The Blessings of Homeschooling

Our weekend was loads of fun and the boys were very busy.   As I sat back to observe and listen, I could not help but notice all the little ways homeschooling had blessed our family.

Evan had a sleepover with his brother Alec.  Alec really wanted to sleep in Evan's room with him and since my husband was still not home yet with Ian and they were getting along so nicely I agreed.  They "battled" their animals like Pokémon, turned off the light and used Alec's book light to read some Pokémon books before bed.  It was great seeing the boys acting like best friends and even sweeter to see them snuggled together sound asleep when I went in to check on them later that night.

1. I love how close my boys are growing and I think it's largely due to homeschooling.  It's changed the way we all look at things.

2. It's also helped me to stop and look at the big picture; which is more important fostering wonderful bonds between brothers or having one day of tired/cranky kids?! 

      
Ian came home so proud of himself for using the chair lift and skiing some of the "big" trails.  From what my husband was telling me we've created a monster.  Ian did not want to stop skiing and come home!  He just loved it and I could see how excited and proud of himself he was.

3. It's great to be able to watch them all learn new skills!

4. Homeschooling has helped me to stop and enjoy the little moments.  

Over the weekend the boys worked on their snow fort.  It's so much fun to watch them brainstorming ideas and working together!

5. Our lives are not as rushed or as scheduled so we feel more free to really enjoy each moment.

The older boys had indoor soccer Sunday afternoon and learned some new skills and techniques.  They are really enjoying these soccer "classes" since they are very non- competitive and focus mainly on ball handling skills.

We ended our night last night trying to teach the boys to jump rope.  All three boys have been playing with Alec's jump rope non- stop since Friday.  I loved that we spent almost 30 minutes after dinner playing/exercising.  We showed the boys how to hold the rope and move forearms in a circle to make the rope turn in a nice smooth motion, we playing limbo, jump the rope, jump the snake, and all sorts of other fun games with the rope until the boys were tuckered out enough to go have showers and get ready for bed. 
   
6. We spend so much more quality time together as a family!  Nights that we used to spend watching TV or pursuing our own interests now find us looking for ways we can spend that time together.

 Evan came in bright and early this morning to show me the Lego Dino that him and his dad put together last night.  He wanted me to take a picture and share it since he was so proud of it.

 He had a whole story behind the pterodactyl about how his two heads help him see danger in either direction, the double sets of wings that help him fly faster both in and out of the water, and the pointy beaks that he pretended were sharp and pointy like a saw nosed shark.  It was great listening to him.

7. All three boys have grown by leaps and bounds in their confidence. 

He then started talking about flying fish and asked me a few questions about them so we used my kindle to look up flying fish on the National Geographic website.  We read all about them and looked at where they live on the world map.

It was a great, informative, short impromptu lesson while snuggled in bed!

8. Homeschooling allows us to learn about what they are interested in so we can tailor their learning to their interests and they often teach me a thing or two along the way too. 

We were joined by his brother Alec very shortly after that.  Alec played words with friends and listened while I read a book about John Deere tractors to them both.    Both of my youngest two love to stay in their pajamas and snuggle in mom and dad's bed and I cherish those moments.   Ian came in to show me his latest barge, excavator and sluice box that he made out of Lego's.

9. I love the time my boys have to really play and use their creativity.  We have so much more free time for them to just build and create.

10. I'm amazed at how independent they've all become in just a short time. 

We've worked a lot on teaching life skills like cooking, cleaning, and picking up after ourselves.  The boys are, not only, catching on but are enjoying learning all these new skills.  All three boys made their own breakfast and lunch today, as well as getting all ready for the day.