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The Principal of the School
When I first brought up the topic of home education to my husband, his initial reaction was “no way, our kids will be weird and they will miss all kinds of normal stuff!”. Thankfully, we’ve come a long way baby! Now my husband is our biggest cheerleader and supporter of our home education journey.
Husbands can be such an integral part of the day, whether or not they are actively involved in teaching a class. Some dads are responsible for science, others for math, maybe some are in charge of the history lessons for the day. In our house, Dad isn’t responsible for a particular subject. He takes on a much broader role. He’s more like the superintendent, because he is also responsible for funding, maintenance, coach, and cheerleader.
Maybe some home educating moms desire a husband who will take charge of math, or science, or whatever. But my husband has a job that keeps him more than busy, I would prefer his time with us to be spent on more relaxed family activities like reading aloud, nature walks, bike rides, etc
What he does do is vitally important to the success of our day/month/year. He is a tremendous source of encouragement for all of us. Just the mere fact that I know he prays for us during the day is extremely uplifting.
He has gone from thinking home education was odd and our kids would be “weird”, to seeing it as been a great opportunity for our family. Sometimes the kids will say something throughout the course of dinner or anywhere really and he will catch my eye and say “see they do remember stuff!”.
My husband is a great sounding board for curriculum choices. He and I know our children best and he sometimes has a different insight into a particular child. He often can see the whole picture and not be consumed by the nitty gritty of daily tasks. Many times he can see progress in a particular area that I have missed.
Plain and simple, I couldn’t do this home education journey without his support, encouragement, and laughter!
How has your husband enriched your home education journey?
~ Mama Jen
ABOUT MAMA JEN
Jen is a wife to one amazing husband and mom to six energetic kids. Visit Forever, For Always, No Matter What where she blogs about their Catholic faith, homeschooling and adoption.