Lets Talk Homeschool

You know the cliche: When life gives you lemons…make lemonade. Sure enough I had planned on making lemonade this week, but I didn’t have the lemons. They were on my grocery list. I also didn’t have the book, Lentil, we were planning on studying–it was at the library. So I figured that on Monday morning, with all my exciting plans for the week in place, I’d load up the kids, run a few errands and return home to make some refreshing lemonade to kick-off our study of North America.

And yesterday morning, as I was getting myself ready to begin our day, I heard those dreaded words, “Mom, I think I’m going to be sick.”

No, you can’t be sick. Not today. We have plans and we’re going to make lemonade.

But even with all my precise planning, I can’t control those nasty viruses that invade our lives.

Fortunately, we are fairly relaxed homeschoolers. I do make plans, but I’m not a slave to them. As excited as I was about beginning a study I knew my children would love, I put it on hold to take care of immediate issues. And though my children were disappointed in the postponement of plans, I never heard a complaint as they made their own lemonade of sorts: they each unexpectedly rose to the challenge to care for their sick sister. One sister brought out a movie to watch and another gathered crayons and paper so they could color together.

These things aren’t necessarily taught, they are demonstrated. Viruses can’t be written into a planbook, but service to others–whether a neighbor or your own child–can be shown daily. I’m thankful that my children are learning to take their own initiative to care for each other. For me, that’s life’s greatest lemonade.