The honest observer

In school systems across the county, there will come a day when every teacher has some sort of classroom review. An administrator or someone of the like will sit in their room and observe their teaching skills. I remember being a student and my teachers letting us know days ahead of time that we would have a "special guest" in our class that day. We were reminded to come in and get our work out, to raise hands and participate. The guest observer would sit in the back and listen, take notes, and say little.

I am learning that home school is a very different type of classroom. In our classroom, we set the schedule and we don't have someone observing. It is just us, practicing handwriting, coloring, reading out loud and doing a variety of other things that I am learning fit in with our home school day.

However, just because I don't have a guest observer, doesn't mean my teaching methods aren't being watched. Just because there aren't written notes being taken doesn't mean that there aren't mental notes being taken.

Because there are.

My little student is watching, observing and taking mental notes on everything I do. And if you read my very first post about our very first day of homeschool, you will understand a little better. We have come a long, long way. And to prove it just a little bit, I received an official report this evening.

It came in the form of a hug, followed by an, "I love you."

But she didn't stop there. The next words were amazing.

"I like home school."

She said it. And I knew at that moment that we had broken through. You see, it was really her idea to homeschool. She lobbied for it all last year. But I wasn't sure she really knew what she was asking for. I wasn't sure I really knew what she was asking for.

But the time we spend together, writing single letters, over and over, reading books and reciting memory work has been good. And her favorite part? Art.

So as we progress, I realize that we can turn our homeschool into what fits us and helps us to grow and explore our interests. And for this year, that is all things creative and artistic. I can handle that.