It has been a challenging week for all of us. Poor health, sleepless nights and busy days have presented themselves and we have had to tackle what we can and ignore the rest. I learnt to say "No" this week and identify my own limitations to try and avoid burn out. I think homeschooling on its own or a baby with silent reflux on its own would be manageable but coupling the two proves tiresome. We simplified our routine this week which was a lifesaver but Reuben has been very unsettled and trying to get it all "right" has seemed impossible.
Despite our issues, Ashlyn has grown in confidence with her Maths. This is no small accomplishment for her as she was very intimidated by numbers a few weeks ago. She has spoken confidently with adults these last few days. My timid little girl has engaged in conversation! My heart has burst with pride listening to her. We attempted ice - skating this week too! Not as successful but after plenty of tears, a chat and a chocolate milkshake we will give it another go! The ice - skating was our first real opportunity to meet other homeschooling parents and children and we felt so welcome. Some of the mums even offered support to Ashlyn when she was feeling unsure about trying the ice - skating again. It is such a supportive network of parents. I can't imagine fumbling my way through without the advice of other home schoolers.
We have hit a tricky crossroad in the last few days. Ashlyn is becoming quite fond of being at home and by relaxing the routine she is not taking our structured time very seriously and I am feeling very frustrated by the end of a lesson. To be clear, we only do two hours of "school" in a day so there is plenty of free time. I wish we felt certain about the longevity of the homeschooling as I would probably feel more comfortable to allow for days like this. We had a chat about what she would like and where she would like to be whether that be at school somewhere or home with me. She has said that she wants to continue waiting for a place at our catchment school so we have discussed that from next week we need to have our focused time to allow for more free time.
I am starting to understand how it can take a long time to find a rhythm and a way of homeschooling that suits each individual family. There really is no cookie cutter one-size-fits all for this. Our size currently looks this and probably will do for a while now...I'm not feeling ok with it today but hopefully by next week I will feel slightly more liberated from my need for routine, lists and rotas!
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