The Crayon Catastrophe (Homeschooling Regret #1)

Homeschooling a large family on a limited income required many sacrifices. Pinching pennies was the key to survival. Most of my curriculum was either found at used bookstores, or I created it myself. And I bought supplies for the lowest prices. Hence, the story of the 64-count box of Crayola crayons.

When I was a child, I loved coloring at my mother’s table. She had always supplied us with the 64-color box of Crayola crayons, with all the color names written on the individual wrappers. We had colors like “sky blue” and “forest green” and “gold” and “silver”. There were colors galore!

So on a splurge, I rejected the inexpensive 16-count box and bought the 64. It even had the crayon sharpener on the side. When I presented the crayons to my children, I felt as if I was giving them filet mignon. Something rare and expensive. I provided guidelines, “Don’t peel the papers off or you won’t know the color name, and be very careful not to break them.”

The next day, returning from errands, I walked in the door and saw the most terrifying of sights. There were broken crayons and peeled-off wrappers all over the floor. Not yet having mastered the skill of calm resolve, I exploded in a rampage. I may have even cried. I think most of the children must have run to hide.

Then one of my daughters showed me her beautiful crayons. They were carved in castle shapes, and the work was in no way amateur. I was so angry that I could not even appreciate them.

I wish I had those castle crayons now.

In retrospect, I should have paused before I responded. Instead, I crushed an act of creativity, making it a crime. I have regretted my actions many, many times. I hope that I have since learned to see the world through the eyes of the student. I hope that I will never again make economics more important than love.

Some opportunities are only given once, and the opportunity to praise and encourage this talented child was regretfully lost.

by Meg (homeschooling mom of 9)

MS, Exceptional Student Education (Univ. of W. Florida) emphasis on Applied Behavior Analysis