Pajama Days Make Everything Better
It’s this trait, that I believe to be the number one reason that my son first started asking me about homeschool years ago. He, more so than the rest, has a hard time getting moving in the mornings. Cozy under his covers, he’s always the last one out of bed trying to soak up those few final moments of his dream. The last one to have his breakfast, and the first to complain at night when he has to pack his lunch for the next school day. He’d always say things like, “If I could just homeschool then I wouldn’t have to do this!” Or, “Wouldn’t it be great if I could stay in my pajamas for school?” I’d shake my head at him even though I knew exactly how he felt. Honestly- I love being in my pajamas as much as I love Indian food (And trust me that love is strong), but there was no way I was going to let him homeschool for such a “lazy” reason.Years passed, and he kept bringing homeschool up here and there. I didn’t get it.
He really did like his school, his teachers, his friends. . . Academically he was doing well. I was pleased with his education and the things he was learning at his charter school. There was no reason to pull him out. Especially since he was the only one of my kids who showed any interest in it.
Then last year happened.
We moved to a new state. That in and of itself wasn’t the problem. I felt pretty blessed that I was able to enroll my kids in a really wonderful charter school here. They even used the same curriculum my kids had been learning since kindergarten. My kids settled in pretty quickly and made friends, everything was great! Luke liked it a lot, but kept telling me that he felt like he was supposed to homeschool. He added reasons to his list like, “I would be able to do my school work even when I’m sick” and “I could do school all day!”
Really Luke? You’re telling me you want to homeschool so you can live, eat and breathe school 24/7? Highly doubtful.
Even though I didn’t trust his “new motives,” I did trust the part where he said that he didn’t know why, but he felt like he was supposed to homeschool. I started thinking about it.
Why would this little boy feel so strongly about this? I constantly shot down the idea and he would continue to bring it up. Could it be possible that he was being prompted to feel that way and express it to me for so long for a reason?
Just as I’ve always been a slow starter in the morning, I’m also sometimes slow to realize what’s best for me and which direction I need to take in my life. I know God knows this about me and he has always sent me what I’ve recently started calling “seed planters.” I was discussing this concept with a friend. I feel like my Heavenly Father puts people into my life who say the things I personally need to hear to help me refocus and redirect my life to the path he would have me on. Seems like I always need time to warm up to things. Seeds of thought are planted, that grow into trees of understanding. Luke was a seed planter.
From that seed of homeschool came the understanding that life is short and I need to return home. Finally realizing that homeschooling was a perfect fit for our changing family life because of the flexibility it affords, was exactly what we needed.
So for our family, we’re slowly all coming home. I’m not forcing any of my kids to homeschool this year. So far just two have made that commitment (although the other two have both mentioned that they are excited to do it next year. We’ll see if they make it through this whole year without caving and starting up with us too.) It has nothing to do with their grades, it doesn’t have to do with friends, it doesn’t have to do with behavior, it doesn’t have to do with school curriculum. . . For us, the choice has been based on being together more, flexibility of schedule, opportunities to travel, different ways to learn and explore, deepening our relationships with each other, learning more responsibility, having more time…
It’s only our second week into it. I’m not going to lie, it’s hard! I’m exhausted at the end of each day, having given it my all. It’s like having toddlers again, and let me tell you- I’m out of practice. But at the same time it’s been one of the best choices I’ve ever made. It’s truly magical to be this involved in my children’s education, life and spiritual growth. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Plus- occasional pajama days makes everything better.
