Homeschooling Responsibility
Homeschooling Children learn much more than books
Homeschooling our children also means training them to clean up after themselves! Oh yes, homeschooling is much more than books.
As a child, one of my favorite stories was Du Bose Heyward's The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes. I still love it, but as a homeschooling mom, I get a lot more out of it now than I did then. You see, even though the bunny had many children, she taught them all a special job, and so all the housework got done every week. Now, I do not have enough children to cover all my chores, but it is worth a shot.
Homeschooling implies schooling at home. Although we do not spend all day, every day in our house, we are there a great deal more of the time than our public-school counterparts. Therefore, the house is "lived-in" more, things are used more, space is occupied more. This all adds up to more mess.
Homeschooling my children is like a full-time job, most of the time. Since my family insists on eating, then making dinner at the end of a long day is a priority. I have a few other committments in the evenings. Which all leaves little time for chores on the back of this mother.
Our homeschooling children have the opportunity to learn so much more than books can teach. We can also instruct them how to help around the house. After all, we all live there; we should all be part of taking care of household needs. Even young children can be taught simple jobs that help parents with day-to-day chores - picking up their toys, wiping the table, taking out the recycling, helping to shuffle the laundry around, and much more.
Participating in housework and other family chores helps children in several ways:
- Family love - Families must work together. It takes every person to make a family function well. Children are an important part of this, too.
- Training for life - Your child may outgrow the desire to paint with water on the patio, and may advance beyond the multipliction table. However, teach him to do laundry, and you have a skill he will use the rest of his life!
- Homeschooling requires everyone to pitch in. Mom (or Dad) cannot be responsible for everything.
- A sense of responsibility - There is a lot of pride in a job well done. When your daughter feeds the cat, she is helping a creature who cannot ask for food itself. It is dependent on her for food. Having regular jobs helps children develop self-esteem and confidence.
As homeschooling parents, we can embrace this concept. We must learn ourselves that we cannot do it all. Homeschooling is a big job, and we cannot find time to homeschool, cook, and keep a clean house every day (okay - I know I can't!). Our children are not our slaves, but they are part of the family, and a family must work together.
Homeschooling is so wonderful precisely because we are not confined to textbooks and public-school subjects. If your children complain, call them "life-skills" instead of chores!
