That’s it

Dear Homeschool Mom,

As you look to the start of another homeschool year, I know it is tempting to be fully in this moment in time. You are thinking about this year’s curriculum, the daily schedule, the first read aloud, how to manage co-op with nap schedules, potty training and learning the multiplication tables, sports practices and checking everything off your school to do list every day.

But I’d like to invite you to look past those things for just a moment.I’d like you to look far past them into the last year of homeschooling your kiddos. And I’d like you to ask yourself this question: “What will I wish I made more time for?”

As a mom who homeschooled all four of her children from day one to day 4,748 (that’s 13 years) and now has only a few years left homeschooling her last child, I have some experience with this.

Since that is the case, I’ll share with you the same conclusion I’ve come to with each kid I’ve graduated: make more time for being together. That’s it. It really is that simple.

The classes and courses and activities that feel so important you get in every year, really aren’t the most important thing. Finishing that math book or fine arts curriculum are not the most important things. But making time for reading aloud lots of books on the couch or on a blanket in the back yard, that’s the stuff that lasts. Starting every school morning with the Bible or a devotion, and talking together while you linger over breakfast instead of rushing into the day, that matters. Spending time teaching them how to load the dishwasher and the washing machine, letting them help you in the kitchen even though it takes longer and is messier, is just as important as memorizing history dates. Saying yes to adventure days at the beach, the park, a museum or a hiking trail and where you have no measurable data to show for it other than a heart full of memories are the things that both you and your kids will hold onto for the rest of your life.

So as you look at the school year ahead, be sure to carve out more time for being together. That, after all, is one of the greatest gifts homeschooling.

Whatever you do, don’t miss it.

With joy from,

Greta Eskridge