Different is Good!

So, we are now a homeschooling family; and let me tell you, I LOVE IT!  I love the time I get to spend with my children!  I love the way our relationships have grown!  I guess I am just wired differently than most people.

I have friends who count down the days for school to start with enthusiasm! They can't wait for them to go back to school, to be back to their normal with a schedule around school.  This is what works for them, and there is nothing wrong with that.  Really, there isn't.  It just doesn't work for me.

I love summer break!  I love having my kids home with me!  I hate back to school time!  I hate sending them to school for so many hours a day and for so many months.  I hate having their teachers spend more waking hours with them than I do.  But, most of all, I hate how much it changes them.  You see, we had a problem with bullies.  Little girls can be mean, and the attitude and rudeness starts so young!

At the beginning of the summer, every year, my oldest would go through a season, if you will, where she would decompress from school and how she was treated.  It is a bit like watching ice cream melt.  She would be tense, and stressed; over the course of the summer she would relax and return to her natural self.  Every year was becoming more difficult.

She developed eczema that seemed to be worse when she was stressed.  This year we worked really hard, all summer, to get it to clear up.  It finally had!  We were all so relieved!  Then, I had mentioned to her that there was one month of summer vacation left.  Overnight, her eczema flared back up again!  It was horrible!  We had already been discussing homeschool, and this realization of the affects of her stress on her little body was the final straw.  We officially decided to homeschool both of our girls.

I started researching curriculums and purchasing our books.  I attended local homeschool information meetings and joined a couple groups.  We announced our decision to our family and friends, and withdrew from school.

I still get nervous when people see us out in public and ask why they aren't in school, but I don't regret our decision.  In fact, I seem to be enjoying it more, and more each day!  We are different.  But, different is good!  I am reminded of something I heard once:  Why do we try so hard to blend in when we were designed to stand out?  So, here we are standing out because different is good!