Our Waldorf Homeschool Journey

When I started this blog I swore blind that it would show people the good days, the bad days and the inbetween days. Well most days are stunning, everything goes smoothly and school and home are positively blissful! And then just to keep me grounded and in touch with reality, I’m presented with a day like today. Hell on earth!

I swear this is the worst homeschooling day we’ve had. As Jules got out of the bath tonight she said to me,” I wish today never happened. I wish I had that thing in Men in Black where I could just make you forget the whole day!” This is what went down….

We got going this morning, quite well. StJohn did his readers and he really made an effort. Then he went outside to play and swing, while Jules and I did Afrikaans. That’s when things went pear shaped….

We were doing past tense, being, …ons swem, ons het geswem. Jules said she knew it all, didn’t need any practise (I made her do the excercises just in case). So we moved on to the next lesson which was verkleinwoorde…baba, babatjie.

She just wasn’t interested, and after me spending nearly 40 minutes trying to get her excited or just downright interested she starts shouting at me,”Stupid Afrikaans, Stupid Language!”

I got really cross and instead of responding with my normal calm,”Lets take a break.” I said,”Fine you won’t respect me as your teacher leave my classroom!”

At which point my husband walks into the house from his office in the garden, catches the tail end of the argument, and lays down the law…”Juliette go to your room, you’ve got 5 minutes to make the decision of either, going to public school, or treating your mother with respect and continuing to be homeschooled!”

Needless to say after 5 minutes she came downstairs to tell me that she would do anything to remain homeschooled.She was so sorry, etc.And believe me so was I.

Needless to say, StJohn was as usual the sweetest yet most bizarre member of our family, he watched his sister shout at me, me shout at her, Dad walk in and lay down the law. Then he calming turns to me, grins and says…”I love it when you make me hot chocolate.” And I stare at him with a “Huh?” look on my face. He hadn’t had hot chocolate since breakfast???!!He really knows how to make me feel better. (John calls it manipulation!I call it being in touch with your Mama’s soul!LOL!)

Well that was the morning, we called it a day after that, did another hours afrikaans and then left everything else for tomorrow. My mother was then scheduled to come for tea. Which is often a bit trying, as she lectures the children constantly about being good, which drives them scatty!

And then to top it all, as I’m walking up the front path I trip on a huge rock and slice my knee open, and am now covered in a light smattering of bruises!AAAARRRGH! I just rolled,one minute I was up then I was on the ground, on my face. (Why my arms didn’t shoot out and help I don’t know!) My mother then told John, who said,”Sweetie why didn’t you call me?”, My normal response didn’t come out instead I said, “Well what could you have done to help?” I mean what was I thinking. I never speak to the long suffering man like that, heavens I don’t even speak to the dog like that! Has my brain been away on vacation today???

SO to be honest these days come along now and again, and it’s really how we handle them. Today I handled everything all wrong. It was like a large nasty snowball, as it rolled it gathered speed and more nastiness.Yuck! Oh and the cat, Poppy, slipped on our wooden deck and ripped her toe open. Don’t ask I have no clue, but it didn’t seem very surprising today!
But at this moment the children are both in bed reading, StJohn’s light will go off in a minute, Jules in about half an hour, then I’m into the bath, straight to be bed with a new book, and hoping with all my heart that tomorrow will be back to normal.

I’m taking deep breaths and trying to chill.

I’ll post tomorrow, as I’m sure life would have returned to normal, it has a habit of doing that doesn’t it? Very comforting that.

Have a stunning Wednesday tomorrow and may you never be cursed with a day like today!

Blessings,

Sue

Filed under: Homeschool on August 19th, 2008