Home Schooling

It is at moments like these – the ones where my youngest child is pitching a fit about being allowed to go back to public school – moments like these that I truly wanted to throttle him. For reference, it’s also at times like these that he reminds me of Ron White – you know, the one who was arrested for “pub-lic” drunkenness, but only because he was thrown out of the bar. And that’s not really the reason my son reminds me of him; it’s more the way they both pronounce “public,” like it’s a special word or something.

Two months ago, he was adamant – he wanted to be home schooled, he wanted me to teach him. His brother agreed.
 
See, there were several perceptions of home schooling going on in our house. Three of them kind of mesh and go hand in hand; one of them doesn’t. But here lately, it’s been more like two of them mesh and two of them don’t.
 
Home school, for the three of us, was a vision of fun and laughter, learning and knowledge, all rolled into one. We wouldn’t have to sit in the same place every day for the same hours studying pretty much the same stuff. Instead, we could use out learning in the field, in the yard, in the house, in the stores. Our learning would be more of the practical variety, rather than your standard by-the-book variety.
 
So the family discussed it, I researched options, talked it over with the children and the hubby, and made a decision. Home schooling it was. Unfortunately, one member of our family didn’t share our idea of learning. His idea was by-the-book. It didn’t matter to him that no one else wanted to learn that way every day. Of course, we would use the books. Just not every day. Nope. Nada. Not going to happen.
 
Study in the living room? Why bother having a class room if we weren’t going to instill a sense of what goes on where? No studying in the living room. Work our way through stores, studying spelling words and math? Not on his watch. We were to be in the class room, at the desks, toiling over the work books. Period.
 
So. Now I have one child that wants to return to public school, not that I pulled him out of a public school, because directly prior to be home schooled, they were both enrolled in a private school. My oldest son refuses to go anywhere – he demands to be home schooled. I can see my schedule going all willy-nilly as we speak. The hubby has condemned the youngest to go to the nearest public school and guess who gets to take him? Oh, did I mention that we start home school at nine a.m., as opposed to eight?
 
Dear readers, what do you think? Home schooling issues for any of you? Taught it, was taught, loved it, hated it? What? Give it to me. It can’t be any worse than what my nine year old throws at me, I promise.
 
Until next time….