Don't Check the Box

When I started doing school time with my son back in August, it was more challenging than I anticipated. I knew that there would be a period of adjustment in getting used to doing this for both my son and I. But there were a lot of little things I think I was naive about and I struggled with having unrealistic expectations of what my son should have been able to do. Why can't my 3 year old magically pick up a pair of scissors and know how to use them not only in the right way, but do it well, when he's never touched a pair in his life? Crazy! 

After about 2 weeks of struggling through, I kind of fell apart and started to really question if I would be able to continue to do homeschooling with him. One of the things I struggled with was my son was wanting to do things completely different than what I had planned the lessons/activities to be. That was really hard for me. When I expressed my concerns to my husband, he suggested something that, for me, was a little unnatural. He told me "not to check the box". As in, it's okay if my son does things completely different than what I was planning and expecting. And it's okay if the butterfly pieces get glued backwards and out of order and look nothing like a butterfly. And it's okay if he wants to make the letter T over and over again with the peg board instead of trying to make the letter A. The point is for him to try new things and have fun with it. Once I got it in my head that this was an okay concept and my whole world wasn't going to collapse if I tried it, things started going better. 

One of the things I had been frustrated with was my son trying something once and then wanting me to do it. I kept thinking, I know how to do this, I don't need the practice, this is for him. My husband pointed out that he does this with a lot of things. He likes to see us do something and then he tries it when he feels ready. So I started to do the activities with him, not just sit and watch him. What a difference!! There are so many little things that after doing it with him a few times, he now really enjoys doing them on his own. I still sit and do a lot with him, not because he can't or won't try, but because it is more fun for both of us. 

My new goal in our homeschool adventure, remember "Don't Check the Box". So far it has been a success and made things go a lot smoother and we get quite a bit accomplished. I don't let everything go completely awry, but when it seems like something's not working for us, I try to remember, what would this look like to not check the box. It keeps my blood pressure down, my son happy, and school time much more enjoyable.