Welcome again! I lost my first two posts and had to recreate this thing. : (
My oldest daughter is finishing her freshman year. I have no idea how that happened. Joel and I think it has something to do with us feeding her all these years. (Make a note: if you feed them, they will grow)
When we started homeschooling our kids, we had dreams of protecting them from the mean ole world, sharing with them the love of Jesus and teaching them in half the time the public school takes. But what I've learned over these 12 years is that the mean ole world can not be stopped although perhaps delayed; that the love of Jesus can show up anywhere at anytime and that there is seriously nothing efficient about homeschooling.
As homeschoolers we love to brag about how it only takes 3 or so hours a day to teach our kids. Well, if you have really embraced homeschooling, you understand it is a lifestyle and attitude, not a time of the day.
You are the mom who counts the steps in spanish with your kids as you walk up them at the Museum on the free day of the year with a million other people around you.
You are the mom who throws out today's lesson plan because their is a hail storm outside and this is an excellent opportunity to discuss the science of weather.
You are the mom who snuggles with your kids and reads the entire Chronicles of Narnia series a third time because the kids just beg you to do it one more time.
Next month I will have my retirement party from homeschooling and I couldn't even write that last line without weeping. Next fall all the kids go to school. We have our reasons and God has been clear it is time. But I have learned so much from my kids and hopefully I've taught them some things along the way as well.
There is a good chance that my proudest moments as a homeschool mom will be hearing my kids argue about who gets to snuggle with me today when we read; or being corrected about the life cycle of the lunar moth; or the many times I clearly was making no progress at all in teaching them how to spell or learn their times tables and yet the Lord reminded me to be patient with them and myself and just enjoy them.
So this is where we start. Basically at the end, but looking back and ahead. Hopefully this will encourage you, support you on your journey of homeschooling your kids and help you remember that one of the greatest gifts is to enjoy others and in turn be enjoyed yourself.
