A Strange and Weird Thought...

Yesterday morning, a strange thought came out of the blue.

And it was this.  Next school year, our older SIX children would be able to go to the local public school if we wanted them to do so.

Our 6th child will turn 5 in August, so legally could attend kindergarten in the fall. She'd be one of the very youngest children, but she could do it.  For that matter, I started kindergarten at the tender age of 4 because my birthday is in October and the cutoff was later in those days.

And IF we did that, I'd have a toddler and a new baby at home with the other 6 gone at least a few hours of the day.

Weird thought.  I'd have time to clean and cook and do laundry.  Wow.

It is not on the table, though.

It is interesting how various families approach homeschooling.  For some, it is something the family evaluates year to year.  There are some families who choose to homeschool one child and have the others attend public school. Others homeschool some years and send their kids to ps others years.  Some homeschool through a certain age, like junior high or high school, and then send the children to public school.

We made the decision to homeschool when Naomi was a baby, and as the years have gone by, the commitment to it has grown stronger.  Public school is not on the table for us.  Private Christian school isn't really either because of finances and the difficulty of transportation.  And really, many of the things about public school that I don't like exist in private school as well. One BIG issue for us is that we think it unnatural for young people to spend most of their day with a bunch of people their own age, with only a few teachers to provide a more mature prospective on life.

I have been feeling overwhelmed about next year, I admit it.  I'll have a 7th grader, a 6th grader, a 4th grader, a 2nd grader, a kindergartener, a preschooler, a very busy 1 year old, and a new baby!

That is CRAZY.

One thing I am doing is praying for wisdom.  It may be that I need to change how we are doing things, maybe especially for Naomi.  She is, as I've said, an excellent student.  She will be entering 7th grade, though, and her academic requirements grow more rigorous every year.  Perhaps I need to consider a computer based curriculum for at least some subjects.  A dear friend has her 2 children taking courses through the Potter's School, an online Christian academy. 

So, Lord, please help me to know what YOU want me to do.  Help me to be willing to change what I am doing if I should, and stay the course in areas that are working well. Help me to know and trust that our children can and will thrive at home spiritually, emotionally, and academically.