Or maybe I’m glad I didn’t…Ok, here goes:

1. How hard it would really be
2. That I would want to try every curriculum out there
3. I would re-arrange my house 37 different ways
4. I would think about it constantly
5. I would doubt myself
6. That I could truly grow to love it.

I started this journey when my oldest child was in 1^st grade. He’d gone to a local private school for Kindergarten that he loved – but I didn’t love what it was doing to our family dynamics. My already strong-willed child came home from school only to battle me for the 2 precious hours I had with him before it was time to get ready for bed and start the whole song and dance routine over again the next day. With the news of a new baby on the way, I couldn’t see it getting any better the next year.

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1. OUR KIDS ARE UNSOCIALIZED

2. YOU HAVE TO BE PATIENT, ORGANIZED & CRAFTY 

3. WE BREED LIKE RABBITS

4. WE ALL WEAR GLASSES AND LIVE TO BE ON THE “GEEK SQUAD”

5. WE KEEP OUR KIDS IN A BUBBLE SO THEY WON’T SEE OR HEAR EVIL

“Those kids have no idea how to live outside their parent’s home. They’ll still need Momma to cut up their meat when they’re 30!”

I remember the first time I made my baby cry.

He was about 6 months old and playing contently on the floor. I reached past him to grab something lying on a table, when I accidentally knocked whatever it was over and it came crashing down on my son’s head instead. Thankfully it didn’t fall too far, wasn’t too heavy or sharp – but it made my precious baby cry. It was a cry I hadn’t heard before. It said, “OOUUCCHH! Mommy that hurt!”

I think it hurt me more.

As life moved on and my kids have gotten older, there are more of life’s objects that crash down on their heads. Accidentally or not. Some leave bruises, or even scars.

I’m still left with the same aching heart – I wish it wasn’t so. I wish they never had to feel the pain of an accidental blow or intentional stab to the heart. It hurts. I wish I could continually lie across them and take the hit myself.

But I can’t.

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1. Our kids are unsocialized

2. You have to be patient, organized & crafty 

3. We breed like rabbits

4. We all wear glasses and live to be on the “Geek Squad”

5. We keep our kids in a bubble so they won’t see or hear evil

So now that I’ve played Tim Hawkins for you, I’m going to change the subject. Are you familiar with the story of Seabiscuit? Seabiscuit was bred a race horse. Except when put on the track, Seabiscuit went every way but straight. He was wild and unruly, walked with a strange gait and was just slow. But something about the horse caught the attention of a cowboy named Tom Smith. He says the first time he saw him, the horse looked straight through him. I have a daughter kinda like Seabiscuit. Set her down with “school-work” and she’s all over the board. From the day I first put words in front of her to read, my daughter has fled the scene like a dog chasing a squirrel. Thinking she was being rebellious, lazy, obstinate or missing a few tools in her toolshed, I pressed in harder. I tried every curriculum I could get my hands on, buying the sales pitch that this one would be the magic solution. Continue reading →

    2. You have to be patient, organized & crafty 

    3. We breed like rabbits

    4.  We all wear glasses and live to be on the “Geek Squad”

    5. We keep our kids in a bubble so they won’t see or hear   evil

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