Dear Mom--A Post Homeschool Breakdown Note

I have to say that we were on fire today in homeschool. She did NINE lessons of Math today. She was on a roll when it came to place values and I wasn't about to stop her. We did one hour in the morning and then another hour in the afternoon.

Then we had another break and then we did one and then two lessons of Language Arts. All was well, we were smoking it up. We headed into a spelling test. Pleasantness was exuding from us. Then, ladies and gentlemen, Olivia couldn't figure out how to spell her heart words. Heart words are words that don't follow the spelling rules, you just have to memorize how they are spelled.

Learn and heart created a world of hurt and tears in our abode, let me tell ya. She threw her pencil--twice. I think she even lost it the second time and had to go get another. I ignored it all and calmly told her to do her best. It is a very good thing, my friends, that I took my fish oil this morning. It tends to help keep my irrational, hormonal pregnancy irritability at bay along with its bad reactions.

Well, then she walked off and I told her to come back. She looked at me and said in her most sassy and disrespectful voice, "What?". *GRIN* In that moment, I was taken back to yesteryear when I gave my mother the same kind of backtalk. It made me inwardly smile and apologize for my doing that to good ole mom and thus getting it back in return. That inward smile also kept me from popping those loose lips of that 7 yr old.

I told her to come closer so I could give those lips a pop. However, after a pause for some self control and actually telling her what was to come next, the urge was gone. The threat itself was sufficient to only heighten the wailing, weeping and reddening of eyes. I wrote down the words she missed for her to write down 1o times and told her that she lost her treats and TV for the rest of the day. I went back in 15 minutes later to see how she was doing on the spelling words and along with her neatly completed work, I found this note.

Dear Mom,

I am sorry for what I did. You can send me to bed without dinner.

Your friend,
Olivia

I looked over at her. She was pretending to be asleep on the futon. I smiled, left the room and sat down to write all this down. *BIG GRIN* I have never sent her to bed without dinner. But that would be a good punishment for her, the kid does have a hole in her leg. However, I think the no treats or TV will be sufficient.

I love being a homeschooling mom. I really do, who would want to miss these moments? I wouldn't miss them anyway. They'd just come in the form of homework breakdowns instead.

I, now, have a vastly poopy 2 yr old at my feet and must sign off. Happy Tuesday to all and to all Happy Biggest Loser and American Idol night--at which time at least 1/3 of my children will be asleep, the 2nd third will be in her room awaiting the 3rd 3rd who will be getting into her pjs after children's choir practice.