What's In It For Me?

Last August, as we purchased some pencils and coloring crayons, T excitedly blurted out to the clerk, "I'm starting Kindergarten next week!" The clerk gave me a knowing smile and mused, "You must be really looking forward to that!" I nodded my consent but did not mention our plans to home school. I am certain that he would have been dumbfounded if he knew that, instead of a few hours of daily freedom, I was choosing to self-inflict more into my already-heavy workload.

Why WOULD I choose do to that? Doesn't a more peaceful, quiet day appeal to me? Do I not long for a bit of respite from my three wild spark plugs? Really, what am I getting out of this home schooling deal?

Yes, I'd love to have a break from chasing after children and tripping over toys. I'd love time to better keep my home and to recharge my Mommy batteries doing something for myself instead of for others. But I promise: I've not completely lost my mind (yet). In fact, I really believe that home schooling is saving my sanity.

Really.

Many people choose to home school for religious, social, and economical reasons, and all of those do indeed play a substantial role in our choosing to home educate. But there are other reasons as well, many of which actually help me to maintain my wits.

First of all, we wanted to give our kids the best we could in the way of education. As Jon once said, "I want to exploit their potential." He didn't mean this in a bad way; what parent doesn't want his child to be the cream of the crop? Individual instruction was our answer. I may not be the best teacher - far from it! - but I am the best teacher for our little ones. It puts me at ease to know that we're doing the very best we could possibly do for our family (this in no way reflects my opinion of others who choose a different route than we have).

I've mentioned before my phobia of germs. Keeping my kids at home is one superb way to cut down on the illnesses that I so dread. No, it won't keep my kids healthy 24/7, but it's nice not to deal with colds, fevers, and illness every other week. I cannot say what peace of mind this brings.

I also hate, Hate, HATE having to go out every day. If I had to shuttle kids off to school each morning and go pick them up every afternoon, I think I'd die. (I realize that there is something called a school bus, but due to my germophobia, that just wouldn't be an option.) I hate disruptions to my day, and two disruptions five days a week would just be more than I could handle. I'd much rather go crazy trying to teach a kid how to form letters while keeping an infant from feeding the entire can of food to the fish (which is lethal to the fish, by the way).

Call me crazy (some of you already are!), but the satisfaction I get from hearing T read an entire short story and seeing K learn to write his name is priceless. I wouldn't give up that for the world. I've loved every one of the kids' "firsts": first giggle, first step, first word (okay, Daddy got to see L's first smile even though I'd tried to get her to grin for over a week), etc. First learning experiences are just as thrilling.

Lastly, I feel absolutely rewarded by our educational endeavors. Some go really well; others not so; but when it's all said and done, I am content. I just wouldn't have that if we chose an alternate method for our children's education.

So, what's in it for me? Quite a lot, actually.