Don’t Blink!

Yesterday was my daughter’s 5th birthday. When her Mema (Grandma on her daddy’s side) called and asked her what she was doing and if she was in school now, she told her that we do school at home, and no, Mummy had not done school with her that day because it was her birthday. I explained that it was the family tradition, to take off birthdays from school. After all, we don’t have snow days. 😉

I marveled at this conversation because there was such pleasure in my daughter’s voice when she talked about doing school at home. Last year this time she was vehemently telling me she wanted to go to school, and did not want to do school at home with her big sister. As if it was the worst possible thing.

Nowadays we spend time in the mornings with her reading book, learning how to read, and coloring and circling large and small objects, tall and short. We do fun activities on the computer like identifying similar letters (of course, with letters that are often reversed, like p and q, b and d). She has a piano lesson with her sister, who shows her how to hold bubbles in her hands to get her little fingers properly curved over the keys, and we build buildings and watercraft with Legos.

As I grade Geometry work and quizzes, I marvel that the time that I spent with my older daughter, day in and day out, is coming to an end. Soon she will be in college, and her younger sister will take her place in our homeschool “classroom” (because we do school on the deck, on the grass, on the sofa, or even lying on our tummies in bed). The days of me writing newspaper and magazine articles alongside doing school with my older daughter have been replaced with ballroom and ballet lessons and visiting colleges and preparing transcripts. It is surreal, because as long as our days were, the years have seemed so short, and I feel like the last grains of sand are draining in the hourglass.

And yet, in the midst of the high school senior year busyness, there is this little one who wants me to teach her to read, and to write like I do, and who giggles and laughs and completely melts my heart. She will stand in the place my older is leaving, and truly, I think it is a wonder that I have been blessed with her, the one who will keep me from crying and feeling lost when her big sister is no longer here with us.

It is a crazy time, an exciting one, and I go to bed with lists of things that I need to do, deadlines, on my mind.

“Don’t blink.” – I have heard this so many times. The long days made me laugh at the statement sometimes. Now, more than ever, I understand.

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Suzanne

About the Author

Suzanne

Suzanne is a 14-year homeschooling veteran, whose older daughter was accepted into every university she applied to. She is passionate about supporting moms through every stage of homeschooling, and also works with them to find ways of generating an income while they homeschool.

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  • Dallin says:

    Wow…I always thought being homeschooled would be terrible, but this makes it seem appealing. Alas, my days of schooling are past. It may be something for me to consider for my future family though.

    • Suzanne says:

      LOL! Thanks, I am glad I have managed to make you think a little differently. It can be fun, and it can be hard, but it is truly worth it. My husband was the one who decided that his children would be homeschooled after his high school experiences. I thank God he was thinking that far ahead, and followed through with it. The time we have with our children is so short; I cannot imagine what it would be like to not have them here with me.

  • Prep-E-Chick says:

    My children call my husbands mother Mema. lol Such a beautiful article. I was looking into homeschooling my 5th grader, just don’t know where to start.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hello! Thanks so much for coming by, and for your kind words! 🙂

      Re homeschooling, the first think you should do (if you haven’t already) is find out what the homeschool laws are in your state. The best place to find this information is at http://www.hslda.org. You can go to the section where they have the map, and click on the state, and you’ll see the laws, notification required, etc. They should also have information on some homeschool support groups in your state, and you can also search Google for that. It’s great to see if you can get in touch with a few moms close by, so you can meet, talk with them and learn about their experiences, why they are homeschooling, and look at curriculum they use, and any catalogs they may have that they can share with you (homeschool moms always have tons of catalogs, lol). Find out what they like best about the curricula they use (because many have an eclectic collection) and what they like least. Most homeschool moms love to talk about homeschooling, so be prepared for a decent length visit. 😀

      What other kinds of things would be helpful for you to know? If you have particular questions, let me know, and I may write a post or two or 10! 🙂

  • Angela says:

    Yes, the time slips by so quickly. I commend you on homeschooling one daughter to the point of college and starting the entire process all over again now with your five year old. The time you’ll have together with your older one during holidays will be helped along with video chats, emails, text messages and telephone calls. Prayers and Blessings to you all as you transition into this new phase.

    • Suzanne says:

      Thanks, Angela! It is hard to think of it being just three of us again, and I am thankful I have the little to keep me going. 🙂


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