At three thirty every afternoon a dingy yellow school bus rambles past our house. My oldest and I are invariably working on math lessons while the little ones sleep, or, at least, are in their room supposed to be asleep. My son gazes wistfully out of the window wishing he could be finished. Then I hear the dreaded question,

Can I go to school?

Honestly, this hasn’t been much of an issue. My son once stated he wanted to home school in college. I replied, “That is not going to happen, but I will attend university with you, if you don’t mind.” Bug laughed, but I think he got the point. Someday it is time to leave home.

How do I address this question on the occasions it does arise? Knowing my son’s personality, it is not an entirely honest question. It is based on his perception. Multiplication problems are not his idea of fun. The children bouncing on the bus are on their way home to eat, to play, to relax. Or, are they?

Reviewing reality, I discuss our daily schedule versus wake up at 6:30 a.m., eat breakfast, leave, and return home at 3:30 p.m. with homework. Granted, sometimes this idea sounds nice to me. Those days that I want to quit. Those days the dog slurps the spilled milk off the table, and a toddler doesn’t quite make it to the bathroom. Those days lessons stall, because of interruptions. Then I think of what my days would resemble if my son did attend school elsewhere. My house might be clean, but I would miss sharing the daily stuff of life.

My son acknowledges this, too. He realizes we have time. Time to enjoy breakfast. Time to watch the birds. Time to reason. Time to rest. Time to imagine. When I hear the bus coming, I no longer cringe. Remembering the reasons we home school benefits both of us. We do have time. I don’t have to rush. I want to cherish the joy of the moment.

Renae homeschools her three children laying Christ as the foundation of all subjects. She enjoys children's literature and delights in the daily discovery of truth. When her children are grown, she intends to go back to school to officially become a teacher, so she can inspire more generations to live in liberty. She will also finish at least half of the scrapbooks and sewing projects she started. Renae writes about life and learning at Life Nurturing Education.