Creeping

You know how vines creep, sometimes rather quickly, up the wall and through the window? An old house may have nice green ivy floors and wallpaper after several years of abandonment.

As I gaze about my house, I've noticed that books and curriculum have begun to spread out from their original small shelf in the dining room. They've claimed several shelves in the living room. There are lesson plans strewn out on the dining room table (which is now in the living room as the dining room has been completely eaten up by the homeschooling vine). My office has stacks of our new Tapestry of Grace binders and Dolch word flash cards awaiting their appointment with the scissors. Often, our Pathway Readers are left on the couch. And, I'm always finding bits of cut-up construction paper on the floor. I suspect this is due to my four-year-old's recent interest in scissors.

Yes, homeschooling has changed our home. It is a different place than it would be if my children attended school during the day. Heck, I might actually have a dining room! But, I wouldn't trade those sweet moments of reading with my children on the couch, or sweeping up the paper scraps for the long days of wondering how they're doing. Because of homeschooling, I know exactly how their reading is progressing, and whether or not they're learning to obey cheerfully. Sure, there are wonderful parents who are able to send their children to school and still remain very aware and involved with them, and that's great. But, I'm glad see the vine spreading in our home. It makes me smile because I know that He has called us to this, and because I get to see so many of their smiles.