My kids and I are at the F9 park almost everyday of the week. They have their karate lessons and I tag along. I love going going there because I get two hours to unwind after a day of homeschooling and chores. I catch up on some reading or use the time to plan the coming days’ homeschooling material. What makes my evenings there so enjoyable is of course watching the kids as they train. I’ve had the pleasure of watching the younger ones blossom and been treated to impressive shows of the older students’ skills.

Once in a while though, I don’t have a good time. It is usually when I am forced to make polite conversation with … well, the sort of people I really wouldn’t have for lunch. You see, there are some folks, who, upon finding out that we homeschool, cannot seem to get off the subject and keep quizzing me on the whys and wherefores. Every time we meet, I get the same old set of questions or the same sense of incredulity. Last week, a mum saw me jotting down a few notes and proceeded to question me (again).

Lady: So… what are you doing?

Me: I’m just jotting down some notes for tomorrow’s Science lessons.

Lady: Oh… YOU teach your daughter? I thought she went to Roots because your exercise book says so. (I’d already told her we homeschool.)

Me: No, it’s just a book I bought from the store.

Lady: But… why do your kids not go to school?

Me: Mars has a compulsory exam to sit for in Singapore in 2013, so it’s just easier this way. (I can no longer be bothered to give an honest answer as to why we homeschool. Let them believe in the long arm of Singapore law *S*)

Lady: Oh… can they sit for an exam if they don’t go to school?

Me: They study and prepare for the exam at home.

Lady: (looking quite unconvinced) Oh… I’ve always thought children would not study at home.

Me: (smile becoming a tad forced by now) No, they do just fine.

Lady: (still with the disbelieving smile) I mean, you know, if they don’t go to school, then it can be hard to control or encourage them.

Me: No, not really.

The conversation went on a little longer and by the end of it, I was really at the end of my patience (even though I did not show it). It was not just the interrogation. It was the fact that she really was not interested in my answers because she kept fixing me with a doubtful stare. It was all I could do not to retort sharply, but I realised not a little too soon that I should not have harboured any resentment towards her. Homeschooling is practically unheard of in Islamabad. Many women here live with their in-laws and have a great deal of responsibilities. They would not have the luxury of being able to home-educate even if it was something they had heard about. (Yes, I say it is a luxury because I think it is a blessing that I am able to learn with my children.)

Perhaps my irritation stems from my own feelings of anxiety. While I believe that homeschooling is the best for my family, it has its stressful episodes. We have good days and bad days just like any other family. My kids have trouble with their lessons and sometimes act up too. I find myself having to fight the impulse to make them perfect to legitimise our homeschooling. It is really silly of me – I don’t homeschool my kids because they are geniuses and I certainly don’t need to prove anything to anyone. My kids don’t need that kind of pressure. I should just take criticisms in a positive way by using them to improve myself and my methods.

At the end of the day, what helps to make things bearable is – and it is strange coming from me, a loner who seems to prefer her books and computer to people – good company. I thank Allah for always putting inspiring people in my path whenever I start to slacken or to doubt myself. I got to know the one other (yes… ONE!) mother who homeschools her 3 daughters in Islamabad. I was initially nervous about meeting her – social events intimidate me! – but I gleaned so much about her family from just a couple of visits that put me at ease. She had friends who would help out and hang out at her home – I thought it was lovely how hospitable she was ma shaa Allah. It is also such an ego-booster that her kids practically pounce on my kids like they have been waiting for them forever the moment we enter the gate! Meetings with her revive me considerably – it isn’t just the good food she serves us :) It is also her strong belief and determined effort in home-educating her kids.

Another friend I met homeschools her 7 kids in Karachi. We crossed paths in person at a time when I really needed the encouragement. She was visiting Islamabad and I spent several hours just nattering with her. What struck me most about her was her strong sense of tawakkul – full trust in Allah. She embraced the many changes in her life – the arrival of a new baby, reconstruction to her home and pulling her kids out of public school – with perspective. She pushed on and seemed undaunted, believing in her children’s abilities and in her duty to home-educate.

Maybe the next time someone asks me about homeschooling, I won’t have to fake patience in the face of incredulity. Maybe I can just smile and tell them, “You know, I am not alone in this…”

Mars has been enjoying poetry. (I’m quite sorry I gave away some of my Literature textbooks now!) Here’s a poem that I rather like by Rudyard Kipling. (FYI, I’m a bit of an ambivalent admirer of his… his politics was just rubbish, no?)

If —

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!

~ Rudyard Kipling

Me: Well, if you want to make a strong case for something and you want me to seriously consider your point of view, then you know what you need to say, right?

Ms M: “O Captain! My Captain!”?

Me: Well, I was going to teach you about effective persuasion but THAT would work too!

:P

Mars and I have been easing into notebooking, particularly for Science. She doesn’t really enjoy writing because she finds it exhausting (you would understand why if you could see the amount of Arabic homework she has to do on a daily basis!) and also for reasons I have stated earlier. Still, she has agreed to give it her best shot and upon seeing the notebooking sheets I’ve prepared, seems really excited as well, alhamdulillah. It helps that Science is her favourite subject – there are numerous topics we can delve into, not to mention the multiple ways in which we can process, collate and present the information.

Notebooking is a useful tool for teaching students how to organise their material and thinking. In addition, they will be able improve their reading and writing skills. As a Charlotte Mason homeschooler, I ask Mars to narrate back or retell what they have learnt. In this way, I can be sure that we have covered all the bases and that she fully comprehends the lesson. Notebooking is also a form of narration – I like that it gets her to write and saves me the trouble of recording her narrations :P I have prepared her some sheets but I hope that in time, in shaa Allah, she will use her talents and creativity to personalise her notebooks.

Here’s an Astronomy Notebook I am sharing with you. Nothing fancy – I’ve kept it really basic so it’s easily adaptable. Pages have not been numbered so you can print and arrange them as you see fit. The notebook includes pages for:

• the cover
• references on the universe from the Qur’an and Sunnah
• individual planets and other celestial objects
• new words (word bank)
• a discussion on astrology and Islam’s position
• illustrations and descriptions

Download by clicking on the image below.

Imaan.Net's Astronomy Notebook

Feedback will be greatly appreciated :)

Mars has been downright depressed about her handwriting. She and a friend were designing a publication and her work was erased because, she was told, it was simply “not good enough”.

I have not pushed her in this area simply because I don’t think the problem is that dire. It isn’t like she needs to be rushed into therapy – her handwriting, while a little erratic, is quite legible. I know though that her thoughts are exactly what her friend verbalised – “not good enough”. She has a perfectionist streak but her motor skills simply don’t match up and this has caused her a great deal of frustration. She often makes her writing extremely small even though I have told her that small doesn’t necessarily mean neat. Perhaps she thinks that large handwriting only make the flaws more prominent.

Anyway, I’ve been making more notebooking and copywork materials for her, Charlotte Mason homeschooler that I am :P In shaa Allah I will make them available for download soon. I just need a good PDF converter that won’t mess up my lovely designs :P If you know a good one (preferably free!), please let me know.

Edit: OK I feel silly now… there is a Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-In that allows you to export and save to the PDF and XPS formats in eight 2007 Microsoft Office programs. I used to KNOW these things :P