Our first day of homeschooling went exceptionally well. Not only did Captain Science learn more in a day than he probably would in the entire first week of public school, but he actually had fun doing it. At one point, he made a mistake while writing (didn’t shape the letter perfectly), and began verbally deriding himself, saying, “I messed up! Oh, man, I messed it up and I have to fix it!” I put my hand on his shoulder and looked right into his eyes.
“Are we turning this in?” He shook his head no.
“Are we being tested on this?” He shook his head no.
“Can I read it?” He nodded.
“Is the answer right?” He nodded.
“Then it’s right,” I told him. “I’m not going to make you redo it or erase it. As long as I can read it and it’s the right answer, it doesn’t have to be perfect!”
I could see the Captain’s body visibly relax. “I bet Mrs. [Bad Teacher] expects it to be perfect!”
“You’re right,” I said. “I bet she does, but SHE isn’t perfect, either.”
What really struck me most about today is how much I enjoyed homeschooling. I didn’t see any of the tension we had doing homework. He didn’t argue, backtalk, or fuss about doing his work. He was engaged and excited, and so was I!
I can’t wait until tomorrow. How weird is that?
Captain Science's First Day of School
I’ve always wondered why there was such emphasis put on perfect handwriting. It’s impossible to work out a doctor’s handwriting and they’re amongst the most intelligent and respected members of our community.
Well, I’m not going to agree on doctors being the most intelligent members of our community (and certainly not the ones I respect most). I think handwriting has a place and we do work on handwriting, I just don’t think it needs to be the emphasis in another subject. If we’re doing math, science, or history, the important part of his work shouldn’t be the handwriting.
Handwriting is a good place to start for fine arts, drawing in particular. It helps develop the fine motor skills, which would need to be even more fine for art.
I agree, it has it’s place, but it doesn’t need to be the emphasis of his work.