Deciding to homeschool is a choice they had made last spring. It wasn't without a bit of sadness that they said goodbye to their school friends and teachers, knowing that they wouldn't be back in the fall. But it was on their own terms and because of their own choice and so the sadness of change, though it was there, was manageable and just part of the equation of choosing something new that they were looking forward to.
Once fall came, homeschool brought unexpected benefits. I have loved watching my boys absorb knowledge and come alive with wanting to apply everything in life to learning. I have gained a better understanding of what level they are at with various subjects and therefore have better insight about their individual educational needs. I have loved the hours of time I have been able to spend with them and the fact that a cranky hour here or there has turned into such a small percentage of our time together instead of filling what was previously our rare opportunities to be with each other.
When we moved I saw homeschool doing for us exactly what I had hoped. The transition was an easy one. We were sad to say goodbye to neighbors and friends from church, but the boys had already said goodbye to their friends at school; they had already detached themselves from their community. They were ready and prepared to move.
We have moved a lot and these boys have made the transitions well. It's been hard for these kids, year after year, to go in fresh as the new kids, and start all over making friends. Last year was the first year that we upped the challenge by not only bringing them to a new school, but by arriving after the school year had already started. I am so glad we didn't have to force that on them again!
But now we are here in Craig, settling in to a new home, and little promptings started coming again. EVERYONE we have met in Craig has been extremely supportive about our homeschooling. But over and over again I kept feeling like we are supposed to be more involved in the community by being enrolled in the school. Week after week I felt like it was all I was hearing about at church - not because it is what was being said, but because that was what I was being taught by the spirit.
After weeks of ignoring this thought, the kids and I finally went and took a tour of the elementary school here. We LOVED it. And most importantly, I felt washed over with a strong sense of peace.
I am so grateful that because of our homeschooling journey, Ammon and Peter were able to feel more in control of their lives. They CHOSE to leave Houghtaling and now they are CHOOSING to enter a new school. As a parent I feel so relieved to not have ripped them away from old friends and to not be forcing them into a new unknown. Change is always hard. But the challenge is less when we are facing change out of our own choice.
They start their new school on Monday. A part of me is sad. Really, really sad. A part of me is relieved and wants to have a party thinking of all the "free time" I imagine myself suddenly having. But mostly I'm just really grateful for personal revelation because logic and reason just can't flush out all the things that are unknown to me but that our Heavenly Father is mindful of and guiding us through.
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