Homeschooling Curse?

Dear Mom, I love you so much. You are strong and truly the best mom. I hope you believe that. 🥹You are so strong and brave. (She reads from the same Encourager book as Mrs Chikwariro!) Well done mommy. (For not complaining about surgery. Before it, she’d asked if I was “Nervoused” ) I love you a lot.

Get well soon,

From Ammy

Hello, Mommy! I love you. I hope you get better. Mommy, I love you so much! (And the outside of the envelope her missive was in said), “From Nalo.”

My sweet second son – as you heard in the video- said he didn’t have time to write a card. That’s ok! Even he can’t read his scribbles when we try decode what he has written 🥰

We are zooming past certain Maths lessons that Nalo has already mastered. It’s kind of freaky. And she complains that the Maths is too easy. So now I’m balancing both Reading, Language and Maths! Crazy! It reminds me -again- of the educational psychologist who has seen both the others and assessed their extreme and severe disorders, asking, “So you have NO worries about her academic abilities?” Not yet! I have added Computing and Geography from Cambridge and so far so good! It’s simple stuff! And as I might have stated, she uses the information she learnt throughout the day, a form is rehearsal so it sticks! One lesson was on air. When she was cooling her porridge down and blowing on it hours later, she reminded me that she was using air to cool something down! It’s awesome.

You know what else is awesome? My children’s current (Life changes!) choices. The first complaint from certain people was how we dress our children. And the same person who has always complained about our dressing said she hopes the children rebel against us because I’m basically acting like their prison warden. They have no ‘freedom.’ The other reason this was said was because a different relative had told this one that I don’t give the oldest two who were the only ones at the time, snacks between meals. So when they offered something to the children who were asking me if they should take it as it wasn’t mealtime, I said “Thank you, they will eat it after lunch!” I’m cruel, apparently.

Yeah, children at school don’t have freedom either! They don’t eat during class, so why should my children be eating all day between meals like they wanted? (Ironic that the unwanted-by them- kiddies basically HAVE to eat between meals for their sensory needs. And one is just always hungry anyway🤦🏾‍♀️😂.) Most schools in our country have uniforms. No ‘freedom’ there either.

So when the children live the things that have been thrown at me as being bad, I rejoice.

It began young with all of them. Their consciousness of God as a real Being. And it was brought to the fore this morning. Our non speaker wanted the mattress off the bed again today and the pain is building from knee to toe. I truly believe they messed with a nerve that stupid lipoma was stuck to. The pain is getting worse, sharper, more electric even with the sheet touching my pyjama’d leg. JUST like my elbow nerve surgery recovery.😥After a horrendous night, I just wanted some peace. So I sent them to Wynberg Park. A park the youngest have never been to. Now, it is recommended to make social stories for your autistic kiddies who do better with routine and struggle with difference. You tell them in advance about where they are going, what to expect…But this was spur of the moment so I was limping by around making juice, encouraging our talking twin to get dressed and she herself took care of the social story lack by asking what the park looks like.

I showed her some photos from a Google search.

And you know what that six year old little girl said, “Wow, it looks holy! It looks like you can go there and pray!” I NEVER thought like that when I was 6 years old! It’s so cool! I love comparing myself as a child to them. They are so far ahead of where I was.

As for my girl who is meant to rebel against me and dress whichever way asked me to help finance a bunch of clothes – undergarments and leggings and these. Prices change drastically so I don’t know what the prices were on the day we bought them.

People change. Peer pressure is real. Fitting in with the world is the norm. And so I will be thankful that for NOW, my first girl has still chosen to live by what she’s seen and studied. Those skirts late sweet. They have cute little bows on the front. I focus on feeling sad about her anxiety about entering a brand new church on her own. But the teachings are still there wherever she is. Same with not wanting to write an exam on Sabbath and asking what to do. I was so proud of her for not even considering writing.

The mysterious thing is how the very people who wish ill upon you for living differently. don’t exactly have perfect lives. For this person, loyalty to them is her god. As long as her children are loyal to her, she’s happy. So she discounts the one charged with statutes rape who she whisked out of prison with the help of a married magistrate boyfriend she had. She doesn’t see the sorrow in a son who has now been divorced twice because he can’t keep his vows and her other son also being the same – no morals – means nothing to her. The other children? Both have been to prison- one for fraud from their company, the other for GBH! That is the product of going to school. Surely she should welcome a different approach? Maybe the children won’t be as reprobate as hers? Wouldn’t you wonder and hope that the younger generations won’t be as twisted as the older? I would!

And you know what, dead or alive, if they rebel, it won’t be about me, it won’t be because they were homeschooled it will be about God and their choices regarding HIS principles. Most youths DO ‘rebel.’ And it will not be because I taught them from Christian curricula for as long as possible, living pure principles and praying for them. It will be for the same reason Eve rebelled against God and Adam. Nothing to do with Eden being too rigid. But everything to do with a heart that wanders away from God and His principles.

And the last thing I’ll blog about that naysayers have said? “They won’t know how to interact with peers.” My girl has a larger friendship group than I had at her age! And I came from a regular girls’ school. Our children aren’t caged up, talking to nobody. We – the family members- are somebody, by the way. They have other people they interact with, different ages and backgrounds. It’s perfect. Not just an adult teacher and then other children. But ANY body. (Parks, shops, church, helper, outings.)

I know I’ve done my job fr my oldest two. Now they must do theirs. For God. 🙏🏾 For now, I’m thankful that young and old have God and principles on their minds. And I think Nalo is thinking of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane (Our current Bibkebstory focus is on the crucifixion) so maybe that’s why she said the park looks holy. Who knows? Maybe it just does! It’s just cool figuring out what prompts the comments.

The curses thrown at us have not deterred me. The silent treatment because I live a Titus 2 life, have not destroyed me. The actual hatred because I don’t pay someone’s drug debts… Ridiculous! The hope that my children revel? Evil.

Here I stand. I can do no other.

Let me enjoy the current bliss while it lasts. If even Solomon could mess up for decades, who knows what the future holds? I would rather they were Daniels and Josephs, but I can’t choose. I can only plant the seed and how nothing chokes it or burns it.