We’re halfway through our year-long experiment of school from home. People ask me how it is going. I respond, “It’s a disaster.” I’m only half-kidding. While I want to be hypercritical of the whole thing, I have to admit we’re doing the best we can, and it’s going okay.

In the moments I want to scream, “That’s it! You’re going back to school!” I see the irony. Those moments of resistance are my best opportunities to teach, but I too often let my irritation win. The academic work continues to be on target. It is the matters of the heart that I am fighting to win. Then I remember—education is not a battle, but a dance. Ransom and I are on the same side, despite his body-slouching-bad-attitude-huffing when we open any subject but art. Cora Jo has learned that I will wait out her passive aggressive wall-flower act.  Surprisingly, Memphis has been the best partner most days.

I have seen first-hand some of the problems teachers have reported in the past, and we’ve begun addressing those areas gently, with a lot of prayer. Over the next month or so, I’ll write about each challenge separately. Maybe you’ll have more ideas for us to try. For now, here are the variables:

Ransom believes he should be able to do everything full speed, perfectly, the first time he tries. He has trouble separating skills from intelligence, and he is horrified and disabled by failure.

Memphis can finish her work, correctly, with minimal help or drama IF she has headphones on. The second she can hear anyone else, she is on duty: “Cora Jo, you need to redo those spelling words. Ransom, you already had two snacks, you better put that yogurt back. Jedediah, you’ve already watched too much television. Momma, can you please come look at this math? Baby (our lab), quit barking, it’s just the mailman.” All that in one breath. She’s not distracted, she’s a multi-focused manager. Ahem.

Cora Jo’s superpower is invisibility. She rarely fights out loud, doesn’t whine or complain, and picks up new academic skills too quickly for her own good. In short, it is easy to let her slide, when in reality, she needs to be challenged.

Most of these things are directly related to their hard-wired personalities, but they need some strategies for managing their tendencies in a variety of contexts. Pashaw, Is that all? Well, that coupled with feeding them each day. Onward!