One of the Many Reasons...

Reason #13,701 that I love being a home school family starts with a story.

Imagine a little boy, grabs his lunch, kisses his mom goodbye and hops on the school bus. He's headed for a day with his teacher and third grade classmates. He enjoys a morning filled with math and reading time, then finds himself ready for lunch as his tummy grumbles. When instructed, he heads towards the cafeteria with his lunch his mother packed with love.

He arrives at the lunch room and stops to survey the best place to enjoy his break. First he sees the tiny but sweet kindergartners enjoying their pb&j's and grapes. They aren't quite as mature as he is but they're still having lots of fun. He looks a little farther over and sees all his best buds sitting together eating their cool kid lunchables. He knows he'll have great conversations with them about all their favorite video games and best poop jokes. He puts on a smile and he walks over to hang out with the kindergartners to make new friends.

What would you think about a scene like this in schools today? Is this typical or rare for classroom students? Would he be labeled "weird" for interacting with children not in his grade?  How often in your environment or work place do you interact with people who are only exactly your age?

One wonderful outcome of having the privilege to home school is my children are learning to interact with many different age groups throughout their education. While they spend the day with their older/younger siblings, they are learning how to enjoy different age groups. I believe this will serve them well when they become independent men in the workforce. They will have the ability and desire to appreciate all different age groups.

I witnessed this in my oldest son this weekend when we spent the morning with neighbors at our favorite coffee house, Pearland Coffee Roasters.  Our neighbors have two girls, 5 and 3 years old,  and a baby boy. I watched my son as he happily played a game of Dora dominoes with them because he knew they would like it. I remember being a third grader and I remember how important it was to be cool and shed "baby" ways. But here was my son, adapting to another age group easily.

And I was reminded that the work I am doing with them is so important and so valuable.