It’s easy to look at blog photos and blog pictures and feel like you can’t relate. Blog homeschools look organized and peaceful—and silent. Beautiful projects, smiling children, and staged stacks of books are definitely more appealing than the REAL behind the scenes homeschool. So lest you despair at your noisy, toddler-raided, homeschool home-demolition, let me share just a little peak behind the scenes homeschool at our house.
I love my kiddos, and I love my littlest. He is my cuddler, and we spend lots of time snuggling. In addition to mommy time all to himself, you can often find him sitting in my lap while I teach the older two. But there are those days, when he’s flat fed-up with our routine, when nothing calms the toddler-storm. Yes, that chaos happens at our house, too. There are those days when, behind the beautiful notebooks and art projects and smiling faces, just off camera, is this pitiful face.
And when I don’t let him eat pencil lead or play with my cheese grater or pilfer through my lesson plans, he makes known his despair at the great injustices.
And the fact that I’m taking pictures rather than smothering him with Mommy-love is only due to the fact that such a HUGE part of our daily lives must be documented. This is our family, this is our homeschool journey, too. This is authentic behind the scenes homeschool with a little one. And on the days when I think he has “suddenly” turned into the infamous toddler and wonder where my sweet pumpkin went, I need photos to remind me that there have been other days like this in the past, days that already seem like a distant memory.
Tons of learning and fun and happy memories happen at my house, tons of snuggles and read-alouds in my lap and playtime with brother and sister. But let’s just be honest with each other, tons of chaos and noise and tantrums happen behind the scenes of homeschool, too.
