An Accidental Homeschool Mom

 Today we were archeologists on a dig.  With shovels and hands we excavated treasures.  We found a lost civilization.  Even archeologists get hungry.  We had to stop for lunch.  Last week we were oceanographers and world travelers.  The week before we were geologists and business owners.  In between there are snacks and sometimes the little one takes breaks and says she is tired and just wants to color.

I am a homeschool mom.  That was not on my list of to-be jobs.  It was not in my life plan.  That is not to say that I am not fully in it now.  I am committed to it.  My husband and I made this decision after much deliberation.  I am just saying that it is not a very lauded title and sometimes it is difficult for me to admit that the this is my life.  There, I said it.  First I have to admit to people that I stay home with my children, difficult enough on its own.  Then, I further have to acknowledge that I am in charge of their education.  No, it does not flow from my mouth.

Yet here I am a couple years into this most daunting of tasks and somehow my children are surviving, may I say, even thriving.  As I write this, they have moved on from our earlier school activity, the above mentioned dig, and are creating their own version.  They have elevated the game to a level I had not previously imagined.  They are immersed in their roles as archeologists, determined in their quest to learn all there is about this lost civilization.

Today is one of those days that makes being their teacher easy.  They want to learn.  They crave learning.  They pursue it with an energy that is contagious.  Tomorrow may be a different story.  Tomorrow we may wake up late.  We may be grumpy and not want to sit still or do any of the planned activities.  I may have to improvise a lot in order to get any response out of them.  I may be very exhausted by mid-day and want to take a nap (not that that has ever happened.)

No, I did not plan on this before having children but I am here now.  I am doing this now.  I may not be doing this next year or the year after.  I don’t have a master plan.  I’m not a master plan kind of person.  Unless you consider a master plan having children who live life to the fullest, love God with all their heart and know how to learn creatively.  As master plans go it’s the best I have right now but it’s the one we’re working on and we work on it daily.