Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Joy of Time

One thing I have discovered during this first full week of homeschool is the value of the time I am spending with my children. I currently have 2 of my 3 children homeschooling, while the other 1 is attending public school.

My oldest child has been attending school for nearly 9 years. Since this is our first year homeschooling, he has spent all of that time in a public school. I remember looking forward to the kids returning to school, because that meant that *I* would have more time for ME. The house would be quiet and it would stay clean during the time they were in school. I admit, the break WAS nice... but once the kids returned home, there was still work to be done. They had homework, they had after school activities to attend, friends to play with(or "hang out" with), baths to take and everything else that comes with life! Now that I have 2 at home, I realize how little time I spent with my children during the school year. It's been nice to have them around and it is nice to have the chance to converse with them and help them learn. I actually feel bad about not spending the same amount of time with my youngest son! He spends all day at school and then we have a few hours every night together. It doesn't seem like enough. I feel as if I am missing out on SO MUCH! I have thought about pulling him out of public school and homeschooling him as well, but I know that I need to keep him in public school just a tad longer. He attends resource for reading and at this point, they can provide the extra time and specialized help that I cannot. Next year I hope to be able to keep him home too!

Seeing as I am new to the world of homeschooling, I know I have SO much to learn. Because of that, there are times when I doubt my own ability to make this a success. I wonder if I am teaching them what they need to be taught and if I am really making a difference. The last thing I want is for my children to suffer all because I decided homeschool was the thing we needed to do. Today, I decided I would give the kids an oral science quiz. I was curious if they had retained anything over the last week. To my delight, they HAD retained what they had been taught! YES! They will both go to their science class next week ready to learn and understand the experiments they will be conducting in class. That made me one very happy mom. I CAN do this!

For the most part, I am enjoying having my children home. It's exciting to know that I am able to spend quality time with them. My children are growing up before my very eyes. In a few weeks, K will be 15! Before I know it, he will be grown and off on his own. J is 12 and growing into a beautiful young woman. It won't be long and she too, will be off enjoying her own young life. I hope this time we have together will allow me to play a much more active roll in their day to day lives. I hope that by homeschooling my children, I will not only educate them but become closer to them as well. I hope that our relationship as a parent and child will grow as we navigate the outside world together.

2 comments:

  1. Angie, Congrats on the science test! I'm so glad you are enjoying spending time and teaching K and J!! :) Way to go!

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