Adventures in Parenting

Much to my surprise, Elisabeth enjoys doing word searches! (I didn't think she would have the stamina to search for the words.) She just plopped herself down on the couch with a Highlights word search and started finding and circling the words - and reading them aloud.

Clearly she gets all her intelligence from her mother.

Yesterday Rebecca took her fourth set of board examinations, this time in pediatrics. Her endurance in work and study is truly amazing.

Today marked the first day of school for Elisabeth - the first day of home school. Just as I had never envisioned myself being a full-time father before I left teaching to be with Elisabeth, I don't think I ever picked myself as a homeschooler. If it even approaches the joy of being a stay-at-home dad, I don't think I'll be disappointed.

Why have we made this decision? I've come across reactionary calls to "get our children out of government schools" and, like most reactionary rhetoric, don't find them beautiful or compelling. Our decision comes from a positive view of parenting, education and social engagement. At the core of our decision (which I think, at this point, leaves the door open to home, public or private education in the future) are a few fundamental assumptions:

1. Parents are primarily responsible for the nurture and education of their children. (This is why no one takes parents to court who choose to enroll their child in a private school.)
   
2. Parents exert the greatest influence on a child's life by the responsible decisions they make - including how to educate them.
   

So we have deliberately chosen (for this year, at least) to provide that nurture and education in our home, where we can provide a rich, loving, and inviting learning environment. This is, I think, a significant part of the vision of the kingdom of God, "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the wicked to the wisdom of the just" (Luke 1:17). It is the restoration of the most primary human relationships to reflect the wise and loving design of God to make the family the primary unit of worship, instruction and community.

Over the past week, I have been bringing our little size 1 soccer ball to the park every day when we go out to play. Over the week I have seen a dramatic improvement in Elisabeth's coordination and skills.

I shouldn't be surprised, because I know just how important nurture is in the development of age-appropriate skills, but it still amazed me how frequent practice advances development.