Still Homeschooling

 I didn't back out of sending the kids back to school this year and despite the fact that I have mommy fears as I prepare to drop off my Kindergartener, first grader, and my 4th grader, I know this is what's best for them at this time.  

My kids are going to school this year.  But no matter how great an education they receive in their classrooms each day, I do not want to forget that the most influential teachers they will ever have are my husband and me.  

I want them to get a grasp on the fundamental principles of mathematics.  And they should be able to name the founding fathers of our country and know why we had a Civil War .  And it's absolutely important that they learn the difference between their, there, and they're. 

But the real stuff of life is taught when they get home, like how to live right... how to forgive... how to take initiative...  how to clean the bathrooms... and then how to clean them again without complaining...how to stand up for what's right... how to scramble an egg...how to react to the person standing on the street corner asking for money... how to spend and save the money we make... how to share... how to say good-bye to people we love... and how to show love to those who seem unlovable.

Some of the best lessons I've ever learned were taught when I was riding in the car with my mom, or sitting across the table from my dad.  It was the funny remarks said at just the right time to change the mood.  It was seeing the way they treated others.  And the way the dealt with hard situations.

 My husband and I both went to public school.  There were good teachers and lessons learned there that helped make us who we are.  We didn't always love school but we did learn from it. But with that being said it will always remain that our parents were the most influential teachers of our lives.

There are no lesson plans and no written tests in our home school.  That's why I have to be prepared to teach what I know about whatever issues arise that day.  My kids will learn from what I say and they will take note of how I react to the experiences we face.  It's the greatest responsibility I have at this point in my life.  And I want to take advantage of the opportunities to teach them every time I have the chance. 

 So, as they head off to school I will not forget that we are still homeschooling.  It's how they'll be equipped for life and our job as parents will always be to teach.