THE ROGERS ARE HOMESCHOOLING NEXT YEAR!
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| This is a START to the 'school room'. We've got a little more to do! |
One of these days, I'm going to QUIT listing things that I'll never do. Homeschooling my children was definitely on my "never" list. However, due to the fact the God all but said OUT LOUD to me that this was in His plan, we've got to move forward with it.
I know that everyone who has made the decision to keep children at home rather than send them to school has different reasoning for their choices. We've had different reasons at every stage in the process. Ultimately, the decision was made because we are so weary of the busy, busy schedule! We NEED more family time, AT HOME, without the rush. For the better part of this past year, I felt the only things that I was saying to my children were, "Wake up!", "Hurry up!", and "Go to bed!" That made me very sad.
I mentioned the feelings I was having to Scotty (completely expecting a big, fat, "NO!"), and apparently he'd been considering it too. So, we made the decision that we would do it but didn't really tell ANYONE! We needed to make sure we'd heard correctly.
Since that point, God has made it more than abundantly clear that this is the path for us. We've talked with several friends who also homeschool and gotten as much advice as possible. And, I had the opportunity to go to a Teach Them Diligently conference. Now, our reasons for making this choice go way beyond just wanting more family time.
By the time we began telling people about our decision, I'd gained enough confidence not to be bothered by any negative comments. Most people have been very encouraging, but there have been some that were quite funny. They were funny to me, because they were all things that I've THOUGHT before but never would have said OUT LOUD to anyone. It doesn't matter, though. In the end, we've experienced the life of disobedience & the life of obedience. We've found that it's best to just obey!
Here's what's interesting, though. Whether the opinion towards our decision is good or bad, there is a common statement that I hear from EVERYONE.... "I could never do that. I'm just not that __________________." You can fill in that blank with 'disciplined', 'organized', or 'patient'. But, that is THE answer.
My dad sent me an email this morning that included an insert from one of Jen Hatmaker's blog posts about the end of year scenario at her house. Honestly, as I read her words, I began to find it harder and harder to breathe. Why? Because I know what she is talking about....
We are limping, limping across the finish line, folks. I tapped out
somewhere in April and at this point, it is a miracle my kids are still
even going to school. I haven’t checked homework folders in three weeks,
because, well, I just can’t. Cannot. Can. Not. I can’t look at the
homework in the folder. Is there homework in the folder? I don’t even
know. Are other moms still looking in the homework folder? I don’t even
care.
The emails coming in for All Of The Things – class gift, end of year
letters, luncheon signup, party supplies, awards ceremonies, pictures
for the slide shows, final projects – are like a tsunami of doom. They
are endless. I mean, they will never ever end. There is no end of it. I
will never finish and turn it all in and get it to the (correct) Room
Mom and get it all emailed and I am pretty sure the final week of school
will never be over and this is the end for me.
Oh my goodness... I can't breathe again. It was too much for me. Too many assignments, too many ceremonies, too many luncheons to serve in, too many tests to monitor, too much, too much, too much..... All of these are good things, but all of them together literally sucked the life out of me and my great LOVE for my children and their education.
So, I could say, "I'm not disciplined enough, organized enough, or patient enough to homeschool three children at all different grade levels." I could! It's true! I DO have gifts in all three of these areas. But, really? Who possesses enough to say FOR SURE it's enough for a task as great as homeschooling. Not me! But, the ONE who calls is faithful and HE WILL DO IT!
And, while I have some doubts that I'll be able to do this homeschool thing well, I am positively certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, 100% sure that I can't do the scenario Jen Hatmaker described 1 more year. There's got to be more to education, family, and enjoying my children for the brief period of time that I have them. With the Lord's guidance, I'm going to find it!
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