Thankful for Homeschooling ~ 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement Blog Hop

Today is one of those days, you know? The ones where it is a good thing you know your heart because the reality is a bit tough.

Today the bloggers of the Homeschool Review Crew are taking a look at the many, many reasons we are thankful to be going Back to Homeschool.

Right now, there are many pictures that show students returning to school. Parents are often jumping up and down and shouting about how glad they are to have their time back with the kids gone all day. There are plenty of articles talking about how good it is to be done with summer and not have the children “underfoot.” Not having to deal with babysitters or figuring out how to keep the children occupied. And seeing all of this, reading these things – my heart breaks and is joyful at the same time. I want to share that joy.

Our Joy –

Joy that we have our children around us. Yes, even all day, every day. Yes, it can be hard but I am so thankful that our children are being taught good things that don’t undermine God and His word. They are being taught how to be God’s children, to think and reason and learn, how to discern, how to find strength and hope in the world.

Joy that our children are together. They enjoy each other’s company. Truly! They argue and fight, just like any sibling but when it comes down to it, they love each other deeply and support each other. Right now, school finished for the day by two of them, I hear them in the bedroom, laughing and giggling and sharing together. They will wait patiently (or maybe not so patiently) for each other to get their work accomplished so they can spend time together – maybe in reading or crafting or drawing or any number of things that they would not have time for were they in public school. They will pitch in and help each other, even when they don’t have to or need to, just so they can then do something together, like play a game.

Joy that we have the flexibility to tailor their learning to their interests and needs. I wrote about this a little bit with the Take a Look Tuesday post. All three of the girls have had a say in what they are learning this year; often in how the learning happens, though there is definitely some “I want to learn about this” stuff going on. We can fit in the things they are interested in and help them discover who God created them to be. Sometimes, I’m not so good at that as I struggle to make sure they are learning the things they need for life but they still get that independence for learning.

Joy that I can see their growth and celebrate their milestones. I get the joy of seeing them make their little milestones – get that cursive letter formed right or remember that Bible citation. But I also get to see their big ones – when they learn to drive (not there yet but it is on the horizon!), when they discover that thing that they get super excited about, when they realize that math isn’t such a big deal and chemistry is lots of fun. I get to encourage them along the way and see the baby steps that turn into the giant leap of understand.

Joy in seeing their social growth and responsibility grow. I get see my kids grow up. Not just the few moments in the evening after school and activities and homework. But each day – I see them chat with the older widows and widowers at church; I see them help the struggling mom at church with her baby; I see them keep the younger children safe while playing; I see them engage children both younger and older than themselves in games and conversations; I see them reach out to someone to ask a question; I see them approach the adult behind the desk at the store or the library to confidently ask for help; I see them order their meal; I see them act responsibly when they could easily pass it off on someone else; I see them save their money for something important like a gift for someone else. These are the little things that I get to see each day because they are with me when we go to the store or the library or many other places.

Joy in seeing them discover. I get to take the girls on field trips and this allows me to see them discover the world. I get to see them discover how bubbles work or how electricity flows or how to balance a bicycle on a wire high above the floor. I get to see them crawl over lava flows and study the rocks and plants. I get to see them figure out how to make lunch for everyone and see them offer to do it when they don’t have to. I get to see them hike a mountain path and explore the plants that are a bit different from where we live. I get to see them find new books and authors and ideas at the library. I get to see them discover sodas and the Titanic and sound and monuments and national parks and so much more. I also get to see them discover their own abilities – in dance, in cooking, in cleaning, in helping. This light bulb going off, these moments of discovery – they are a highlight of homeschool.

You know – now that I have started pointing out for you many of the good things we are thankful for in our education choice, my day is brighter. And this is another joy – getting to show the girls that a bad day or a bad moment doesn’t define you. And it doesn’t define our education. That bad moment right before I started typing this? Well, it has dissipated and we are now joyfully engaged in a game of mancala. Experiencing life and learning (lots of learning in that game) together. With JOY!

Blessings,
At Home.

There are more than 40 homeschool moms writing encouragement posts today on this Thankful Thursday! I encourage you to visit the anchor post for the Crew and also some of the ladies’ blogs to gather more encouragment to yourself. You can do that by the linky on the Crew blog or by visiting some of the blogs below.

Christine @ Christine Howard
Christy @ The Simple Homemaker
Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag
Debra @ Footprints in the Butter
Diana @ Homeschool Review
Felicia @ Homeschool 4 Life
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning
Jeniffer @ Thou Shall Not Whine
Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life