My House is a Mess! (abbreviated)
My house is a mess. I want to get down to the business of schoolwork with my children, but the clutter is getting in the way. Colorful Legos® dot the floor like land mines ready to be stepped on. Books have escaped the prison of the shelves and lie open, hiding in freedom in the stairway alcove. The box of craft supplies exploded and the debris lies in creative concentric circles. The two dishes I left in the sink last night mated. Their offspring now enjoy the run of the table and the counter top. The piles of laundry I lovingly folded now lean like a famous monument, inching their way to the edges of the washer and dryer.
I survey the damage and feel overwhelmed. I yearn for the day when I can sit at the table with my kids and their lessons and open their minds to all the wonderful "stuff" the world has to offer, without the distractions that our daily living heaps upon us.
But after years of homeschooling, I know this is not the dream I want realized. I am living my dream. The Legos are not just creations, they are lighthouses. They are modeled after the lighthouse we visited on a trip to Florida...
The books in the alcove had help escaping. There is never a complete set of encyclopedias on the shelves; my children squander them in their rooms...
The clothes would have been put away if we hadn't had a field trip to the state park for a program on birds. They would have gotten put away later, but we had to meet with other homeschoolers for a Lenten activity. Later that night, they were still patiently waiting to be tended to, but I was playing Monopoly and reading to my children.
I would like my house to be neat and tidy, but now is not the time. Webster defines education as "the development of knowledge, skill, ability, or character by training, study, or experience." He defines "learning" as "the gaining of knowledge or skill." In our homeschool, we do this in the distractions of our lives, not exclusive of them...
Work is still done at the kitchen table, but most of the learning is done around the house. And it is done in an environment that not only encourages, but expects them to be respectful, compassionate, helpful, and encouraging to each other...
This is what education is all about — taking what is being learned and assimilating it into their everyday playing and living. So yes, my house is a mess, but more importantly... my children are not.
About the author...
Lancaster resident, Kim Blum-Hyclak, has homeschooled three of her five children over the past 20+ years. She has seen many changes in homeschooling over those years and believes homeschooling has been one of the most rewarding experiences she's had. Kim's youngest is now a high school senior and is entering his local public high school for the first time this year. As Kim's years of homeschooling are coming to an end, Kim is looking forward to doing more writing, gardening, and learning of her own.
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