| When I first heard about homeschooling, we had | | | | hide - like behind polices and procedures. There |
| 2 children as opposed to the almost 7 we have | | | | are places to escape - like the break room or |
| now. I think our oldest was not quite in | | | | home, for goodness' sake. If you mess up, you |
| Kindergarten. Life was definitely different. I never | | | | may receive a warning or some form of |
| did think it was crazy or weird, as some do, | | | | corrective action. If your employees mess up, |
| because I always had a longing to get out of the | | | | there is a policy and procedure manual that tells |
| workforce and be at home with my babies. When | | | | us step by step how to deal with every possible |
| that longing finally became a reality 5 years ago, I | | | | situation. I should know: I helped write it. But with |
| had just given birth to our 4th child. | | | | parenting - and particularly homeschooling - there |
| At this point, my husband and I decided if we | | | | is no manual. There are no warnings or corrective |
| could ever make it work on one income we | | | | action where your boss tells you how to fix the |
| would pull our kids out of school and bring them | | | | problem. Nope - it is all you. |
| home. That is exactly what we did. I wasn't | | | | I began to discover that all of the things that I |
| completely ignorant to what homeschooling | | | | struggled with: patience, kindness, selfishness, |
| required because I had been exposed to it | | | | self-control, anger, etc. - were the things that I |
| through several friends that had already been | | | | was dealing with most. I thought this was |
| homeschooling for years. But, like any good thing, | | | | supposed to be about the "Three R's," or even |
| I had my idea of what it would be like, and then | | | | about developing my kids' character. The truth is |
| there is the reality of it. | | | | that those things are part of it. But the schooling |
| I naively envisioned: | | | | doesn't stop at the children. How can I expect my |
| - Children gathered around my side reading | | | | children to have exemplary character, if I show |
| together for hours. | | | | them daily my own lack? How will my children |
| - Craft and art projects that would make Martha | | | | learn how to be diligent in completing their |
| Stewart green with envy. | | | | schoolwork in a timely manner, if I can't stop |
| - Brilliant children that would far surpass all of their | | | | wasting all my time on Facebook? How will my |
| public school peers. | | | | children learn to make peace with each other if I |
| - A clean house with the smell of homemade | | | | am constantly arguing with them? |
| goodies for snacks. | | | | For us, homeschooling isn't taken on a day-to-day |
| - My children would be best friends, and nary the | | | | basis or year-to-year basis. It is part of life. It |
| unkind work would be uttered between them. | | | | may be one of the hardest parts of life, because |
| - My husband singing my good graces to | | | | I am faced to see myself and all my weaknesses |
| everyone he met, and my children adoring and | | | | reflected back to me in the eyes of my children |
| honoring me at every turn. The center of all of | | | | every single day. It would be much easier to |
| this domestic bliss, of course, would be me. | | | | shuffle them off every morning to an expert |
| What I have found over the past five years, is | | | | who will fill their heads but not their hearts, and |
| that far from being the center of all of this | | | | never have to deal with the parts of me that |
| domestic bliss, I am often the cause for | | | | need to be dealt with. Yes, after five years of |
| household strife. It is true. I am at the center. I | | | | homeschooling (and at this point, about 17 more |
| set the tone, as my husband is fond of reminding | | | | to go) I can honestly say that I was right and so |
| me. What I didn't realize when I set out on this | | | | was my husband: I am the center and I do set |
| path called homeschooling, is that I was the one | | | | the tone. That just doesn't look the same way |
| who would get schooled and needed it the most. | | | | that it did in my imagination. The lessons I have |
| When I worked full-time at the corporate level | | | | learned from homeschooling start with an |
| conducting management training and investigations | | | | examination of my own heart. Only then am I |
| in a human resource capacity, I thought | | | | capable of teaching my children the lessons they |
| homeschooling would be a breeze comparatively. | | | | need to learn. |
| But in the corporate world, there are places to | | | | |