Homeschool parents are the minority, the crazies that choose to teach their own children. We are the ones that spend part of our time teaching while taking care of little ones, or having a job also, or going to college. Homeschool parents today are single parents or married parents, some grandparents, come from all sorts of religious backgrounds, have a wide range of educational levels, of different races, and are even from all over the world. Homeschool parents aren’t as stereotypical as they once were, and their reasons for homeschooling vary greatly.
I have graduated three students now. I have one left, my youngest. She is a sixth grader this year. Tomorrow is our first day of school. I am excited.
It would seem the norm is to be happy, even celebratory, to send your child off to school. Each family has to make the best choice for them. Since homeschooling, despite the growth and slow acceptance from the culture, is still seen as a bit... odd... counter-cultural... I wanted to tell some things I am looking forward to or things that have enriched my world by homeschooling.
First, I will get up in the morning, make some breakfast, drink some coffee, and take those “Back to School” photos. It won’t be super early. There is no need to be stressed out, rushing about, trying to get everyone out the door. Nope... that’s not a typical morning for us. Tomorrow, I will make my daughter put on a nice outfit for the pictures. If we were to realistically portray a normal day, she would probably be in pajamas for a few hours. That is her norm. Oh... so would I. That is my norm.
We will get to dive into a story together. Even at eleven, reading aloud to her is important. Yes, she can read on her own. She reads at a very high level, actually. But reading aloud to her means we can delve into higher level books. She can understand at a much higher level than she reads. Mostly, we get to immerse ourselves in the wonderful adventures that reading awesome literature brings. Some of my favorite memories with my girls have been reading about George Mueller, The Borrowers, Aslan in Narnia, Laura Ingalls, and so much more. Right now my final student and I are in the middle of the Penderwick series. It is delightful!
We often do Bible time together, though not always. In upper middle and high school, I take my girls through a program that takes roughly five years to go through the Bible... in depth. The memories of Bible times with my girls are of laughter and learning and even some random jokes or one bursting into a VeggieTales song. I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything.
Academics are important. Math, History, English, Literature, Science, and others all happen nearly daily. I work diligently to plan challenging yet engaging materials. It isn’t all fun, but independence is built. My girls don’t need me to hold their hand or spoon feed them as they reach upper middle and high school. They learn how to learn, how to set goals, how to plan projects.
Some days are fast. Some days take longer. But, when the day is over, my child doesn’t have hours of homework in the evening. All of our school is homework, and it was completed in the day hours. We don’t have to take attendance. We don’t have to race from one end of the school to the other in a four-minute passing period several times a day. We don’t have to ask permission to use the bathroom. We don’t have to wait in line. Our time isn’t wasted on these things that must happen in a school environment, but are a non-entity at home. Our day might be three hours, or it might be six. What it isn’t is 8-3:30 with 2-3 hours of homework at night.
I am excited to begin school. I am excited to see the light go on in my daughter’s eyes as a concept clicks or she gets excited about something she is reading. I am anticipating many happy hours of going on adventures in literature, even if it’s a chapter or two a day.
Are there hard days? Oh my, yes. There are days I doubt myself. There are days when nothing is clicking for my child. There are days that we don’t get it all done. There are days of sickness or unexpected delays. There are times of frustration and anger. There are days of tears over the math assignment. There are days of confusion when that perfect science experiment simply doesn't work. There are hard days. That is normal. It is still so worth it to me.
I am even looking forward to the routine.
To all the homeschool moms starting school that wonder if they are odd because they are looking forward to the beginning of another school year, celebrate anyway. Celebrate the new adventures. Celebrate the memories just waiting to be made. Celebrate the moxie it takes to choose to do something that still is very much in the minority. Choose to celebrate the gifts of your kids, even when there are days you wish to quit.
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