The Back to School sales are everywhere. The new notebooks, pencils, markers, and backpacks are colorful and inviting in the store aisles. Parents are gearing up for the fall schedules.
As we walked through the store yesterday, both Andrew and I commented on how much we love brand new school supplies. Neither of us were sure exactly what we love about them, but there’s something that draws us in and makes us want to purchase all the new things.
Seeing it all made me think of how thankful I am that we homeschool. We get to do it our way. We get to choose everything, from subjects to extracurricular activities, to how much time we spend in the car. And, best of all, we GET TO keep our kids home.
I hear so many parents say they can’t wait until school starts again and they can get their kids out of their hair. They can’t wait to drop them off or send them off on the bus. It makes me sad to hear it.
There is no greater joy for me than the fact that I get to have kids with me everyday. I don’t have to get them up at 5:30am to catch a bus and not see them again until 4pm. I don’t have to wonder what they are being taught or what behaviors they are picking up.
And, as so many are ramping up and preparing for crazy schedules, early morning fights, and hours of car time every week, we can sit back and relax and start school when it works for us. I don’t have to jump into the rat race and put that pressure on my kids.
Last year we didn’t start school until October because our garden was going crazy and I was in the midst of canning and freezing and handing out amazing vegetables. So, that was our school for September.
This year, there’s not much happening in our flooded garden so we can start school earlier. But the great thing is, I get to still decide. My older ones will start and I’ll get them established in a routine and then I’ll add the younger ones. We usually start with two subjects and slowly add more into we’re getting through it.
That’s part of the beauty of homeschooling. There are so many beautiful things about it, but choosing our schedules is a big one for me.
My kids have time to play, read, sit, bike, sew, train horses, and be in theater because I make sure we have margin in our schedule. I say no to a lot of good things so we can have dinner together and wake up slowly in the mornings.
Our society decided long ago that we had to be on this rigid schedule and train people to be laborers and government school with bells ringing and scheduled everything was an easy way to train that. If you went through public school you know you were taught to comply.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can go against the grain and pave our own way. A way that’s healthier and better for our kids so they can grow up to be critical thinkers, know they have a choice, and confident in their gifts and talents.
Be encouraged, mamas. You get to set the pace! You get to say no! You get to have your kids home and decide when and what! It’s not the easy path, but it is the good one.
Look carefully the how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16
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