Confessions of a frustrated mother...

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There are some areas in which I am not a very "hands-on" Mother. Pretty much anything related to school, specifically. I just feel like up until now I have had trouble finding a good dynamic with my daughter in which we can sit down and work on - say reading- or writing , or math, etc..and have a successful, happy time of it. I know a lot of it is my fault. I have never seen myself as a "teacher"- or someone with the ability to reason in a teacher-y way with children, even my own. I immediately feel panic ridden, don't know what even to say or do, or how to go about teaching anything in a way that she won't be bored, irritated, or frustrated by.

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All the moms I know who are all "home-school-y" have kind of always freaked me out. I mean, they don't wear make up, for one. And they usually favor prairie dresses. (a.k.a.JUMPER dresses- GASP!) So for those shallow and fairly judgemental reasons alone I have felt unable to relate to anyone I have known who did "appear" to know how to teach their children at home. And, yes, their children always (though out of style) appear incredibly over intelligent and well spoken for their ages. And I have been at a loss as to what they are doing to make that happen.

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That's not to say my daughter is not brilliant. Oh she is- for sure- she knows every possible shade in the rainbow including being able to tell you the undertones, and whether it is neutral, cool or warm. (very important both for her art and her fashion wardrobing that she loves...)

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But in both preschool and now Kindergarten she doesn't seem to be really jumping into reading, and back in preschool it was the same for writing the alphabet. Not very aggressive or interested in it. That has confused me because I have read to her since she was 6 WEEKS OLD! EVERY SINGLE DAY! Why? I figured if I read to her she would inevitably be anxious and excited to learn the skills herself? Wouldn't she? No, she really has not shown a lot of interest. So this last weekend on our date out I mentioned this to the wives I was with, and they BOTH recommended the same book to me. It is called

Teach your Child to read in 100 easy lessons.

Well, after hearing their testimonials about it, I decided I have nothing to lose, and everything to gain on this effort . So two days ago we ran over to Barnes and Noble an picked it up. Oddly enough, I ran into a mom we know there and once I got to talking to her about the book, she confessed to the SAME problems with her daughter! I was glad to know I am not alone!

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So now I am almost finished with the parental teaching part which pretty much comprises the first chapter. And I am SOOO excited to get started with Lena on this- I have been completely sold on the system before I ever start! It seems brilliant, and DO-ABLE- even for me the NON- teacher. I am PUMPED. SO as I go, I plan on reporting our experience, and how it's working. WISH ME LUCK!