Painting

There are downsides to homeschooling. For example...my house will never stay clean for more than 2 minutes at a time, and I am the only "bad guy" when it comes to undesirable schoolwork (except the principal, who does get called in from time to time). There are no subs. Some days, more things go wrong than go right.

But, other days are such lovely reminders of why we've chosen homeschooling for our life right now. Last week, the weather was gorgeous. We had a list of schoolwork to complete but the kids had acquired a cardboard box. It was already disassembled, ready for painting. The only thing on their "list" was painting the box. I could tell they wouldn't be able to think about anything else until this pressing need was taken care of. The sun was warm and the breeze was refreshing. So we took the paints onto the grass and took care of business. Schoolwork waited a bit. Patiently, it turns out. 

And my kids were so pleased to create, make a mess, and get a "yes" from Mom. I even sat still in the grass while they worked. To be present in their joy.