Reason #7: Closeness with my kid(s)
Homeschooling gives me the opportunity to really know my child. As her mom and teacher, I understand Laynie’s heart as well as her mind, and I’m her primary influence in her development/training. Our relationship is intimate and meaningful, even now at her young age 3. I have the freedom to just stop and play dolls with her if she wants me to, we’ll just push back dinner for a little while longer, no problem. My evenings aren’t filled with frustrations over cleaning up spilt milk and rushing through bathtime to get her to bed early enough so she won’t be cranky at preschool tomorrow.To me, it’s the little moments that are so special. When I first began staying at home with Laynie at 20 months old, just seeing her staring out the sliding glass door in wonder at the birds in our backyard pecking at worms in the mornings brought me such joy. I can’t wait for the days when I’ll witness the moment when reading finally “clicks” or when she and I can have meaningful discussions about the most important issues. There are so many of those little moments that I would miss if she were at school for the majority of the day and all I got were the grumpy and tired evenings.I’m definitely not saying that it isn’t hard. There are times when Laynie acts like a littly tyrant and I am at my wits’ end, lol! I’m not any more patient than any other mom out there. I know that Laynie acts differently with me than she does with strangers. But it is my conviction that teaching her true obedience to Mom and Dad is much more important than “playing the game” and “acting” good for a teacher. Luckily, right now, schooltime is fun, but I know it’s going to get harder and we’ll need alot more structure and self-discipline as she moves up into higher grade levels. Even now, we spend a good amount of time learning honesty, self-control, integrity and obedience, and it’s TOUGH! But, it’s SO WORTH IT! I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.Homeschooling allows me to monitor what’s going on in Laynie’s life. Notice I didn’t say control – I specifically used the word monitor. Although I’ll admit, I’d like to control everything, I really believe that’s unhealthy. But I’m able to be more involved and knowlegeable about what’s really going on in her life, because I personally witness it as I guide her growth and education.Homeschooling enhances our family life. School time is minimal and free time abounds. Unlike working moms with public school children, school schedules won’t dictate our time together as a family, or add to the stress of our daily life. As Laynie gets older, Chris and I can allow other interests or bonding family activities to take precedence while other parents are fighting with their children over finishing homework, harping on them to avoid procrastination on a book report, or nagging them to study for tomorrow’s spelling test, or scarfing down a fast food meal in the car on the way to soccer practice.
