Let me just start off by saying, I now know how my family felt raising me....haha!
Taking care of 14 kids is hard work but so very fulfilling. So to all you mothers out there, I appreciate the hard work!
I'm still teaching my four students everyday and taking Master's classes. Teaching is going pretty well, some of my kids have their "horribly off days" where they don't listen, cooperate, do any of their homework or make good marks on their tests. Sometimes it's really hard to get one of my younger girls to listen or feel good about the work she's doing in school. A lot of her problems come from her past which involves living in the street, being drugged and rapped. She has many learning disabilities because of this. For the most part though, she's been doing really well working from home. It's just going to take some time to get used to learning.
None of my kids have ever had this much homework or this much learning expected of them. And by a lot of homework, I mean, not much at all. At public school here, the kids are overlooked and the aren't expected to do much at all except recess. And the kids in public school that are the least bit behind? The teachers don't want to take the time with them so they pass them to the next grade.
I'm now teaching the kids History and Geography. On Fridays I'm going to start teaching on a major world historical event. Starting with one they are ALL interested in: Titanic. I talked a little bit about the tragedy of Titanic today, since I too was a crazy fanatic over Titanic when I was 13. I probably crushed their little hearts when I told them that Jack and Rose weren't real people, but fictional characters.
I'm also teaching them (in Reading), The Hobbit and The Magician's Nephew which is really fun. It's sad that I can't go in depth into symbolism, but I AM scratching the surface. (I'm so glad I took that Lewis/Toliken class in college!)
It's amazing to see their faces light up (or fall in the case of Jack and Rose) when they learn something new. It's a lot of hard work, but it definitely pays off in the end.
All in all everything is going great here! :) I love you all, and I thank you so much for your prayers! You rock!
Erin.
