"Back to School"

With all my friends posting to Facebook about going 'back to school' shopping and posting pictures of their children on their 'first day of school', I cant help but think about my own children. I do not in any way regret our choice to home school (we couldn't have our lifestyle without it), but it dose bring up all the things I said that I would miss from when I did send my kids to public school.

Sometimes I envy the moms that send their children off to school each morning. I imagine the peace and quite I could have during the day. I imaging cleaning the house in a timely manner with out worrying about what else they are making a mess with while I clean the bathroom, and  having it stay clean for more than 5 seconds. I imagine getting to go out and meet a friend for a quite lunch, or catching a matinee movie alone. I think about all the time I could have on my hands to go and offer service to others or enjoy doing one of my many hobbies. I think about how much I could get done in a day. In realty even if I did send my kids to school I would still have the baby at home but going from 5 munchkins to 1 is a vacation!

I then get woken from my day dream with a yell of "MOM!" coming from one of the kids. I snap back into what needs to be done. Math with my 9 year old, language arts with my 8 year old, writing with my 5 year old, learning letters with my 4 year old and playing with the 18 month old. Wishing for a moment to myself or just one day where ALL the kids would do their school work with out complaining. It seems that someone is always unhappy with 'today's assignments'. When we decided to homeschool I never thought it would be so hard on some days and so easy on others. I knew it would be hard work and I knew it would take up a lot of time, but I never could have imagined it would be so crazy! By crazy I mean, utterly exhausting,(after all the planning, teaching, grading, and sometimes reteaching, figuring out what works for each child, while caring to all other needs not just educational) yet at the same time being so rewarding. To see your son who has struggled with reading for so long all of a sudden seem to get it, or watching your daughter who once hated math in public school and said "they go to fast" and "I hate math" now saying "this is easy".  

After a busy day of teaching, playing, talking, reading, feeding, disciplining, and everything else, the kids finally go to bed and I have a moment to sit and think. This time I think about how happy I am that we homeschool. I remember the morning rush of getting the kids showered, dressed, and fed to be out the door in time to catch the bus. I remember the the tears of the younger kids as the older kids left for a long 8 hours away. I remember always thinking about my kids that were at school all day, worrying about what they are doing, are they happy, are the kids being nice to them, what are they being taught not just from their teachers but also from their peers, and if they are being good examples themselves. I remember fighting through 2 hours of homework with tired kids while having to cook dinner and keep the little kids away (that wanted so bad to see their siblings) so the homework could get done. I remember rushing through family diner so we could clean the kitchen, and pack lunches. I remember the kids crying that it was bed time after only 1 short hour of play time. I remember laying in bed dreading that we would have that same day all over again. I remember wondering, why in the world would we send our kids to school for eight hours a day and then have to do homework for two hours. Why at such a young age are my kids worrying about passing the test on Friday, when the only thing they should really worry about is who was the last person to be "it" in a game of tag. When they are still to impressionable and so innocent, why was I sending them away to learn what others thought they should learn. Did they really need to know what the were being 'taught'? None of us were really happy just going through the motions.

I think back on our day today. We had a slow morning getting ready, the only thing we had a deadline for was making it down stairs to the lobby in time for breakfast. We then went swimming for a couple of hours as a family (Daddy works nights). We did some school work, then made lunch. While the baby slept we finished some more school work. Then it was time to drop Daddy off at work. We took the long way home because the kids didn't want to stop listening to the book on CD, they had to know what was going to happen next! We had quiet time with the tablets while one more kid did more of their school work. Dinner, then free time for the kids to do what they would like (except one who couldn't seem to focus on school today). One played games, one is played Legos, two watched TV. I was there. I knew what they were doing, what they were learning, what they were playing, how they were acting, and what they were teaching to each other. We got to play together. We got to learn together. We got to teach each other. We got to have fun together. We got to fight and make up together. We got to BE together. Everyday my kids not only learn reading, writing, history, and math they learn that our family is the most important unit in this world. They learn that they are sons and daughters of God. They learn to respect others both young and old. They learn to be caring, kind and compassionate. They learn everyday skills that will one day be very useful as adults. They are learning about the world by experiencing it.

We no longer have a 'back to school' day because we are schooling and learning every day. I know these days will fly by so fast. I know one day I will get to see a matinee by myself, but for now I am happy with a matinee with my 5 little buddies in tow.

Malayna doing school on the computer.

Bobby doing some math.

CJ doing work on the computer.

Eva watching School House Rock on her tablet.