I am dealing with a head cold, which has resulted in laryngitis, which is why it is amazing that you can all hear me telling about what I’m grateful for this week. ;)
It’s very difficult to parent your children when you can’t really talk to them. Even just giving them a small command like “Come eat” is difficult…much less trying to offer them advice or break up a squabble. I’m thankful that my voice is starting to come back. I’ll be singing and reading and loudly breaking up arguments in no time, right?!
One big problem with not being about to talk is the fact that I generally read aloud to my kids a lot during each school day. Matt has happily stepped in and done all the reading today, but here is what I recognized:
I had full permission and some very real excuses to take the day off and go hide and read and be by myself all day while Dad took over school time. The very idea sounded lovely and appealing and I fully intended to do it.
But then I realized that I didn’t want to miss out on what was being read. If Matt and the boys did all the reading without me, I would have missed all the chapters read today and the transcontinental railroad had almost made it all the way from New York to California. HOW could I possibly miss the part where the railroad finally came together?!
So Matt read to all of us today…even the Mama, who has finally, now that she is all grown up, decided that she loves history lessons. I know I’ve said it before at various times, but I was reminded again today about how much I enjoy homeschooling our kids and how much I want to be a part of their education. Learning has become such a joy, and while I love watching my kids learn, I just LOVE what I’m learning too!!! History never made sense to me as all the reading I had to do as a student seemed so dry. I only read it so that I could get a good grade on the test, never with the intent to actually learn (if that makes any sense at all).
I have gained a much bigger appreciation for the people of our past now that I am seeing how history played out in the big picture. Through books like Susan Wise Bauer’s Story of the World series and Joy Hakim’s History of US…I finally feel like I get it now.
I’m grateful to be able to share that History Lessons are really, really cool. Now, if I could just get my full voice back so I can get back to reading out loud. :)
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