Hidden Rewards

When we began homeschooling 5 years ago... we decided then that the first year was mandatory, and it would be mandatory for everyone until they went to high school, unless it did not benefit everyone all around. So, each year we re-evaluate in the FHE after the school year is over. We do parent teacher conferences, giving the kids their report cards and then talk to them about their favorite parts of the past year's school. Then we test them out on how they feel about doing it again next year. I have enjoyed a lot of benefits since that first day of Homeschool. There have been moments of stress, when I wonder why the heck I'm doing this and I swear that the next year, EVERYONE is back to public school. But then, the year winds down, and everyone has completed the next grade, we smile and laugh...and realize that we'll do it again another year. The best benefit I saw this year... was AJ. AJ learns his own special way. When he was in public school pre-k, he was constantly getting marked down for being forgetful. He would forget to cross his legs at circle time. He would forget what he was supposed to do for an assignment, and he'd forget a task he'd learned the day before... such as what a letter sounded like or how to add numbers. After a quick review..he'd remember again, but it was everytime like that. I realize that his teacher had 15 other children to keep track of... and she didn't have the tolerance to tell him over and over. He began to hate school. He was always being written up for SMALL simple things. He was so discouraged, that he mentioned that he didn't wanna go to school because all he did was make bad choices. As a mom it broke my heart, frustrated me and aggitated me that the teacher couldn't find something he did well and capitolize it. I volunteered and even substitute taught ... to no avail. The first year he was home schooled, he was tentative at first... keeping to his "I'm going to stink at this" mode. Eventually we got through the year (this is his Kindergarten year) and he could finally identify MOST of his letters and could add simple numbers. His best subject was science because he could do experiments.... The second year we introduced reading and pushed him a little harder. He got the idea of sounding things out, but the rules threw him off. He learned more math, but still struggled.Science remained his favorite. Each year progressed ever so slowly, that we even saw signs of his sister (almost 3 years younger than he is) was catching up to him. I worried that it would affect his confidence. Thankfully this year, he has come into his own. He reads like a champ...and has almost caught up to his agegroup in Math....and is multiplying like a pro. There've been days when I wondered if he was slower because I allowed him to be... and maybe if he were in PS he would have accelled faster with his peer group. Maybe the pressure would kick him into high gear. But in my heart of hearts I know that he is just AJ. He just learns at his own pace. He'll get it, just takes a bit longer. This is when I thank Heavenly Father for making it possible for us to have this opportunity. That he can get it when he is ready, without me having to stand over him, fussing at him. Less tears all around. And that is definatly a hidden reward.