This morning at breakfast I got to wondering: What would you miss if your dear children went to public school and you did not spend quantity time with them? I am looking for specific answers that don't readily come to mind. If you have some, post them in the comments, and I shall compile a list. I think they would make wonderful reasons to encourage others to homeschool.
My inspiration: the sudden realization that if Miss Dog Lover were not here with me, I would not hear her twanging a concert on the elastics the orthodontist provides for dental alignment. Not even iTunes provides that service, last I checked. :)
Arby reports that (he) "would miss Major Havoc’s long-winded explanations of those random ideas that roll around his noggin’ but take FOREVER to be explained, and the huge grin that he gets when he realizes that I understand him. Those are moments that classroom teachers rarely have time for, leaving the Major Havocs of the world frustrated and disappointed."
My friend Christina, over at JugglingPaynes, says she "would miss the endless random discussions that pop up in the course of a day. Most topics revolve around superheroes lately, for example why do Spiderman's villains seem unable to live through the end of a movie? Batman's villains are much better at surviving. If you kill all your villains, who is left to fight? New York needed something like Gotham's Arkham Asylum, where they may as well have installed a revolving door considering how easy it is to escape. ~~ Hang on, the conversation just picked up again over here... "
Cellomom feels she needs to read the comments as they come in "cuz right now, I'm the one with the blank look when ds talks to me sometimes, and I see his frustration. I'm longing for some quiet, and I'm tired of the mess. It's been a long week. I will say I would miss the closeness with my kids. There just seems to be an easy camraderie with them most of the time." Ah, I know that feeling.
Mrs Q may be on the other side of the planet, but her feelings are familiar, too: I would miss the conversations around questions such as, "How many metres of double-sided tape would it take to cover an elephant?"
I'd also miss having a good excuse not to have to stand at the door and listen to the salesperson explain why I should change to their telephone/internet/electricity provider. "I'm sorry I can't talk to you now, I'm very busy homeschooling."
A new friend at Eagle Eye Academy writes that she "would miss those pajama days. Y'know the ones where your kids never get dressed and run around all day from one activity to the next with the excitement of learning! I would miss the adoring "I did it!" faces that they have when sounding out a word or figuring out a math problem!! I can't imagine days without them."
And Kellie (BTW, go vote for her) has a home like mine. She "would miss my messy kitchen table littered with everything from a worn copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond, thirteen pieces of broken chalk, a plastic ruler, a hot pink calculator, the empty wrapper of a Fruit-by-the Foot, and a smudged spelling test dated Sept. 19, 2009. I would also miss the grubby hands that left my table in such a state."
I would miss Major Havocs long-winded explanations of those random ideas that roll around his noggin but take FOREVER to be explained, and the huge grin that he gets when he realizes that I understand him. Those are moments that classroom teachers rarely have time for, leaving the Major Havocs of the world frustrated and disappointed.
I would miss the endless random discussions that pop up in the course of a day. Most topics revolve around superheroes lately, for example why do Spiderman's villains seem unable to live through the end of a movie? Batman's villains are much better at surviving. If you kill all your villains, who is left to fight? New York needed something like Gotham's Arkham Asylum, where they may as well have installed a revolving door considering how easy it is to escape.
Hang on, the conversation just picked up again over here...
Friday, November 6, 2009 - I guess I need to read the comments as they come in...
Posted by Anonymous
cuz right now, I'm the one with the blank look when ds talks to me sometimes, and I see his frustration. I'm longing for some quiet, and I'm tired of the mess. It's been a long week. I will say I would miss the closeness with my kids. There just seems to be an easy camraderie with them most of the time.
I would miss the conversations around questions such as, "How many metres of double-sided tape would it take to cover an elephant?"
I'd also miss having a good excuse not to have to stand at the door and listen to the salesperson explain why I should change to their telephone/internet/electricity provider. "I'm sorry I can't talk to you now, I'm very busy homeschooling."
I would miss those pajama days. Y'know the ones where your kids never get dressed and run around all day from one activity to the next with the excitement of learning! I would miss the adoring "I did it!" faces that they have when sounding out a word or figuring out a math problem!! I can't imagine days without them.
Michelle
www.eagleeyeblogspot.com
I popped over from Arby
I would miss my messy kitchen table littered with everything from a worn copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond, thirteen pieces of broken chalk, a plastic ruler, a hot pink calculator, the empty wrapper of a Fruit-by-the Foot, and a smudged spelling test dated Sept. 19, 2009. I would also miss the grubby hands that left my table in such a state.
i would miss listening to books on cd at lunchtime. i would miss spaz' endless attempts to delay his schoolwork by playing the piano (exasperating though it is for me) and the way he can manage to get me laughing (causing further delays, of course) in the middle of a frustrating writing session. i would miss fuzz' great questions and her exasperation over words and concepts that are "way too easy for fifth grade" and her attempts to make up her own spelling tests (with "real fifth grade words" like phyllosophy and archiology) when i don't come to the table fast enough.
