"Hey mommy! Do I look like an adult now?" Glad I had the camera on hand! He was actually pretty serious about the issue, so I had to say yes, with the caveat that he was a little short still, and that adults usually run around the house with clothes on!
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Anyways, recently, I've had a few conversations with people who have offered up their comments on homeschooling. Some are negative. Generally, comments about socialization. I usually respond to those with comments about how if my son was in public school, I'd have to worry about peer pressure and bullying. I assure these usually complete strangers that my son indeed does have many opportunities to be around other children and that it's not an issue. Each choice of schooling has it's challenges.
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With socialization however, I can see why people bring it up. What's flooring me are the pseudo-positive comments, like "you must have so much patience!", "Good for you, that's brave", or the worst "You're amazing, I never could have handled being around my children all the time!".
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Seriously, how do you reply to such things? I don't actually have heaps of patience, though I'm working on it. As for courage, I think it would have taken far more courage to send my son off to school for an entire day! He just spent a day, and ENTIRE, 8hr. day at a friends house recently, and it was hard on me! Many parents find the first day of Kindergarten hard, and I have a good friend who was in a puddle of tears for a couple days after her last child headed off to school and she was home alone. So while taking the responsibility of your child's education is a little nerve-wracking, I can't imagine the other route being any easier. Again, just different challenges.
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So I guess my reply to the first two comments should be that I'm actually an impatient wimp!
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The last comment, well, everyone needs a break from their kids from time to time. But in general, I want my kids around me most of the time. I don't really understand why someone wouldn't! I don't want to miss out on all those precious moments! The ones that come when an imagination has free reign, uninterrupted by the next school bell, or stifled by concern of not being cool. I wonder if I'll feel differently about all this when they're teens though??
I just found your blog for the first time and I have to say that even though I have been homeschooling for nine years, I still get these same comments all the time! It's strange that even after people talk to me and hear about my kids attending homeschool swimming lessons, homeschool art classes, homeschool field trips, one day a week homeschool school, and regular activities like hockey, soccer, karate, and playdates, I still get asked about their socialization! And yes, it's true that once in a while, I do think to myself that it might be nice to run errands by myself, the benefits far outweigh the negatives and most days, I'm so glad that I've made this choice. My kids seem glad too.
ReplyDeleteI think this is my first time here too and i totally understand your thoughts and feelings and the questions... been there, am there, doing that... and my guess/bet is that you will still love & LIKE your children as teenagers (and sorry if this sounds biased ~ lol ~ but you will like them because you are homeschooling).
ReplyDeleteAlso wanted to comment... you have a beautiful family! And a great blog :-) (if i can say that after reading only the two most recent entries).