Today, we took a break from homeschooling

I’m revisiting this post because today is the perfect day to take a break! It doesn’t snow much here in Alabama (I hope I’ll have a fabulous snow photo to show you later), so we are having a “snow day.” I felt a little guilty about this, but after re-reading my post, now I feel confident that I am doing something worthwhile. I hope you enjoy these reflections on homeschooling, and I hope you decide to “take a break” when you need one, too!

Today, we took a break, and by break, I don’t mean simply sitting still for a few minutes while my brain runs 100 mph thinking of the endless to-do lists and laundry.

We stepped away from our daily grind of work, homeschool, and chores. Taking a break is not the same as being lazy; it teaches valuable life lessons. Today’s society teaches us to constantly be pushing forward, always moving, but that’s what we get for living in the age of instant gratification. If we aren’t doing something at all times, like texting on our IPhones, attending conference calls, and answering emails the moment we receive them in our Inbox, then we feel chided by the masses for our lack of initiative.

I’m a homeschooling mom of seven kids. Typically, our mornings, afternoons, and evenings for that matter, are filled with picking up puzzle pieces scattered across the living room floor, solving algebra fractions, learning shapes and colors, washing the never ending pile of dirty dishes, and the list goes on.

But today, in the middle of the school day, we took a break: we chose to play kickball in the yard. There is nothing like a good ole game of kickball to get your blood pumping. In fact, it’s a perfectly acceptable reason for fresh grass stains on your pants legs. Yes, we did go over our normal 15 minute break time, but it was all in the name of fun!

It was a blessing to watch all 7 children work together — some coaching, some cheering, and the others simply being silly. The dynamic mix of teamwork and positive compliments evoked a powerful emotion for me as a mother: it gave me a sense of pride and thanksgiving to be blessed with such an amazing family.  It’s this mom’s dream that when I’m 70 and my kids are parents of their own kids, they will still want to be out in the yard playing a good ole game of kickball.