When I first started homeschooling, I had dreams of grandeur. I pictured my daughter being able to recite Shakespeare at the age of six. I pictured her composing her first piece of music at the age of 7. I pictured a genius. Someone who could read chapter books by the end of kindergarten and had multiple languages under her belt.
If you have that kid, don't even come near me.
The truth about homeschooling lies more somewhere in between. Somewhere between days where I can barely squeeze a math page out, and days where she's reading at a second grade level. Between days where she can count by fives before I've even taught her, and days where she can't read a word because she doesn't feel like looking at the letters.
I can count the number of art projects we've done this year on one hand.
I can count the number of times she's had a music lesson: 0.
I can count the number of times I've screwed up this kinder year of hers: 2, 462.
And yet, I wouldn't trade it because of days like today.
Today, I pulled out the SECOND Latin Language Program I've purchased this year. If you homeschool, you know why we chose Latin as the first (and maybe only) foreign language for our daughter. If you don't homeschool, you'll think we're nuts.
Just to clear the air- we are nuts.
But my daughter wanted to start the book and sing-along CD "right now". Even though I purchased it for next year. And she doesn't understand why I sort of freaked out a little and said no at first, because she doesn't get that if we start now I have to REWRITE THE WHOLE LATIN LESSON PLANS for the beginning of next school year and I am a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to lesson plans.
I decided to recite my new mantra. "I'm a tree. I can bend."
It isn't really my new mantra. I don't really have a mantra. If I did, it would be something like "More coffee makes me happy", not this silly tree nonsense.
But I decided to be wild and throw caution to the wind and I opened the workbook to the first page. I put the CD on the stereo.
Two harmonic voices began singing a song about "here comes the teacher" and "hello" and "good-bye". We sang the words in Latin.
My daughter decided the music was a beat she could dance to.
We danced. We sang. I looked at the workbook.
And then I realized we had been singing the "classical" version of Latin, not the "ecclesiastical" version.
Side note: this is typical of us. I tried to learn Italian through CDs a few years ago. My daughter was about 4. She actually followed along pretty good and was saying, "Bona Sera" with the CD and "Arrivederci!" like a true Italian. But the CD went right from teaching common pleasantries and greetings to "Can you help me find a Taxi?" We gave up.
The classical version of Latin is not my style because it pronounces the 'v' like a 'w' sound and I have enough trouble getting the vowel sounds straight, so please try not to switch consonant sounds on me too much. Thank you.
So I forwarded the CD to the same song, only in the "version" that I wanted, and we tried again. But by this time we were giggling so hard, because when you think about it, the word "discipuli" in Latin is pretty hard to pronounce because the 'i' can sound like an 'e' and the 'c' is actually a 'ch'.
And there are two different versions of that word. All I can think is thank goodness the next level doesn't start until third grade.
I am determined that we will learn these songs and go on to read books in Latin, or at least turn a clever phrase or two to impress those who would otherwise sneer at homeschooling.
"Omnia Fortiora Si Dicta Latina." Everything sounds more impressive when you say it in Latin.
