February 18, 2016

Aloha from Carter Academy West! I won't invite haters by asking how the weather is back east.

So how are things going in terms of homeschooling here? We are coping with frequent interruptions and noise from the automotive repair yard next door and the leaf blower that comes every other afternoon. Trying to stay on track.

Happy to say we have made friends here. Bear (my younger son) is active in his youth group at church and plans to try out for the worship team. He is in scouts and has joined Sea Cadets. I don't say all this to show off his resume. But, I do want to demonstrate a principle of homeschooling: adaptability. Not theirs but ours.

Each child has his own gifts and talents. I firmly believe this. Part of homeschooling is to help your child discover his or her talents and find ways to nurture them. It is not easy and you will make mistakes along the way. I made the mistake of trying to get my sons into team sports. Now there is nothing wrong with soccer or basketball. I am a sports fan (Go Steelers!) and Bear is starting to form an interest in some sports, but neither he nor his brother were interested as children. After three attempts that ended in stress filled trips to play-dates for the boys, I stopped. It was not worth it.

Music was a different story. I made both the boys take piano at age 5. The goal was to simply learn basic concepts of music. After two years, neither was in love with the instrument. Since I did not own a piano, only a keyboard, and they did not care about it, we stopped. Fast forward to their teenage years, Boyo (the older one) discovered the guitar and a love for Celtic music. He formed a band with friends and they played out in town  and even recorded two CDs. John discovered a love of percussion (apologies to the neighbors), has studied with several outstanding teachers and is now learning the bass guitar. They both had gifts; all I needed to do was give them a good foundation, pay attention and support the gift. I wish I had known this earlier; I could have had a lot more stress-less days.

So what is the take-away? I had to adapt, not just once but many times. How? change your mind and remember some core principles.
Believe that the child God gave you is gifted because he or she is.
Know that your role is to discipline meaning teach them the way they should go.
Trust that God will put others in their path to hep them on their way.
And Relax. They will get there.
(By the way, without my pushing, both boys are involved in athletic pursuits. Go figure.)