Little Things

You know, I've been homeschooling for 3 months now. I can't believe it. In those 3 short months, Maggie and I have both learned a lot.

She has learned to read rather well. I have learned to let her take her time in sounding out words, rather than jump right in and tell her what they are.

She has learned that she can do a lot of work on her own now, without me telling he specifically what to do. I've learned that she can be a self starter if I let her take the lead.

It's funny what we can learn about our kids when we are actually engaged in the learning process with them. I find Maggie's humor to be spot on, something I hadn't noticed before this adventure began. I also know that I need to make special concessions for Maggie. She needs things to be stable and smooth, no major bumps in the road, or it throws her whole mojo off.

My previous parenting skills included lots of threats and "if you don't"s, but now I know I need to take the time to see what her perspective is like, and then adjust my own reactions to her needs. She tends to be an organizer, so I let her make math problems in a line up and down, instead of across. She likes to find patterns, so I let her do the sentences out of the order they are written in her book. These are all little things, things that take no time at all to do, things that make her life so easy, and things that I know make her happier.

It's funny how the little things can mean so much. I only hope she appreciates it as much as I appreciate her.