a place for three.
yesterday felt so long to me.
it seemed like ellie & i waited hours & hours for the big girls to come home.
we set up our hot cocoa party & waited.
i've been taking careful notice of when our house is upside down.
all ugly & rushy & whiny & just can't get it together.
it is only in the rush for school, homework & after a long day of school.
[even though we've implemented many things to try to eliminate rush & frustration.]
almost constantly my mind is thinking,
i just don't care if they are the top reader. the math whiz. the spelling bee champ.
i care if they are full of integrity. joy. compassionate. using their gifts.
while i love many things about their school, the time is coming closer.
if i see a love for math, you can trust that they will become a math whiz,
but not at the cost of their hearts.
i'm excited. it's coming.
This is lovely.
ReplyDeleteWe have a blessing in disguise with what we went through with Noah... we see what is really important, the things to really encourage and cherish, and the "expectations" that aren't realistic- or even necessary.
ReplyDeleteWe will never push our kids to go to college, of course we don't want them to be lazy and irresponsible, but the expectations from us are different. I love to see them express feelings through art and music, but won't push that either (as I think that might be MY wish for them) - I love watching who they are becoming.
I'm keeping a close eye on the school thing, the time to decide is getting closer and closer for us, too.
Steph
I so needed to see this - particularly this morning after we rushed off in the rain to school. Thanks for the lovely reminder of what is important.
ReplyDeleteyou are the best mom...your children are blessed...every day at your house seems so fun. homeschooling is great and you would rock at it....
ReplyDeleteyou are the best mom...your children are blessed...every day at your house seems so fun. homeschooling is great and you would rock at it....
ReplyDeleteThis is so much of why I think it may be our choice. I hope your transition is smooth & wonderful...and I'm so excited for you!
ReplyDeleteI love this post.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought I'd send my kids to public school. I've never been against the idea of homeschooling, just didn't think it was what I was called to.
Turns out I'll have my first taste of it in Uganda next year (just for Noah for j/k and s/k, but still...a taste, right?). So we'll see.
I too have held things like integrity, compassion, generosity, selflessness, joy higher than any degree or certificate.
I'll go wherever He leads.
Looks like you're doing the same.
Praying for you. :)
I'm going to be watching your journey carefully as i feel it coming over here too.
ReplyDeleteLast night I was trying to fall asleep and I realized that soon we'll enroll our 5 yo in Kindy. That made me think of how that starts a journey to the end of childhood. Then i launched into an anxiety attack about how little time my 7yo has to play any more. It's so sad...and WHY? For what purpose does he need to be gone for so many hours a day, being all serious and studious? This is his one childhood that he'll never get back.
I don't know if HSing is right for us, or if i could ever persuade my DH. But this doesn't feel right to me.
The time arrived for us too. Granted, our oldest is just a preschooler, but it feels good to have made that commitment, to have followed our hearts. I've been enjoying your blog for several months now and am excited to see how God leads you in this direction.
ReplyDeletea) i wish i was there to join in on the cocoa party. :)
ReplyDeleteb) i love your passion for life and what is really important
c)looking forward to watching your journey unfold with homeschooling
taking time to slow down, enjoying the precious little moments, sharing life, love, friendship with family is so important!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing all the girls enjoying their treat together on the floor :-)
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own"
If you are thinking of homeschooling I would say it's a great idea. yes it will bring your family closer together, yes their will be difficult time, yes their will be laughter, tears, frustration and sweet moment but you will are experiencing it together as a family :-)
Have a blessed day
Renee
i love your honesty and how you share your path. so refreshing and freeing!!
ReplyDeletei love her tea set!
ReplyDeleteyou said it so well.
the world values education in a different way than we do. it's important, but not as much as the eternal.
I just read this after tweeting how I hate helping my kids with homework and clearly will not be homeschooling anytime soon. ;) I have many friends who do homeschool and I love that they have the option to do that. It is just not right for us, at least right now. But I share some of the attitudes of homeschooling too. good luck in the future!
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhhhh!!!! (That was my excited scream.) So glad "it's coming". I share so many of the thoughts you just wrote out so well. And, like you, I was all of a sudden awakened to how much the "rushing" we were doing was affecting us. It literally made me a different mom and made our mornings and nights focused on the wrong things.
ReplyDeleteStill, even as I began this new road of being teacher AND mommy, I would have never expected the beautiful blessings of doing "school" this way. There is SO much peace in being home and being together. I am CERTAIN that these precious ones of mine will never learn amazing math skills from me. It's almost impossible. Ha ha. But, there are SO MANY other "life" things that they can't truly learn from anyone else than their mommies. :)
I'll email you later. So excited to read this. (And, by the way, you are ALREADY an amazing "homeschooling mom"....i'm completely inspired by you.)
i'm excited for you too!! After our 3rd year of rushing, meltdowns, fastfood, etc...we are thoroughly enjoying the freedom homeschooling has given us to choose our days, choose how we spend our time, slow, quiet morning instead of leaving at 7am, letting them stay up late if need be, and not stressing that they need to get up by 6am...letting them go through a whole historical fiction book in one day if they want, and knowing that math can wait till tomorrow...i could go on and on...homeschooling has been absolutely the right choice for our family...I feel so blessed!!
ReplyDeletePLUS homeschooling has given my kids the TIME they need to pursue their individual interests...Lily loves gymnastics, but she's also an avid reader and an artist...she never had time for all three...now she still goes to gym 4 days a week, spends countless hours reading and on art projects and I am just seeing her blossom as she has time for the things God created her for!
ReplyDeleteFirst comment on your blog and I just want to say,
ReplyDelete1. Love love love the tea set!
2. This post mirrors what has been going on in my head too. Thanks for that.
What sweet pictures of you the tea party. I LOVE them.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also love this post. I don't my kids to be labeled either and right now as my oldest is in Kindergarten, I have noticed that we are pretty safe. But I'm not expecting that to last and I want my kids to be as young and as innocent as possible for as long as they can.
wow, I love this. it's inspiring and encouraging. not because I'm heading in the homeschooling direction (at least not right now) but just to see how aware you are of your kids' needs. I pray for this all the time. thanks for sharing it like this.
ReplyDeleteThat hot cocoa party looks awesome and I'm jealous that I wasn't invited! What a fun way to spend an afternoon!!!
ReplyDeletefirst of all, that hot cocoa party is the best thing ever. you are such an inspiration to make life fun.
ReplyDeletesecondly, my soap box: only four short years of teaching revealed to me what a broken system schooling is in this country. the hours are based on an adult work-week, the expectations are based on competition between schools and states and against other nations, and the leaders are politicians bent on moving up the chain rather than on uplifting the hearts and minds of our children. how has this become the NORM? how have we allowed the government, society, and capitalism to force us to believe that this is the ONLY way? it makes my heart ache. i can't wait to see what homeschooling looks like in your house. i'm so excited for you. & for your family. it will be magical, i think.
and p.s. for those of you who commented before & are worried about not fostering certain skills, look into utilizing the time of a local college student pursuing education - s/he might be able to use it for credit or hours, if not just practice.
Are you going to homeschool then? I just got goosebumps b/c I think you'd be perfect for it (and i think you'd love it).
ReplyDeleteI was homeschooled through 8th grade and have many happy memories from that experience.
Tim & I are also planning to homeschool also...well, it will really be "roadschooling" for now. ;)
stephanie@metropolitanmama.net
yay! yay, yay, yay.
ReplyDeletei am excited to hear this. it's a decision you won't regret :)