The New School Year

It's that time of year again, the new school year.  For us that means evening gymnastics, football, fall baseball, and Battle Club.  It means we keep to a schedule and we are always busy. 

However as a homeschooling family it also means the endless questions of what we do, how we do it, and why we chose this lifestyle.  For years the first week of public school has always brought with it anxiety, anger, and stress for me.  I always cry and feel guilt when I see the first day of school pictures, or see the stories about riding the bus, new teachers, old friends.  I go through this "oh no what have I done" scenario.  I stress, I worry, I feel guilty because what if I am truly hurting my kids in some way by keeping them home with me?!?!?  Are they missing out on some of life's greatest adventures, are they missing out on some "right of passage"?  Every year since we have started homeschooling these questions have hit me with force.

But not this year!  This year I didn't feel any anger, or stress, or anxiety.  I talked to the kids and asked them if they felt like they were missing anything, I asked them if they felt left out, or weird.  Guess what they miss: recess and lockers.  That's it!  I offered to buy Mason a locker which was met with an eye roll and a "that's a waste of money Mom".  Good boy!!!  After talking with them quite a bit about school they did tell me that they get sick of kids thinking they stay in their jammies all day long and watch tv.  Ryley even said a girl asked her where she went to school and when she said she was homeschooled the girl replied "oh so you just sit around your house all day and do nothing?!?!?"  I asked Ryley how she responded and she said she told her "no my Mom makes us do all of our school work every single day!".  I am so glad to hear that at the very least my kids are standing up for themselves about homeschooling.  They try not to brag about all the great things (like getting to sleep in, finishing work early, taking field trips, taking nice days off to just be outside, etc.) but sometimes they use those examples of why they love to homeschool.  It makes me proud to be their mother and their teacher and it makes me feel like we have made the right decision for our family.

It is funny though how the first week of school brings out the most criticism.  I almost dread the question of "where do your kids go to school", because you never know what the reaction is going to be.  Here are some normal ones "Oh I could never do that", "how do they get socialization", "I was going to do that but chose private school instead", "don't you worry about their education", "well you guys aren't weird at all", "do you hate public school", "oh I don't blame you, kids these days...", on and on and on....  I never seem to have a good answer for these statements.  I always smile and just say that I love it most days and it just works great for our family.  Because that is just it, we chose this education path because it just works best for us.  We are not anti-government, anti-public schools, super religious, or crazy over protective (okay so maybe we lean a bit on the over protective side!).  We just decided a long time ago that homeschooling would fit our crazy schedule and allow us to spend more time with our kids.  Most days I do love it and then some days I am ready to put them on the bus and wave goodbye.  I feel like this is my calling in life, this is where God wants me to be right now. 

So this year instead of being upset I am focusing on the awesome things I am blessed to do with my kids each and every day and I have asked my kids to do the same.  Yes, some days we are in our jammies all day long, some days we take off just to enjoy the weather, and some days we sit in our school room and do "boring" school all day long.  But each day is a blessing and one I intend to enjoy.  I am no longer mad at people for assuming my kids are super smart or falling behind.  They are smart in some areas and they are behind in others.  We all are.  I am no longer upset that they might be missing out on things, because I know they are missing out on things, but they are getting to do other things (if they were in school all day they would miss being together, they would miss talking to everyone at Lucky's on grocery day, they would miss helping take care of the animals and the garden).  Instead of becoming defensive when someone ask questions I am going to remind myself how blessed I am that I have the freedom to decide how to school because not everyone has that freedom.  I am going to let the negative slide because the positive is far better! 

So good luck to you all as you start your school year.  May this year be filled with joy, hope, and blessings!

I just wish that every week could be like this one.  The kids were excited to do their school work, everything was planned, the supplies were new, the house was cleaned......now it is Friday and the dishes are piled up, the yard looks like a jungle, and the supplies are a jumbled mess of chaos.  The joys of the first week of school abound.