My So-Called Homeschool

Wow. Sometimes you’re just surfing along, reading neat stuff, and WHUUF! You read something that just hits you in the gut. I clicked onto Tammy’s Recipes from my Google Reader — you don’t expect deep thoughts from a cooking blog, right? — and found this quote from Mrs. Mobunny of Rabbit Trails:

I know the ‘ease’ of saying yes to good stuff. It is ‘ease’ for the mother to say yes to daughters that want to do those ‘plugged in’ things. To say yes means a mom has 30 minutes, 90 minutes, or maybe even 2 whole hours to herself. To say yes means mom doesn’t have to look for something for the daughter/daughters to do. They have ‘something’ to do. Mom doesn’t have to look at spider books, bicycle tires or braids for a set amount of time. Now mom has some free time. Ah, now the daughters are occupied. Idle, but occupied.

Let us not think that only moms that are not Christian use the TV and other things you plug in to zippity-do-dah kids all day long. We can be guilty, too. Yes, there’s lots of good things out there for them to watch, innocent games…… but is it the ‘best’ thing for them to be doing? We keep our girls out of the public school system but allow them to watch things in our own home that we don’t want them to be a part of. We want them safe at home? Don’t leave your girls to themselves………even though they are at home.

We like to see our daughters play with their dolls, make play muffins, read recipes, sew a quilt, ride their bike, make a bouquet, crochet a doily………but we as mothers tempt them to sit in front of a screen to be idle. Why do we do this? We bring the very thing into our homes that is our biggest enemy. I have yet to hear a husband say, now you be sure to have the TV on lots today while I’m at work. Make sure the girls have lots of videos to choose from and make sure they watch them over and over again. I know how they bug you all day long, just keep the games a’goin. So, let us not blame our husbands for the time we waste all day long when they’re not even home.

I have gotten into a bad habit of letting the kids watch TV or videos “as long as it’s educational” — educational meaning not Cartoon Network or not too much of the bratty/sassy attitude that passes for children’s programming these days. It IS easier. Easier to get some housework done the “right” way, easier to read a little of MY stuff, easier to take a nap, easier to do what I want. I got into this home education journey to be with my kids and here I am trying to find ways to keep them busy — away from me. There needs to be some serious change around here! It’s going to take lots of prayer, too, because once I get into a habit it’s nearly impossible to get me out of it. There are so many things I need to change, but I am so convicted that I need to start with this one! Michele’s article also lists dozens of ways to engage with your daughters (she says daughters specifically, but I think you could do most with boys as well), and I need to print out this list and post it all over the house. I find it so much easier (there’s that word again) to just do it myself than to involve them. I’ve GOT to get over that!

Now, don’t think I’m going to turn into a no TV, no X-Box, no Gameboy nazi. But I’m going to try to be a little more careful how often and how long these things are done, and more aware of how I can include them the girls in what I am doing.

Back to the fray!