There are few things in this life that surprise me. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true. Maybe it’s that I rarely admit that I’m surprised. Maybe that’s it. But one thing that has taken me by surprise as of lately is homeschooling.

I’m at the point in my journey (a serious veteran of 3 whole months – woot, woot!) here where I am turning a corner. A good corner. I’m completely floored that it’s working. I’m completely floored that my 7-year-old and I get along and that she listens to my instruction. I know, you don’t take me for one of those “my kids don’t listen to me” parents. Or maybe you do and you are just glad I’m finally coming around {we can internet high-five now} to this realization.

But it’s deeper than that. {Isn’t it always?}

I’m not surprised that my daughter is learning and – I think – thriving.

Somehow in the midst of the chaos of life, the math worksheets, the bouncing around places, the reading and kid writing…she and I have grown closer. We’ve bonded. I feel like she gets me more. And I get her.

When I go places now without her, she’s sad to see me go. She comes up and gives me hugs randomly throughout our day. Out of nowhere she’ll wrap her arms around me and hug me and tell me how much she loves me. Maybe if I’m particularly lucky, a kiss on the cheek.

I totally didn’t expect this. I kind of thought things could get ugly. Not fist fight ugly, but tense. She and I are both really stubborn. She has opinions that are different from mine. {How dare she!} I thought for sure by November there was a serious possibility that it might be clear that next year she’d go back to public school. But I’m not thinking like that at all.

We are in a totally different place than I envisioned. I’m so surprised.

Another thing….I kind of like teaching her. I know. It’s preposterous, right?

The Lord in his great kindness has steadied my heart on more than one occasion and given me patience when I have called out, “Help!!! I’m losing it!” And those moments when I have to calm myself and maybe even apologize (I’ve done a lot of that the last few months, mind you), I find such joy and such closeness with my sweet girl. We hug. We smile. We work it out and it’s so…. beautiful.

Having her precious presence with me causes me to slow down.

We are part of a co-op school that is WONDERFUL. You can find out more about them here. Lily goes there all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We are home doing “school” Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. The break is good for us and she LOVES her friends and classes there. She’s learning a lot. She’s also learning that she has to be responsible for her things. Teachers don’t hover over her to make sure every little thing is remembered. It’s like she’s been shoved out of the nest a little yet still very much remaining in the nest. I find myself missing her but loving that she gets instructions with other students in a great atmosphere.

{This is Lily and her co-op class called Character Counts – and her brother who was visiting that day}

As I come and go into the building, I’m surprised by how normal everyone is. Like me normal. Okay, maybe that’s not right. They are like real people normal. All different but still really down to earth and cool. I had this idea that other than the very few homeschool families I knew in my college years (who were UH-MAZING), families that homeschooled were off. You know, strange. Made their own clothing. Drank soy milk. Had introverted children who were wicked smart. Grew their own veggies from seed and the moms had their entire attention on all things in the home.

You’re thinking I just described our family, right? Hehe, that’s funny. We are sooo far from that reality, it’s comical.

May I present you with Exhibit numero uno below. Does this look like a normal family to you? I rest my case.

Exhibit A Numero Uno

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Oh and lest we forget that other thing that’s been on my mind. It seems to be working for me to teach her AND still work.

Weird…right? I know!

So that’s me right now totally surprised by homeschooling. I don’t know what will happen next year. Will little brother come home or stay in public school? Will she stay home with me or go back?

One day at a time.

But for now, I like being surprised. Surprised to know that my daughter and I have figured out how to learn together. Honestly, I thinks she teaches me more than I teach her.

And that is totally not surprising.

Cheers,

Steph
aka IntentionalGirl