Sometimes parents just don't understand...

My in-laws do not understand what it is to homeschool. They were completely against it at first - they seem to think that the only way a child can learn is to sit in a classroom with 30 other kids and be trained to be like a herd of sheep. They also seemed to feel that there is no way for children to become socially acceptable unless they are subjected to bullies and made fun of because they are different. Also, it is hard for them to comprehend (so it would seem) to not want to send your kids away for eight plus hours a day to get a break from them.

I am not going to lie - it is hard work homeschooling my kids. It would be hard even if I didn't work full time midnights...but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Maybe its completely selfish, but I wouldn't want to give up what I am getting out of it! And I don't think the kids would have it any other way either.

This evening my husband took the kids to stay overnight at his parents house because he has to take his father to the doctor for an early appointment and I would not have been home from work before he had to leave. His mother asked the kids what kind of schoolwork they did today. OK, two things about that...one (the main reason we accomplished nothing today) I am getting sick and had a throbbing congested head and could not give them the attention they deserved, so the did alternate activities that they don't view as schoolwork because its fun. And two, just what I said...there are many things that I do with them that they learn from that I neglect to tell them is "schoolwork" because then I know the activity will suddenly cease to be fun. Deceptive? Yes. Does it work? YES!!

I thing my in-laws don't understand that when you are teaching two children, it doesn't take eight hours a day to teach them what they need to learn. I have a feeling that they will never understand.