An Answer To The Question "How Do You Spend That Much Time With Your Children?"

I get varied responses when non home schooling women find out that I home school my children. The most common one though is, “I could never spend that much time with my kids!” This comment always saddens me since I feel that every day with my kids is a priceless treasure. But I was thinking about that today. If I didn’t already spend every day with my children, would I consider it a priceless treasure? If they had picked up the bad habits and disrespectful behavior a lot of kids learn while away from their parents, maybe I would feel like that too. I have always felt that my children have been given to me as my responsibility and to give that responsibility to someone else could possibly be irresponsible. The Lord told the Israelites that they should keep His commandments and remember His great acts and that they should teach them to their children while they were sitting in their house, when they walked along the way and when they were lying down so that their days would be multiplied. (Paraphrased from Deuteronomy 11:19.) If we want to pass our faith or anything else that we have, down to our children we have to spend time with them and tell them what we want them to know, so that they can have a good life and that their days will be multiplied. I started home schooling my children not just because I wanted to be with them, but because I felt it was my responsibility as their parent. God put them in my arms. Not in the arms of the state, or my neighbor lady, the day care, or even my Mom. So I was diligent and taught them while I was sitting in my house, while we were walking along the way and especially when I was laying down with exhaustion on some particular afternoons! Sometimes it was difficult. Sometimes it was frustrating. A lot of the time I would have rather been doing what I wanted to do instead of what I was supposed to be doing. But now that I am five years into it, I would have to say it’s one of those hard things that is very much worth doing. My boys are nice to be around; they are obedient, and loving. I enjoy spending my days with them. They have a desire to know God and to serve Him with their lives, and they have had the time to develop their own special personalities free from the boxes the world would like to put them into. Home schooling has had its effect on me as well. Having to discipline my children has taught me to discipline myself. Being with them while they were going through inconvenient tantrums and phases, taught me patience and compassion. Being outnumbered by small, dirty, noisy, needy people taught me to depend on God at all times for my strength and for my answers and for all that I need. Certainly He has provided all I have asked for and more. I found that when there was a character issue with my children, my Heavenly Father would remind me of the very scripture that I needed to share with them in each situation. Despite my own less than ideal education, my children are getting a very good one. I am surrounded by a family who though not “perfect” loves and values one other, as well as our friends, neighbors and acquaintances. I actually can enjoy teaching my own children, in addition to spending evenings and weekends with them! I can’t think of one fear that I had going into this that has been realized, but many blessings that I didn’t expect have been bestowed upon me. So, if you think you really can’t spend that much time with your children, I would like to challenge that. I would like to suggest that you can and that you may find it will do you both much good.

No More Wormy Apples

Earlier this spring I wrote an article about growing apples organically. If you’d like to read it, it’s on my gardening page under "Permaculture" below the apple blosom picture. I used trichogramma micro wasps to help control the coddling moth population in my apple grove. I also used a panty hose sock on each apple to make sure no stray worms could get in. This morning four or so apples fell off the tree so we took them inside to see how they were doing. I was very pleased. Not quite ripe yet, but no sign of worms. We made a rustic tart with them. ------------------------------------------------------------------