Yes, It is True

The news is trickling out....Is it true?  Are we really coming back to homeschooling?  What?  I thought you guys liked Cresset.  I thought you liked teaching.  Well, it is true, mostly.  We are homeschooling again next year.  I'm as surprised as anyone.  It is official though.  For the record we do like Cresset. A. LOT.  So it was not a flippant decision.  However, we also liked homeschooling.

Andrew is staying at Cresset.  The plan is for him to graduate there May 27, 2016 (Be still my soul....How in the world is that possible?!?)The rest of us are coming home.  The why is not as easy to answer other then to say it is where the Lord is leading us this year.  We always have the questions, soul searching, conversations this time of year......"What are we going to do next year?"  We take homeschooling year by year.  We are not married to it.  Last year I thought may have been the end.  God was moving us in a new and beautiful and exciting direction; Cresset.

Cresset was EXACTLY what we needed.  It provided structure, discipline, fun, opportunities, relationships, challanges, and wonderful learning experiences.  We learned the dailiness of school in a way homeschoolers can not.  Yes in homeschool we had school daily, but getting up, getting dressed, and having to be somewhere at a certain time each day whether you felt like it or not is an important life lesson.  Coming home and managing time and getting homework and projects completed and working more created more discipline in my children and in me.  Cresset let our family experience.....Spelling Bees, Math Olympics, Mary Poppins, Speech Meets, Swim Team, Cheerleading, Homecoming, Prom, Family Tree Presentations, Creating Candy Tress, Projects, Book Reports, Recess, PE, Music Class, Art Class, Technology, Library, Spanish, Spelling Tests, Pi Day, Report Cards, Greek and Roman Festivals, International Night, Class Trips to DC, Yearbooks, Spirit Week, Nations Notebooks, Book It ...and so much more!

Friends, Co-workers, Administration, the Lunch ladies, the kids, the families, oh the people we will miss!  So many sweet souls in one place.  One of the hardest parts of living is falling in love with people and then moving on in different directions.  I will miss so many people and so will my sweet kiddos.  We developed sweet friendships some will survive the move and some may not, but all are held dear.

One of the biggest blessings of Cresset was the challenge it presented to some of my less motivated kids to get busy.  A couple of my kids grew so much academically this year that it is truly staggering.  Where they are now is not where they would be had they not been at Cresset.  They needed the peer pressure to work harder.  They needed a different teacher.  They needed high expectations from someone other than their Mama and my did they surpass my highest expectations!  I'm so proud of how hard they work and how much they accomplished.

Finally, I will say that this Mama needed to grow in ways I could only grow outside the home.  I realized this year how insulated my family was to the rest of the community.  We didn't rub shoulders with others enough.  Don't get me wrong we were not hermits but we also were not enough engaged with others.  I realized this year the wonderful ideas that come out of community.  I realized there were a lot of points of view and mine or my kids was not always the only one or the "right" one.  I learned that teachers work really hard and that you really do fall in love with the kids in your class even the pesky ones.  I learned I like teaching.  A. Lot.  I think I will definitely teach professionally again one day.  Maybe even at Cresset if they will have me.  It was a sweet year.  One to be remembered.

So if we love it so much why are we leaving?  I think the answer is we are just so homeschooled.  We miss our friends.  We miss our community.  Homeschooling is what we know.  It is what we did for 11 years.  We miss our flexibility.  I miss my kids.  I miss when I was not always busy.  I miss being at home.  I miss cooking dinners and baking cookies and seeing Randy during the day.  I miss blogging.  I miss exercising.  I miss being home on the weekends, instead of running errands I don't have time for during the week.  What about the kids?  Andrew wants to finish at Cresset.  He LOVES everything about it.  The rest of the kids want to be homeschooled.  They will miss things to varying degrees but they do all vote homeschool for now.  Lydia keeps asking if Nanny will come over and help like she used to?!?  So sweet.

I'm nervous about coming back.  Homeschooling well is very hard work.  I get tired thinking about it!  Homeschooling is also a lot of character work and at our house with all our charming personalities that can at times become explosive.  It's sometimes easier to be patient with other peoples children then with your own.  The dailiness and togetherness can make interactions challenging.

I'm going to miss Cresset.  I'm going to miss my friends.  I'm glad Andrew will be there and we will have a reason to pop in now and then.  I'm excited about having more time with my family and the adventure the Lord has laid out for us this coming year.  I will tell you this; No matter how hard it is and how long the days are it goes FAST!  My firstborn is almost a senior.  Not even possible.  He is taking SAT's and looking for scholarships and visiting colleges.  Oh my word. I am not ready....but he is.  He is so ready and I am so proud of him.  He's a great kid.  I just can't believe I'm almost done with having him in my home.  He's ready though.  I can see those wings unfurling.