Homeschooling During Family Crisis

Whew! The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. My mother-in-law has been in and out of the hospital. I spent most every night with her and a huge part of many days while waiting for the dr. to arrive for the daily update.

My boys, almost 16 and 12yo, were home alone druing these days. With each passing day while sitting at the hospital, I became more thankful that we homeschool. Not having to fret over homework in the evenings while caring for my mil was a blessing beyond measure!

During this time, I grew in my appreciation for Ruth Beechick & Charlotte Mason methods that we incorporate into our homeschool. I didn't have to rush home every evening to check workbook pages or answers to end of section readings. Instead, I would call home, ask each boy what they had read so far that day and then have them orally narrate to me over the phone. At the end of the day, when they had to choose one subject to do a written narration, they would call me and read their written/typed narration to me over the phone.

Another thing that came to mind during this time was the fact that my boys are able to carry on much of the housework in my absence. My friends, whose children go to regular school and then have FULL afternoons of homework and extracurricular activities, have NO time to learn to carry on with the house keeping. It was a blessing to know that the laundry was not being ignored, the cats were being cared for, including the litter box, and that my boys can feed themselves, although I did supply them with easily prepared food items.

This was also a learning time for me. I realized that I need to work on my boys automatically getting to their chores without constant verbal reminders. If I called and asked if such-n-such had been completed that day, they would say no, but then attend to it immediately after I reminded them. No fussing or whining about the chores to be done, even the extra chores that would usually belong to me. I'm thankful for this fact, but do need to work on them not needing constant reminders. Of course, that will probably be a LONG row to hoe with them!

I'll be updating soon about the books I've read so far from my reading list. Idle time in the hospital equals many pages read!