My little boy starts kindergarten this year. While it is not the "trauma" that some parents will go through by watching them "leave" for me because I am homeschooling, I am coming to grips that I am still having a hard time dealing with it.
He is my little boy. It seems like just yesterday, I was nursing him and measuring his feet with my fingers. When he was born, his foot was the length of my middle finger, now it would barely reach halfway up his foot (though that makes for an excellent tickle position).
My anxiety is different from some kids. even though I have taught for 13 years, and I have had some of the most difficult learning conditions possible, I am almost frightened of teaching my son. Part of it is because I know him soooooo well. He is, by far, the most daunting student I have had to date. Maybe because I recognize that not only is his moral character, social character and physical well-being my responsibility, his academic well-being is too. However, it is a job I relish and feel that this is what I am supposed to do, for a number of reasons.
So, the books are some of his "little" books in his room. These have effectively been passed to little sister, and this summer we have been foraging through used book sales to get "school books." yesterday, I met with a lady who had retired from public schools. I walked away with over 150 books she had used in the classroom for $65. Some of them were old, some were new, some were "schoolish" and some were fun. But, I feel strongly that reading is perhaps the most important skill a child can master because if you can't read, there is little you can do in life.
Good for you for doing the home-schooling. I do not have the patience or creativity to do this. I read your anxiety paragraph there but I have a feeling that your son is going to learn very well from you - and will possibly learn more than what my kids are going to learn from the public school system.
I have slowed down the pace of reading with the kids and need to get back to doing more again. Your post has given me the right amount of nudge I need to get back on track.
Love your story and the picture. That's an awesome deal for so many books!
Karmat, as a fellow homeschooler I can completely identify with the anxiety bit. I have been homeschooling my kids from the beginning, and every now and then I STILL get this choking sensation where I feel like I can't possibly be an adequate teacher and what if I mess up? But I do OK, and I know you will, too-- better than OK.
Kudos to you for going the extra mile with your son's education. You won't regret it.
(I like this busy picture. In the thumb, it looked very abstract; now at this size I keep wanting to study it and see what all the books are. I knew you were a homeschooler as soon as I saw the "HBJ Spelling" :) ).
Great story! I love it. I gotta agree, we are teaching our kids to love reading. We never let a night go by that we do not read to our kids and our seven is addicted to reading. Well done.
I totally relate to this one, and I love the angle from which you took it, as the diagonial really does suit this image in the square crop. I also appriciate what you are saying about your son amd thanks for sharing that with us.
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