One of the greatest questions in life I believe is, “How do
you know that you know?” This question applies to more than just “did I do a
good job in educating my kids to succeed on an academic level”, but for my
purposes today in writing this blog it’s going to apply to exactly that.
I do feel like this is a question that most people ask from
a place of skepticism. They ask, how do I know that my kids know? (Usually in a way that is accusatory at
best). Wow that sounds really defensive, ok I am going to try not to go there.
I am sure they ask strictly to see how I come to the conclusion that my
children aren’t morons but really do know their stuff.
I have been blessed with two very smart kids; I don’t think I
can take a lot of credit for this since they both have had a lust for learning
since they were very little. Garrett could carry on a conversation well before
Lauren was born and Lauren was able to read by the time she was four years old.
Was this due to my most amazing skills as a mother and nurturer or was this
just good genetics? (Sean is somewhat of a genius you know)
I will admit when we first started home schooling the kids I
was worried. I was very concerned with whether or not we would be able to “teach”
them everything they needed to know. In school I wasn’t what you would call
“academically focused”. I did all right but colleges weren’t exactly knocking
down my door. Sean on the other hand was the scholar. He was totally equipped
to make sure the kids knew their stuff so we decided this would be a team
effort and he would be in charge of math and grammar. These were two subjects
that I will admit are not my strong suit. We worked together to provided the
kids with a well-rounded academic background. The curriculum we used was also
very helpful, there were numerous tests and quizzes for the kids to take along
the way that reassured us that they were understanding the material and
retaining the information. When we moved to San Antonio there was a home school
co-op that provided testing that let us know that they were right on track.
Being the unbiased mother that I am, I could look around at the other children
in our neighborhood and know we were doing ok. In fact, better than ok. This
reassured me that all the work, planning, organizing and testing we were doing
was paying off.
As the kids started high school I became even more
concerned. Sean was now very busy with his job, we had moved to Phoenix and all
the schooling fell on me. I have to say it is not by my own genius that we got
through grammar and physics it was thanks to the fine people at ABeka and Saxon
that did most of it. They make their curriculum so user-friendly that even a
phonetically challenged, no spelling, equation hater can teach her kids (yes, I
am referring to myself).
So when it came time for the college boards I was even more
nervous than the kids. How well would I do? Did I know enough math? Did I give
them enough time to study? Did they remember all those grammar rules? There is no way I can keep up with all
those rules, and still have only a vague understanding of the difference
between APA and MLA. That’s right
it was all about me. I knew the kids were smart but were they smart enough? Did
I do everything possible to make sure they were well equipped to take on this
challenge all on their own?
My greatest
fears were put to rest, I could breathe. The kids did great in spite of my lack
of mathematical genius or grammatical skill. Lauren is still in the process of
taking her SATs. Her goal is to do better than her brother (you have to love
sibling rivalry).
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