Snow Day and Reflection

We got 10 inches of snow in the past 36 hours. Not a ton of snow for us, but enough to get a snow day (except for my poor kiddos, of course) and to keep Ben home from work as well. We celebrated with a pancake breakfast and the kids staying in pjs until way past what one might consider appropriate.

In a desperate effort to try to get excited about a never ending winter, we issued a fun challenge on FB where people predicted how much snow we would get (winner to receive cookies), so the girls excitedly went out to measure the snow. Their own predictions were quite high- 15 and 16 inches. So every couple of hours they would say, "Look! There's a lot of snow- that's over a foot!"

But, no such luck.

I might let them have a cookie each, though, for helping measure the snow.

Then they played in the snow for an hour, even though it is quite cold. They buried Claire. She thought it was awesome, but I had to explain the dangers of doing such an activity- after taking a picture, of course. I think, like all of us, they are missing sandy beaches right about now.

And now for just a little bit of reflection...

In the past couple of weeks I have had two moms reach out to me in regards to homeschooling. One had her son expelled from his private school and has no choice except to homeschool, and another is a good friend of mine whose son is struggling with some ADD and other issues. She wants to homeschool her son, but her husband is adamantly opposed.

It's always interesting talking to people who genuinely want to know about homeschooling. It causes me to think of all the great perks about homeschooling. I completely understand that most people assume we are social outcasts raising misfits, but the last several months I have really felt grateful for the opportunity to homeschool, so I really don't care what others think. We are just able to do so much more stuff! There are so many awesome opportunities that we get to take advantage of.

I do not think that homeschooling is for everybody- I still believe in public schools, teachers, and the power of a strong educational system that educates everybody, not just a select few as in centuries past.

But, this is working for us. Yes, sometimes I am exhausted. Yes, sometimes the kids are grouchy and refuse to do their work. And yet, our favorite part of the day is still snuggling on the couch every afternoon to do our daily reading. We muddle through as best we can, with Claire now reading at a 4th grade level, and Audra at a 7th- so we must be doing something right.

Best of all, we get to lead a slower paced, family first lifestyle. It's not for everybody- but it is for us.