Homeschool Is Cool

   

We are officially halfway done with our first year of homeschool. YAY! 

Now that I have a few months of homeschool under my belt, I feel that I can give some opinion and have some perspective on it. It has been an adventure, and there are tough days with tears, but mostly it has been a HUGE BLESSING to our family.

First of all, the flexibility is exactly what we need while living out this crazy military life. Since we started school in early July, we were able to take a couple of days off in September to spend time with Bill after his deployment. We were also able to take some time off during our recent move – and then we picked right back up where we left off without concerns about new schools, etc. And on the days that Bill has off, or is home early, the kids are here and able to have the much-needed time with him.

Second, I am so proud of how well the kids are doing in school. I’m not an easy teacher. I know my child's potential and I won’t settle for anything less. I realize now that no one is going to push my kids as much as I do.

But, having said that, they really love school. I see passions lighting up in both of them and I’m able to gear my curriculum in that direction. And, most important, even through the struggles we are growing together and bonding in an entirely new way.

Speaking of passions, I love this quote...

“Passions weaken, but habits strengthen, with age, and it is the great task of youth to set the current of habit and to form the tastes which are most productive of happiness in life.” -The Map of Life, William Edward Hartpole Lecky

I hope to achieve both with our homeschool time. I want them to learn productive life skills while igniting passions. Yet, as this quotes infers, passions come and go but good habits last a lifetime. 

Finally, I love that I am able to point things out to them when we’re out and about and tie it back to something we learned a couple of weeks ago. No errand or outing is “safe” from a learning tidbit.

So, having come this far, it felt necessary to celebrate. On Friday we ordered pizza (kids’ choice), made and ate cupcakes, presented awards and made fun crafts (thank you, Kiwi Crate).

Lastly, if you’re interested, I highly recommend watching this commentary video about our current school system. Bill watched it as part of his class and then shared it with me. It’s entertaining, informative and thought-provoking. 

I'm so glad I decided to homeschool the kids. It works for our family right now. It was a huge leap of faith and has required so much from all of us but the rewards of seeing the kids learn and grow has made it so worth it.