What impression do you give your hubby of your homeschool day?
When your hubby walks in the door at the end of the day, what impression does he get of your homeschooling? Every homeschool day has its ups and its downs. Be sure to share the ups! I love my homeschooling days with Heart of Dakota, and there are so many “ups” to share.
However, after a downward spiral week of just sharing with my hubby that the toddler spilled red juice on the carpet, the first grader’s backwards letter ‘s’s were driving me crazy, the fourth grader lost his Drawn into the Heart of Reading book, and the dog distracted us by barking at a rabbit all day – well, hubby asked – if homeschooling wasn’t going well, should we just put the kids in public school?
What?!? I thought! Where did he get THAT idea? I LOVE homeschooling! Well, he got that idea from ME, of course. Hmmm. Time for a change.
Magnetic Clips, Stickers, and Great Job‘s!
I made a change after that day. I realized my hubby’s impression of homeschooling was only what I told him because he wasn’t there to see it himself. And with Heart of Dakota it was GREAT! He was not the person to confide the “downs” in. Not to mention, there is that Bible verse… Whatever is true… honest… just… pure… lovely… OF GOOD REPORT… of virtue… PRAISE… think of these things! Yeah, Lord. Thanks for the reminder!!!
So, how can you share the “ups”? Well, I like to hang the best day’s work in strong magnetic clips on the fridge. I put stickers on their best work… yes, kiddos do still love stickers! Monster trucks are a favorite for one of our sons.
For older kiddos, positive comments such as “Way to go!” or “Great Job!” or “Fantastic!” written on their papers are encouraging too! When hubby gets home, he sees the work hung on the fridge, and it’s a visual way to share what was of GOOD REPORT from the day!
Pictures, Photoframes, and Portfolios
With cameras on our phones, we have countless opportunities to share the “ups” of the day. I like to share pictures of my happiest Heart of Dakota homeschool moments. I print them to hang on the fridge or load them for a slideshow on a digital photoframe. If hubby is traveling far to see an account (and I can “interrupt him” without feeling like I derailed his work), I text him the pictures with short captions.
Finally, the portfolios of Student Notebooks we keep in Heart of Dakota offer quick show-and-tell moments to share “ups” from the week! Paging through them and sharing them briefly with Dad offers an easy way to “show” and “tell” the homeschool week. It also shows progress made.
These are quick visual reminders that we will have forever of how much we have enjoyed our homeschooling with Heart of Dakota through the years! The next time your hubby walks in the door at the end of the day, try some of these ways to share the “ups” of the day. I think he may like it better than the sharing of the “downs”, and certainly the Lord will!
