has learned to preserver.  At the end of this year I would say I am still a bit  nervous but very pleased, and grateful to know better how my daughter ticks.


In our west corner, homeschooling~
Becky