This summer, we took about 5 weeks off of school. Kaylin and Ryan went to camp, we went to San Diego as a family, we had Ryan's birthday party, I spent some time regrouping for the new year at the Arizona Homeschool Convention, the kids enjoyed the break.
Even though most of the local school districts don't start school until next week, we began a couple of weeks ago. Which is tough when the rest of the kids are still playing video games all day long! But I muddled through the groaning and we are well on our way to getting back into our daily school routine.
The first week back was rough...really rough. Last week was a little better, then I heard a comment last night that I would have never expected in a million years. But first, some background...
Even though most of the local school districts don't start school until next week, we began a couple of weeks ago. Which is tough when the rest of the kids are still playing video games all day long! But I muddled through the groaning and we are well on our way to getting back into our daily school routine.
The first week back was rough...really rough. Last week was a little better, then I heard a comment last night that I would have never expected in a million years. But first, some background...
We began homeschooling almost 5 years ago. Ryan (now 12) remembers school well and Kaylin (turning 10) went to Kindergarten so, of course, she remembers school very fondly. (recess, crafts and play time - YAY!!!)
Sporadically over the past 5 years, one kid or another will start grumbling about going back to school. I explain that we are homeschooling because it's what I feel God has called our family to do, they continue to make random comments, then the negativity fizzles for a time. Then another kid starts. It has seemed never ending!!!
This peaked last year when I had a very surprise pregnancy, followed by an even more surprising miscarriage. When I announced my pregnancy, my kids secretly decided that I would be stretched too thin with the new baby and that I'd probably send them to school. (I just learned about this misconception last month) So after healing from the miscarriage, my kids started in with major waves of discontentment with HSing. Again. It was maddening!
All this to say that last night, out of the blue, Ryan (who has given me the most grief about going back to school) told me that he thinks that if he went to middle school, he'd be miserable and want to return to homeschooling. I dug a little deeper and he explained that he is starting to realize how flexible our schedule is because of homeschooling, that he can do several lessons early in the day/week to have more free time later, that our schoolwork only takes a few hours each day vs. his friends who spend 6-7 hours in a physical school building then come home with homework. He is finally, FINALLY grateful that we homeschool.
I almost cried. I was not expecting to ever hear these words from this kid! Especially at this age when hormones are raging and his thoughts are so...opinionated.
This conversation is going to linger with me for a very long time. Homeschooling can be so emotionally draining, then to realize that no one even appreciates the hard work makes it even more tough! THIS IS SO WORTH IT! And I truly believe this is right where God wants us to be.
Today, I am on Cloud 9.
Sporadically over the past 5 years, one kid or another will start grumbling about going back to school. I explain that we are homeschooling because it's what I feel God has called our family to do, they continue to make random comments, then the negativity fizzles for a time. Then another kid starts. It has seemed never ending!!!
This peaked last year when I had a very surprise pregnancy, followed by an even more surprising miscarriage. When I announced my pregnancy, my kids secretly decided that I would be stretched too thin with the new baby and that I'd probably send them to school. (I just learned about this misconception last month) So after healing from the miscarriage, my kids started in with major waves of discontentment with HSing. Again. It was maddening!
All this to say that last night, out of the blue, Ryan (who has given me the most grief about going back to school) told me that he thinks that if he went to middle school, he'd be miserable and want to return to homeschooling. I dug a little deeper and he explained that he is starting to realize how flexible our schedule is because of homeschooling, that he can do several lessons early in the day/week to have more free time later, that our schoolwork only takes a few hours each day vs. his friends who spend 6-7 hours in a physical school building then come home with homework. He is finally, FINALLY grateful that we homeschool.
I almost cried. I was not expecting to ever hear these words from this kid! Especially at this age when hormones are raging and his thoughts are so...opinionated.
This conversation is going to linger with me for a very long time. Homeschooling can be so emotionally draining, then to realize that no one even appreciates the hard work makes it even more tough! THIS IS SO WORTH IT! And I truly believe this is right where God wants us to be.
Today, I am on Cloud 9.
Posts
