Today is an historic day in the Walker house! Today is the day that our oldest, Natalie Grace, should be skampering off excitedly to her first day of kindergarten. She's 5 1/2 afterall! Today should be a day when I tearfully pull the minivan into the elementary school parking lot, drop her off at the front door, and wonder where on earth the time has gone. Wasn't is just yesterday that this sweet girl was just a tiny, helpless baby? Only, today isn't that day. Instead, it's just another day of school at the kitchen table.
We've been homeschooling Natalie "officially" for a few years now. I taught her preschool at home, kindergarten at home (which she breezed through much faster than I thought), and she started first grade at home just last month. She is a joy to teach. She's highly motivated, bright, inquisitive, and eager to learn. I'm so grateful that she's home with me during the day! She adds so much happiness to our home and her presence would be very missed if she was in school all day. But before I sound like a completely blissful, *everything is so perfectly amazing* mom, let me put my last few sentences into perspective by also sharing the dark side...
I have gazed longingly at the big yellow bus heading toward the nearest school many times. I've left myself daydream of how lovely it would be one day when all my children are in school all day and I could devote the blessed hours of 8-3 going to the gym, maintaining an immaculate home, volunteering, baking to my little heart's content, having lunch dates with friends, etc. You get the picture. Well, as He so often does, God had different plans. I would not choose to home educate of my own accord. Seriously. However, Matt and I felt strongly led in this direction several years ago and after much prayer (and a certain amount of very unholy kicking and screaming) we went ahead and decided to obey. I know there will continue to be days when I start to feel envious of those who send their children to school (and more power to them--I would not begin to assert that homeschooling is right for every familiy), but I'm also thankful for the opportunity to spend more time at home with my children. Afterall, the time seems to go by so quickly, especially in terms of how quickly children seem to grow up! In my short tenure thus far as a mother, I can definitely attest to the truth in the statement that time does indeed fly.
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