Today has been a big day for us, and it's not even noon. After a sweet visit from a friend--who brought us DONUTS!!!!!--I found out that our two oldest girls will be going back to school after a year of homeschooling. Since we had planned all along for #3 to go to kindergarten this year, just like her sisters had, the news brought us into the realm of having only two littles at home in the fall. This is big. So, so BIG, but not for the reasons you might think.
Homeschooling for us was like one big, fat, vacation minus the maid service. Our days were full of reading, pretending, and cooking yummy food. We all brushed our hair once a day, mainly for the sake of routine, and then quickly messed it up again by jumping wildly on the trampoline. The Littles explored in the backyard (and even into the neighbors' yards, I've recently discovered) and built forts; they prepared for survival by packing Nerds and honing their potty-in-the-woods skills. And then, because I'm not much of a camper, we traveled in high style to New York City to see Broadway shows and museums. Then we took a month off around Christmas to have a baby, and they were educated in how not to poke newborn eyeballs and how to sniff out a dirty diaper from across the room. We even went to Disney World, for heaven's sakes! It was almost perfect. Almost.
I couldn't figure out, then, why my eight year old sheepishly confessed to me one day that she might like to go back to school in the fall. What in the world is there to miss about dumb old school when you are going to DISNEY WORLD!??? The answer is so puzzling I can barely type it: HOMEWORK. Number 2 misses homework. And #1 misses her friends. It seems three year old boys are not quite as nice for playmates as third grade girls. But most of all, I think what they are missing is something they can't quite communicate yet, and that is the sense of community that comes from their small Christian school. They miss the teachers that know them well, the high school students that cheer them on at the playground, and the classmates that they expected to graduate with. So, after much prayer, back to school we go.
After the big announcement to the Littles, I went back into the kitchen to pour myself more coffee. There, next to the coffee maker, sat my huge blue teacher's manual from last year's awesome curriculum. The sight of it almost made me cry. Instead of crying, though, I am making more summer resolutions. From now until August 11, if you come over to our house, fully expect to see wild-haired children in their pajamas. Except for special circumstances, we will not be wearing anything but pj's and swimsuits! No beds will be made, and all chores will be done in short sprints before 11 a.m. when the pool opens. I am going to make it my goal to watch every single episode of Austin and Ally while eating watermelon and playing temple run. I expect the kids to do the same. We will squeeze EVERY LAST DROP out of this summer while we can.
I think we will take homeschooling on a year to year basis. I have learned enough about parenting to know that I don't know that much, and that sometimes God's plan for them doesn't include me as much as I thought. Sometimes, being a part of a bigger community teaches them things about responsibility (homework) and relationships (friends) in a different way than I can teach them at home. So on this big day, I will rejoice with them and brace myself to bring kindergarten snacks.
Homeschooling for us was like one big, fat, vacation minus the maid service. Our days were full of reading, pretending, and cooking yummy food. We all brushed our hair once a day, mainly for the sake of routine, and then quickly messed it up again by jumping wildly on the trampoline. The Littles explored in the backyard (and even into the neighbors' yards, I've recently discovered) and built forts; they prepared for survival by packing Nerds and honing their potty-in-the-woods skills. And then, because I'm not much of a camper, we traveled in high style to New York City to see Broadway shows and museums. Then we took a month off around Christmas to have a baby, and they were educated in how not to poke newborn eyeballs and how to sniff out a dirty diaper from across the room. We even went to Disney World, for heaven's sakes! It was almost perfect. Almost.
I couldn't figure out, then, why my eight year old sheepishly confessed to me one day that she might like to go back to school in the fall. What in the world is there to miss about dumb old school when you are going to DISNEY WORLD!??? The answer is so puzzling I can barely type it: HOMEWORK. Number 2 misses homework. And #1 misses her friends. It seems three year old boys are not quite as nice for playmates as third grade girls. But most of all, I think what they are missing is something they can't quite communicate yet, and that is the sense of community that comes from their small Christian school. They miss the teachers that know them well, the high school students that cheer them on at the playground, and the classmates that they expected to graduate with. So, after much prayer, back to school we go.
After the big announcement to the Littles, I went back into the kitchen to pour myself more coffee. There, next to the coffee maker, sat my huge blue teacher's manual from last year's awesome curriculum. The sight of it almost made me cry. Instead of crying, though, I am making more summer resolutions. From now until August 11, if you come over to our house, fully expect to see wild-haired children in their pajamas. Except for special circumstances, we will not be wearing anything but pj's and swimsuits! No beds will be made, and all chores will be done in short sprints before 11 a.m. when the pool opens. I am going to make it my goal to watch every single episode of Austin and Ally while eating watermelon and playing temple run. I expect the kids to do the same. We will squeeze EVERY LAST DROP out of this summer while we can.
I think we will take homeschooling on a year to year basis. I have learned enough about parenting to know that I don't know that much, and that sometimes God's plan for them doesn't include me as much as I thought. Sometimes, being a part of a bigger community teaches them things about responsibility (homework) and relationships (friends) in a different way than I can teach them at home. So on this big day, I will rejoice with them and brace myself to bring kindergarten snacks.