Well can I just first say, I'm no fan of the school run. Give me a relaxing start to the day every day, time to talk to the children about their morning thoughts and instructing them about getting ready for the day, rather than anything like a mad rush to pack them off to school. At our mid-terrace home, the official start of the day is no earlier than 8, and we gently warm up to a slow but calm start, breakfast, pottering in the kitchen and helping out, ahead of other things that we plan to do the rest of the day. We are part of a parent-run co-op nursery (which is FANTASTIC, by the way, and I think there ought to be more of those up and down the country), and even the latest time of arrival of 9:45 can only be achieved at a push. My sincere hope is that I won't end up needing the '40 tips to make the school run a piece of cake'.
I deeply enjoy my children's company, although I do not always actively try to engage them in every single daily activity - sometimes it is just as nice seeing them immersed in their own little world of play. And frankly, boredom, in the absence of adult-led turbo-driven entertainment, often generates the greatest creativity. This has to be the first reason for even contemplating home education in the first place. This is not at all a boast and every woman/man thinks differently about their very own children and how much time they would like to spend with them, but from their births they have truly been an extension of me. The choice for me to stay at home to look after them was an easy one for multiple reasons, and I have in most part not regretted it - the fruits are there for all to see, or at least for a doting mother. It is inexplicable the amount of delight there is in seeing them develop, first mostly physically, then gradually visibly in their verbal, cognitive and emotional expressions. And to top that off, to know that to a great degree you have contributed to a large degree to their path of development provides a huge amount of satisfaction.
It is joy for me to see them relish in their surroundings, be it a museum that I have intentionally taken them to (for my own profit or theirs as well), or literally a pile of horse poo that we stumble upon. Woe to those who are met with a resounding silence when they ask their children after a day in school, 'so what did you do today in school?'
I'd much rather there be a gentle awakening of their little individualities and personalities, than the more sudden one that their introduction to long hours of school would require, if they were schooled. Late primary, or secondary school education could still be on the cards, but while they actually enjoy being with mummy, why not keep them by my side?
