Homeschooling- Yes!

People often ask me, "So how is the whole homeschool thing going?"  I have to stop for a minute and take inventory to before answering.  Do I briefly grieve each morning for time to go to the gym by myself and drink a cup of coffee in silence?  Yes.  Do I wonder what I was thinking when I made the decision to homeschool when it is 12am and I am lesson planning for the next day?  Yes.  Are there more books, pencils, chewed erasers, and math worksheets floating around here than I ever imagined? Yes.  Has the housework suffered somewhat? Yes.  (Okay maybe more than I let on here.  Carl bailed me out big time over the weekend!)

But then there are a whole lot of other "yes" answers too.  Lots more.

 

Do I like allowing my children to wake up on their own, without having to drag them from their beds at some ungodly hour and stuff them into their half-washed uniforms? Yes.  Do we enjoy relaxed, leisurely breakfasts that taste better than a pop tart eaten cold- straight out of the foil package? Yes.

Do I appreciate having a front-row seat watching my children make exciting discoveries like:

 

an insect's shed exoskeleton,

 

artifacts from ancient Egypt during a make-believe archaeological dig in the front yard,

 

the hunt and acquisition of a first "walking stick"?  Yes!

 

Is my downstairs room filled with more energy, creativity, and vibrancy than ever before? Yes!

 

Are my children's drawings, questions, and understandings about the world around them inspiring?  Uplifting? Yes!

 

(This is Emma's journal...I do not correct spelling here.  It is a place for "free writing")

Does it mean more to me than almost anything else to be present, available, interested, and intimate in the lives of my children? Is there anything more fulfilling than watching them aquire a love of learning?  Am I so entirely grateful for this opportunity that I am willing to take the good and the not-so good things about all of it? MOST DEFINITELY YES! 

And if you looked on their paper...I think you'd find the same answer.

**okay so it is only our3rd week ever of homeschooling, I understand that at some point the honeymoon may be over...but for now I'd say, "It is pretty great."