Parent’s Friday Show & Tell

Lynne of Seeking His Face invited me to join in on her Friday Show & Tell, Parent’s Edition! I found Lynne through Entrecards and she has a great blog. Be sure to say HI. :D

So…. this week it’s the parents that get to brag about themselves. huh? Muahahahaha!!! FINALLY! I’ve been waiting for this moment for over TWENTY years!!! Yeehaw!! OK, so…

Well.

I guess I don’t have anything to brag about!

I mean… it’s the kids who have stolen the show. I CANNOT BELIEVE that after all these years– now that I can finally brag– I have nothing to say! GRRR! Lynne, why couldn’t you have asked me 15 years ago, when I had all these great things to say about me? ;) LOL.

Homeschooling is a lifestyle. You build into it, and before you know it, it’s like breathing or eating– it just comes natural. The elementary years require the most effort. But once the child hits 5th grade, it’s like the flower blooms or the whole world opens up. I’ve blogged about this before here and here– emphasizing reading and reading comprehension is so very, very important. The child’s educationals development does not progress very far without the reading skills.

I suppose the reason I don’t blog much about homeschooling is because it’s like blogging about washing the dishes or combing my hair– it’s become so natural after all these years that it barely registers on the radar anymore. And the kids are extremely independent– they see me to discuss goals, choose books, help them with computational problems, and etc., but overall, they are entirely self-motivated and rarely need excessive interaction. This is such a blessing on so many levels. And with the elementary basics so fully entrenched, we can now study things we want to study, like astronomy or the lives of the Founding Fathers, or why a German U-Boat was discovered off the coast of New Jersey, or how to edit movies with digital software. Education has become a thrilling adventure with our curiosity and interests as the motivation. I never knew that homeschooling could be SO fulfilling– not just as a teacher or as a mom, but as a person. I, too, have gotten an education. It has been a really incredible experience.

Well, this post has turned out to be extremely lengthy! I guess my “Show and Tell” part of the meme has been to show, from a veteran’s point of view, the benefits and wonderments of homeschooling. While it would be really neat to hold up a trophy or accomplishment, I think the best reward I’ve gotten witnessing our homeschooling venture benefit not only the children (their education and character), but me as well. For this, I am really blessed.