Being able to read isn't that big of a deal, right? I mean, how important is it that I teach my kids to do this? People make it to adulthood without being able to all the time. Sure, it makes driving a bit of a challenge when you don't know where you're going, but a talking GPS could help with that. There are symbols and pictures to help you get by in a pinch with most other things (bathroom doors, play buttons, hot, cold, etc.). There's enough take-out in the world that they would never really need to follow a recipe if they didn't want to.
What I'm getting at here is that although I truly enjoy homeschooling, teaching Eva and Sully to read has been like living a nightmare. I know I've lamented about teaching Eva before and she CAN read, but you can't stop at, "Pig Wig had a cap." You have to move past Pig Wig. I just wish we could blow past him with the fury of a tornado.
Part of the problem is attention. Neither child seems to be able to sit for more than a couple of minutes at a time. Today I got hoarse shouting at them to stay seated. We've tried the whole "classroom" scenario where I'm Mrs. Perez and they come in, fully dressed (There's always a good chance one of the Perezes is missing an article of clothing, so this is notable.), get seated and don't speak unless spoken to first and they have to raise their hand. That's old hat already. Sometimes I can eek a "Mrs. Perez" out of them and they still do alright with raising their hand, on occasion, but they are all over the first floor of the house, rather than sitting at the table in the designated "school" area and it makes getting any one subject done a challenge. These are the times I wish we had a school room. It would make this so much less stressful. If you're reading this and you homeschool and you have your own school room, I'm insanely jealous of you and I don't even know who you are.
I think that's why their lack of attention during reading is all that more offensive to my delicate nature. (Hahahahahahahaha!) I mean, I'm sitting there. Right NEXT to them. There is no space between us. Sometimes they're sitting on my lap. I have the text book open in front of them, and we're going over new word sounds together or reviewing old ones because practice makes permanent. It's the most intimate of learning situations. The ultimate in one-on-one time. Sully, to his credit, can actually move a bit faster through his stuff than Little Miss Distractable Pants.
With Eva, it goes something like this, "Okay, Ave. Start here and read the words across the page, please."
"Chop...chap...Do you know what I love about Rainbow? She's pink and purple and all sparkly and..."
"Eva!!!" I clap my hands to break the spell Rainbow the Evil Purple Unicorn has so sneakily placed on her. "Please pay attention. Try to say all the words on this line without talking about anything in between. Please." Do this for Mommy before her head explodes, I mentally add.
She then bites her lip, squirms uncontrollably, tries to shove both hands and then her arms, up to her elbows, into her mouth, and tries again.
"Chremupmph...chaphmphs..." (And, please, to get the fully effect, pause a good thirty seconds or more when you reach the ellipses in your reading.)
"Wait!!!! What?! Sit on your hands, please. I can't understand you with your hands in your mouth."
Then comes the most doleful expression and another exposition on how much she loves Rainbow or how one of her friends also loves pink or how the clouds in the sky the other day reminded her of cotton balls because they were so big and fluffy or how she really wishes that she had those Sketchers sneakers that all the girls are wearing these days and why do they have boy Sketchers? That's just weird. That's when I facepalm and stifle an insane giggle. A full thirty minutes has passed and we've reviewed exactly two words. Kind of.
You might be reading this thinking my child could very possibly be ADHD. I assure you, she is not. Her attention span during math, even review of CC material and her English grammar, are quite impressive. She's able to paint for an hour or more at a time with extreme focus. If asked to watch "My Little Pony" her attention is firmly fixed for as long I would allow her to watch that ridiculousness.
Hence my frustration.
The kids do have fun when we play sight reading games. I have flash cards with sight words on them and we play games one or two days a week, sometimes more if I can't bear the thought of going through what I just described. But one-on-one time is necessary at their separate levels if I want them to advance and so days like today happen.
The good news is I have them all to myself for nearly the ENTIRE day! Theron will be home briefly, to tease us with his presence for twenty minutes or so, until heading off to youth group and then I get to torture them into their beds a full half an hour early because I'm mean like that. Happy Monday to me!
I don't want to give the impression that I don't like my kids. Please don't be hearing that. I love them. It's just that this is the hardest job I've ever had. It's exhausting, repetitive, mentally tortuous, and stressful. The rewards are huge when they come, but some days those hugs and "I love yous" are few and far between, especially if I've had to raise my voice more often than not. And I really do like teaching them. There's this amazing sense of accomplishment that comes from knowing you, and not someone else, is revealing God's creation to them. We can pray openly, we can talk about things at our own pace, we can have class in our jammies right after eating Gorilla Munch. I guess I just need to work even more on making it fun and palatable for the young minds I'm molding. I'm getting there. And they will to. That's the good news.
I'll close by sharing my favorite Bible verse for the last month or so. "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galations 6:9" I am doing good. And I'm gonna do my bestest not to grow weary. I've got God's promise that I will reap. And what I reap, hopefully, will be bright, literate, children who still love their mom even though I nearly put them in a timeout for 10, solid, years.
