The Structure of Chaos

Back when I had time and a schedule that I could control without interruptions every ten seconds, I became fascinated with Chaos Theory. It turns out that chaos isn't unstructured or "chaotic", it's just unpredictable because of the way variables affect each other. When you set an equation in motion, the path creates beautiful patterns of very similar shapes in different sizes, moving in different directions. Some call it having fun with fractals. The beautiful patterns only become apparent after the chaotic motion has begun, and even then, they aren't exactly predictable. Everything affects everything else, and the variables are constantly changing.

And so it is with my life and homeschooling. I try to keep a framework to help me maintain sanity and direction, but the things that happen within my framework are far from predictable. This can be freeing, wonderful, and sometimes maddening. I'm sure every parent can relate.

Common variables that send my patterns flying unpredictably are:
Sleep (or lack thereof)
Vitamins (ditto)
The kids' sleep and vitamins
Dog rescue business
Brent's work load
How needy/independent the kids are feeling
Whether Jonathan is on a seek-and-destroy mission
What exactly he found on said mission
The dogs' levels of energy and boredom
Recent spiritual experiences and insights
Political propaganda
The weather
How many times the phone rings
Why the phone rings
Internet access - good or bad today?
My forgetfulness
The stuff that came in the mail


There are plenty of other variables, but we'll stop there.

The structure that I try to maintain with all of these and other unmentioned variables is pretty simple. Get up, get kids and myself ready for the day, have school with opening exercises, gospel lesson, structured math (Singapore Math), P.E. when we remember, and an almost unstructured hodge podge of language arts. We do lots of reading and writing to build those skills, but we pursue it along many different avenues. Sometimes we do online reading and writing classes that cover language structure and reading/writing processes. Our own reading and writing exercises cover every possible subject - science, history, geography, art, social studies, world cultures, logic, geometry, and plenty of fun stories to keep us laughing.

If I lived in a state that required homeschoolers to do institutional record keeping and stick with a set curriculum, I'd just have to move. Next year he'll be mature enough for a few more structured classes and subjects. But right now we're just focusing on learning the basics in every way, shape, size, color, form, and discipline. And I like the chaos within the boundaries.

Usually.

Once upon a time,...

...there was a beautiful maiden who met a handsome Prince online. They met and married (not on the same day, mind you), got a dog, had a baby boy, got another dog, had another baby boy, and then relocated their family to the Kingdom of Mississippi.

A year later, the not-quite-so-beautiful-anymore, and no-longer-a maiden decided to homeschool her eldest child.

This is the beginning of her adventures as a Royal Tutor.

These adventures happen to coincide with her adventures as a wife, mother, dog rescuer, Sunday School teacher, and crazy woman trying to keep it all happening as smoothly as possible.

None of this would be possible without the help and support of her wonderful Prince, who could have been a ninja, a professor, a secret agent, or a rocket scientist if he'd had any desire to pursue those fields. It's good to have a genius.

We'll see what happens tomorrow.