Our Ordinary Selves | the end of year 9 + 10

The other day I lamented to one boy that I have done them a great disservice by not requiring more of their written narrations. I suggested that perhaps in these last few weeks of finishing out grades 9 and 10 I might smarten up and stay more on top of what they write.

He looked at me like I’d grown a second head, which I have learned is not a sign of disrespect but rather a growing divide between how women and men process the world – I think our teenage sons are shocked as they discover we are practical, sentimental, logical, over thinkers, brilliant, and hold gaps in our brilliance. I think as mother’s we are shocked to realize our sons are men.

But back to the narration. He very practically asserted with a comical laugh that suggested he respectfully thought I was crazy; “Do you really think there is a deficiency in our writing?“

And the truth is, I don’t think there is. I just think there’s a deficiency with myself and I wanted to make myself feel better about ending the year with what I asserted was an improved version of our ordinary selves.

Our ordinary selves excellently narrate orally and sufficiently narrate in the written form. And apart from when I read about other homeschoolers and their mastery of written narration I am quite happy with what we do and, truthfully, thrilled that both my teenage sons enjoy writing.

Would they lose their joy if I required more writing? Would they go further in the world if I required more? These are questions I ponder, and the older they get the more I see that there is no room for a mother’s fears in the formation of her teenage son’s education. We have erred on the side of less writing, but they would both tell you they enjoy writing. And, more so, there is peace and joy in our home. Not in the name of waving a white flag of surrender, but in the name of making informed decisions for our own family.

The school year is wrapping up, the highs of many are being celebrated (as they ought!), but in that don’t lose sight of your ordinary selves. Perhaps an honest evaluation will reveal something worth focusing on and strengthening in your homeschool culture, and that is certainly worth noting and striving towards excellence. But be your ordinary selves. Much of educating our children at home is faithfulness in the mundane. Be faithful to your ordinary, not striving for other’s strengths.

I will close this off with what I shared on instagram the other day.

“In the homestretch, finishing grade 9 and 10 with Ambleside Online.
So, so thankful for the dedication of the women who have put in so much work curating the booklists and breaking down the CM principles for a feast for us to enjoy.

Their hard work and passion have made it possible for our family to experience the beauty and richness of a Charlotte Mason education over the years.

We are so grateful for the opportunities our boys have had to enjoy the rich feast. We have walked with Jean Valjean through the gutters of Paris, observed Winston Churchill’s observations on decades of world history, laughed over Jane Austin’s lively characters, and guessed at the twist and turns of the Count of Monte Cristo.

The early years with AO were fraught with frustration as we all learned the discipline of short readings and narration, and now in the later years I see the payout as they tackle long and challenging books with the understanding it’s just a little chunk at a time, and they narrate those short readings, investing themselves in the books. And as the years pass they recall more each year from the books of the past, people, events, or places that somehow tie into the current book they are reading. The science of relations at its finest.

As we approach the end of the school year we are thankful for another wonderful year.

Thank you, Ambleside Online for all that you do to make homeschooling such a beautiful and enriching experience for families like ours.”

We have been back in GA for almost a year now and it’s amazing how settled my brain is feeling and how much easier it is now to write!

I hope to follow up with a couple more posts on these years – the “salad bar” approach for high school is beautiful and genius, but overwhelming! So I want to share a little of what we experienced going through it. Additionally, our oldest will be dual enrolled next year (AO year 11 plus an online Christian college) and that was a bit of a deer in the headlights situation figuring out transcripts (and, if I’m honest, even deciding to move forward with dual enrollment and knowing we will have to forgo some of the beauty of AO.) So I want to share a little of that journey and what we learned! And then I have a handful of friends across the country who are considering starting AO this coming school year (yay!) and I want to try to write a post capturing some of the conversations we’ve had and really the peace, beauty, and joy we have experienced using Ambleside Online for their education. All that to say – if you have a specific question loosely related to any of that feel free to reach out and I will include it!