Write.

"You really need to work on your hand-writing,"

I scan the pages in her workbook.

How do you tell your child her handwriting is terrible without crushing her spirit?

I love home-schooling:

love the talks,

the lessons we both learn,

the fun of discovering things we did not know,

the projects,

the crafts and drawing,

the singing and playing music together...

I love it all, most of the time;

except the criticism and correction.

It is hard to look at your child and say,

"You can do better.  This isn't good enough yet."

Motherhood has a lot of bumps and bruises and treading through waters you've never even thought about, never mind having to dive right in and try to swim in it.

It is hard for a child to hear that they are wrong,

and as a Mom, it's what we do all the time:

"chew with your mouth closed,"

"don't hit your brother,"

"the dog needs water,"

"put your clothes in the hamper"...

and now I have to tell her where she's wrong in school, too.

I hated being a camp cabin supervisor for that reason:

I don't like being a police officer.

But it is the role I have to face sometimes.

"Your letters are not pronounced enough.  Your 'o's look like 'e's.

You really need to work harder.  The way your handwriting looks says a lot about you to other people, and being home-schooled, people are going to look at you more,

criticize you harder,

expect more.
It is frustrating, but it is just the way it is."

She sighs and I go into the kitchen and sigh.

She wishes it was easier,

I wish it was easier.

And then the next day, as I replace the furniture into her room after the 2 long weeks of painting her floor, she hands me this:

She hugs me and says "thank you" for painting her floor.

Sometimes,

focusing on the "o's" and the "e's"

isn't what really matters.

Sometimes it is.

But not now.

We'll go back to managing them tomorrow.

My heart is too happy that though her writing is not the greatest,
her thankful heart is.

This is part of my

Joining the "writing for five minutes without editting" over at:

Lisajobaker.com: Five-minute-friday:write