Today was our first “official” day of homeschool for the school year. In my head I had pictured an elaborate breakfast laid out for my children (although their hunger to LEARN would take precedence over the organic, homemade muffins I’d crafted with love). We’d start our day with a devotional, the pledge of allegiance, and a prayer. And all would run smoothly as we dove into our idyllic homeschool.
But it was mostly like any other day.
We got up around 8. I nagged the kids to work on their morning charts (a checklist they each have of the tasks they need to do each morning, like brushing teeth, putting dirty pajamas in a basket, feeding the cats, emptying the dishwasher, etc). I did a little Pre-K work with Ella, then got Jake set up with his schoolwork. The morning slipped away too quickly and next thing I knew it was lunch time, followed by their homeschool P.E. class. I decided to do schoolwork with Amy in the evening while Jake went to baseball.
After dinner, Amy and I sat down at the dining table and started math. It was difficult to get her to focus, which is typical. But then she asked a question that caught me off guard.
“Mom, why do we do schoolwork?”
Good question, I thought to myself. And not gonna lie, it’s kind of a loaded, intimidating question.
I wanted to quote books I’ve read about the history of public education, the corruption in the system, and how ridiculous it is that all children are expected to learn ALL the things at once. But thank goodness the Spirit took the wheel.
Words started flowing out of me that were not my own. Moments like these I know their Heavenly Father loves them SO much, and I can feel Him guiding our conversation.
I explained that we all have God-given gifts and talents, and learning to read makes it so that we can learn just about anything that interests us. I talked about ways that I use math in my own life, and how the people who built our home used a LOT of math to construct it. I talked about how learning to read and write can give you opportunities to write books and poetry and songs and other things to bless the lives of others. About how science helps us understand the world around us.
I also explained why we choose to homeschool, and that even though she finds it hard to focus sometimes, I do it so that she doesn’t have to sit at a desk for 8 hours every day.
Content with my explanation, we continued on. We got a lesson of math and a lesson of language arts in, as well as a page of handwriting. And then she went back to turning on music and dancing on a chair, pretending she performing for a live audience.
One of the beautiful things about choosing to homeschool is just how much influence you can have on your kids. And if you’re receiving influence from the Holy Ghost to guide your decisions and teachings, your kids get that, too. I know so many parents who are incredible and have a village of teachers and other people who help influence and guide their children, so I’m not saying that homeschooling is the only way your kids get that kind of influence.
But there’s something special about it.