The Joys of Teens

These two. Pieces of my heart literally floating ahead of me, pretty much all the time now.

Homeschooling my two children into the teen years and highschool continues to be the most wonderful experience. So many are surprised that I’ve continued into these years, questioning why they would want to stay home, and why I would want them home. But you know what?

Beyond the usual reasons for choosing homeschooling, this part of the journey has been so. much. fun!

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little bit surprised. I already knew I enjoyed my children’s company, but as they get older and more independent, there is this different layer of connection that begins to unfold. No longer are my life forces depleted from the constant level of care younger children need. These big kids can feed themselves, take themselves on walks, regulate and plan their own work times, and all this independence leaves so much time for discussion, hanging out, deep dives into favourite subjects and just being together in the same room, even if we are all doing different things. And laughs. SOOOOOO many laughs!

I used to worry about how I would teach things like math and science at the high school level. I know now that sometimes, just like when they were younger, we need to learn and experience things together, and that’s okay!

As my son pointed out recently, “If you don’t remember it, it shows how much you’ve used this information since high school.”

So true!! (Truth bombs are another thrill of homeschooling this age group. You never know when they are going to drop, lol).