Seeing Progress

Sometimes with homeschooling, it seems as if we work every day and nothing happens. Then Reagan will burst forth and make huge strides in a short period of time. I've decided that sometimes a break from book learning is just as important as the work we put in day after day. It's as if I'm pouring the knowledge on, and the breaks allows it to sink in.

I've often said that parenting is a true lesson in delayed gratification. I wont know if I've done a good job for a number of years yet. The end result is a healthy and good person, ready to go out into the world as a child of God. At least that's the end result I'm hoping for. Homeschooling adds another level of pressure. If they don't have the knowledge they need, there will be no one to blame but myself.

I'm not totally flying blind. I have the guidance of my faith, and many successful parents who have gone before. But it's still a scary endeavor.

So, when Reagan reads the story about the honest woodsman, and understands that there is a reward for honesty and goodness, even though it might not be gold and silver, it really makes me proud. When he does his Math problems, and gets almost every answer right, it makes me proud. When he reads the magazine all about mummies and we look up different countries on our atlas, it makes me proud. And when I realize that his character is progressing just as much as his studies, I'm so very very proud.

Yes, homeschooling is more difficult in some ways. But when I look at my child, and he's still innocent, he loves people, he's learning, and he's not interested in all the things of the world, I know it's all worth it. He's making progress, and so am I.