A Quick “Why I do it” Glance

When people find out I homeschool a look of alarm often passes over their face, and inevitably,

“I could never be with my kids all day.”

When this happens about ten conflicting emotions and possible responses begin scrapping it out inside of me.  Usually the least offensive, “We all need to make our own choices” statement is the one that finally surfaces.  It’s the safe one, anyhow.

But I think I should make up little wallet size cards with a list of reasons why I choose to be at home with my four children everyday.  They wouldn’t be the same reasons I’d list in a nicely organized family mission statement.  It would start like this:

1.The thousand moments in a day I would miss if my kids were in school or in the car, traveling to and from school and activities, not to mention the hurried morning and the time spent nagging about homework.  I get out of breath,grumpy, and less available to snuggle and read just thinking about it.

2.  For example, the moments AFTER the morning fight between my girls, when they confess their frustration during our prayer time and their praise for a heart change.

3.  The light in Drummer Boy’s eyes as he sits with the girls and does BIG school.  He admires them so much even if they don’t recognize it as he follows them around the house and erases any of their personal space.

4.  The constant sound of giggles emanating from Sparkles as one, two, and then three siblings vie for her attention.

5. Really getting into a book together.

6. All of the “I get it” moments.

7. Being present when a new passion is discovered.

8. Realizing that one of the kids new passion is something we both love and then realizing we get to share the whole process together.

I have a budding writer in the house.  Does she like grammar, proper sentence and paragraph structure, have a passion for good hand-writing? No! But I’ve been there for the aha moments.

“Mommy, even though this stuff is hard, once I learn it, it’s going to make me better at writing stories.”

Mookie: “Sometimes I think about being a writer, but it seems like it’s really hard to get a book published.”
Me: “Just keep writing down your ideas, Mookie.”

“Wow, you mean by reading all the time I’m actually learning how to write, too?  I’ve been learning and I didn’t even know it!”

One night as I edited a friend’s piece of writing and explained to Mookie what I was doing, her eyes lit up, “Mommy, can I write something and you can edit it and tell me how to make it better?”

Over the past few weeks we’ve been hard at work on her story for the PBS Story contest.  She encountered the same problem she’s had the last few years, not what to write about but how to stay within the word limit. Her ideas just keep flowing.  We had to omit several wonderful details to make the cut.

When she read her rough draft aloud, her sister asked some questions about the story.  I mention casually,”You know Mookie, when I’m working on something and a friend shares some feedback, I’ll write it down so I can remember it later.” She grabbed a pencil and started taking notes from her 7 year old sister, “What happened to the cornbread after he stuffed it in his pocket? Did it get crumbly in his pocket or did he eat it on the way back?”

I confess I watched her write notes and my heart gave a little leap of praise that I get to share a passion with my daughter.  I might also have to bare her disappointment if she doesn’t win a prize(she really, really wants to win a prize), but getting to be with her in the process is somewhere high on that invisible list.

I’m not trying to give a rose-colored view of our homeschooling life.  I’ve tried to be honest on this blog and on my other blog about the challenges of mothering and homeschooling multiple children.  Do I ALWAYS want to be home with them? No. Are there some days that seem to pass by without even one moment that would make that why-I-do-it list.  It feels like it.  But to be available for the  the 1000(and growing) worth-it-all moments, I have to be available for the rest of the moments, too.