Pain In The Boot

        Many of you know that I recently purchased a amazing set of cowgirl boots, but what you don't know is that I'm on my second pair. The first set continued to make my toes tingle on one foot after wearing them for about an hour. (I'm pretty sure that is not normal!) After three days of trying to break them in, my foot began to feel sore instead of my boot feeling better. Why in the world was I fighting it? They were clearly too small. Well, I didn't want the hassle of returning them. However, Amazon is really amazing with returns...so with my hubby's help, we exchanged for a half size up. The new pair are wonderful, except for one thing: they still cut into my ankle when I walk in them. The only way to avoid this is to walk very stiffly and take large steps; and even then, it still hurts. I had the benefit of feeling the others stop hurting around my ankles (despite the tingling) after three days of "breaking them in". I knew it was just a matter of time. I'm sure a few people were giggling at my strange gait while I sauntered up and down the aisles at Wal-mart during grocery shopping. There was even a slight fear in the back of my mind that this pair might somehow never stop hurting. Today, I am happy to announce, is the first day that I was able to walk normally.
        Sometimes in life we have to keep on walking despite the pain, knowing that the pay-off will be worth it. Homeschooling our girls has been one of those things. I love it, but there have been some slightly painful things to go along with it. I've been working on getting the girls to write more over the past few months, but there have been a few bumps along the way...mainly, I've had to change my approach. While it seemed simple enough to have the girls start researching a topic they were interested in for writing a paper, it became apparent (especially with my 2nd grader) that this wasn't the best approach to getting them to write more. There was little progress...along with lots of frustration.  I had begun having them read from our history book independently and write a few sentences describing a section of the chapter (we use "Story of the World" which is written out like a story instead of a typical textbook). This caused almost daily tears for my 2nd grader. I couldn't understand the problem. My daughter won the young authors contest for our district when she just a Kindergartener. I knew she was a great writer. When I would ask her about what she read, she could easily tell me what happened...demonstrating comprehension. The snag was when she was writing it down. A friend of mine came over who recently stopped teaching at a private school to stay at home with her kids and begin homeschooling.
I asked her if she had any experience with what my second grader was going through. Thankfully,  she had some really great advice.  She introduced me to "Writing With Ease", and even loaned me her copy so I'd be able to try it out without investing in the books. The author contends that writing is a two step process that involves not only formulating your ideas in your mind, but also remembering it well and long enough to put it on paper. It made some sense given what I was experiencing; but when I tested my 2nd grader, I realized that this was  EXACTLY her problem. She is wonderfully bright, and completely capable of telling me her thoughts which I can easily write down. She was having a hard time writing down her thoughts at the same pace she was thinking them. This was a total light bulb moment and a huge relief to me! We started on the coursework at the level designed to help teach them how to do this (which happens to be the 2nd level), and I have seen just how bright and wonderful my daughter is. My fourth grader has continued on with her summaries for history, but for now my 2nd grader only reads them. Then, she verbally tells me what happened with great ease and zero tears. As we have gone along this new adventure, I have often learned that I have to change my technique. Copywork alone was not improving handwriting, so we introduced handwriting curriculum. There is nothing wrong with that.  Admitting to my 2nd grader that I shouldn't have been assigning what I was brought us both relief. It's ok to be wrong. This is part of the process for me to learn what parts of homeschooling are "chapping our hide", address them, and continue on. In the end, I'm grateful to know my child better and help her succeed.
        It feels just as good as my leather boots that are broken in...maybe even better.
       What have you been "breaking" in lately? I love hearing your comments!