The Ideal School Day....HA!!

 Ever seen one of those Pinterest photos? You know, the one where the mom is gorgeous, kids are all dressed neat, clean faces, hair braided with ribbons, sun shining through perfectly clean windows. They are all sitting around a beautiful table, all diligently doing their school work in a perfectly tidy room. The baby is playing nearby with a wooden, educational toy (also dressed neatly, clean, and not crying or hanging on anyone). You can see lunch simmering on the stove in the background so you know mom has planned ahead and because it's in a big pot you know it's a healthy soup or stew. 

Yeah. That photo. 😒

Probably 99.9% of the time that's not true reality. It's that one rare day where everything seems to go perfectly. And you love it. And you revel in it. And you can be quite certain you won't be able to recreate it ever again. 😂

Here is how my day almost always looks:

I've got a baby on my hip

I'm either folding laundry or its sitting in laundry baskets, waiting for me and judging me

There is usually at least 2 boys wrestling..but sometimes it's more...maybe 1-2 girls thrown in there too

Sometimes the breakfast dishes are still sitting in the sink...maybe a few leftover from the previous days dinner

There is talking going on

I'm teaching 1-3 classes at a time by bouncing back and forth between students

I might be nursing a baby

Sometimes I'm doing dishes while listening to a reading lesson

........

It's messy. It is most often noisy. It's organized chaos. 😁

Most of the time it doesn't bother me. But there are days when it gets to me. When I feel I can't teach unless there is clean and quiet. But that's unrealistic. There are times I just want to be done. But that's not okay. 

But then......

But then! In the midst of everything going on your student figured out how to read that word. His eyes just light up. And that smile he has plastered all over his face melts your heart. And it's all worth it. 

To get to be the one to be right there to see it click, to see that proud smile, to see those eyes shine so brightly in excitement......I love it. 

Homeschooling is just part of life, just like laundry and dishes are. Just like you figure out how to work in cooking a meal to your day, getting to the grocery store, or tackling the laundry, you simply figure out how to add school to your day. 

It's okay it's if not a Pinterest worthy photo. If you're bringing honor to Christ, if you're raising your kids in Him, if you're working to always take them back to Christ, if you're expanding their minds by teaching them fractions, spelling, or history, and if you're doing this while washing dishes or folding yet another load of laundry.....good for you mama!! 

Some days are going to go smoothly. Some days are going to sorta resemble that Pinterest photo. And other days.....not so much. You've got this mama.