You Must Be Excited

For the past two weeks, wherever I've gone with children, people have commented to me, "You must be so excited for back to school!"

Yes. Yes I am.

When I mention we homeschool, I often get a look of pity. I think this look especially comes from people whose point is that I'll get to get rid of  a break from my children for a good portion of the day once school begins. I usually comment that I love spending time with my children. One man just could not believe that I was sincere...or that I could possibly enjoy spending all day with my children. A woman's response was, "really...even the teenagers?" Yes. Really. My teenagers rock.

Am I excited for back to school?
Absolutely!

But perhaps not why you'd think.

As a homeschooling family, back to school means something a bit different. Back to school means kicking off the school year with a Beach Party! Why not? There are considerably less people at the beach at 10AM on a Friday while school's in session. We also look forward to less crowded museums, science centers, libraries, aquariums, movie theaters, and other places that we love to frequent during school hours. Homeschool co-op will soon be back in full swing, which is fun for our entire family. This session is looking amazing, with class offerings such as Painless Algebra, Robotics, Introduction to Improv, Project Management,  Knowing Your World, and Music & Mayhem.

The school year also brings opportunities to participate in lots of things that happen during the school year such as Tuesday Night Sunday School, Epoch Arts Haunted House, Epoch Arts Mini-Production, homeschool days at museums and science centers, St. Paul Puppet Academy, and so much more.

And it means my children will be missing their friends who attend school because they often don't get home until late afternoon or early evening...and then have homework.This is sometimes difficult for my always-homeschooled children to grasp, as they eagerly await their friends' arrivals home each day to either play with them in our neighborhood, or online for those who live to far away for after school get-togethers. 

Homeschooling has opened the world up to me and my children. I have learned more as a homeschool mom than I retained from all my years in school. I love learning along with my children, and nurturing their love of exploring the world around them, following their passions, and discovering things about themselves.