I’ve noticed more ‘thankful for’ posts on social media recently as we head into Thanksgiving week. And it’s made me think about thankfulness from a homeschool perspective.

This time of year brings to mind the children’s story of five field mice, four of whom work extremely hard over the summer to store away enough food for the winter. And then there’s Frederick. While everyone else is toiling away, Frederick is just sitting and staring at the meadow.

“Frederick, why don’t you work?” they asked.

“I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days.”

Frederick by Leo Lionni

Yeah, I’ve always thought Frederick was a bit of a slacker. But he did perform an important task. As a homeschool mom, you probably think you don’t have time to gather the rays of sunshine. You’re too busy with the day to day of homeschooling.

However, you need to delegate one part of your brain – one mouse – to sit around and take note of the ‘rays of sun’ in your homeschooling. Hoard them, treasure them, write them down, and remember them.

These memories are what sustain you through the bleaker times in homeschooling. And yes, we all have bad times. Whether it’s flagging motivation, tricky math, a dud lesson plan (yes, I do those every so often), or Covid, you need to remember the good times.

Be Grateful for the Big Things

More than anything, I’m thankful that I’ve been able to homeschool. Looking at it from a purely selfish perspective, I can see how much I’ve learned and grown personally. Although we start homeschooling for our children, I think those of us who stick it out long-term realize that we are gaining just as much along the way.

A big part of the joy of homeschooling for me is the ability to create and adjust our lessons as we go along. Our curriculum has expanded over the years to reflect our fascination with the world we live in and all that we can explore through books and lessons and outings and more. This includes:

  • All the books we’ve read and all the books still waiting for us.
  • The interesting people we’ve met – US Marshalls, bronze workers, field biologists, the mayor, an assisted living resident, and countless more. They are our lab instructors.
  • All the friends we’ve made. Those who have come and gone and those who have stayed with us on our homeschool journey.
  • The programs we participate in like National History Day, the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots and Shoots Program, and Green Mountain Youth Speakers. They’ve given us structure and a larger view of our world.
  • All the time we’ve spent outside. This is a huge one for us, whether it’s camping, hiking, playing in the park, or just hanging out in our backyard.

My thankfulness extends to the projects we’ve safely accomplished. My kids have:

  • Made rockets and catapults and never put anyone’s eye out.
  • Used a lot of power tools… again, everyone still has all their limbs and digits.
  • Ditto with the sewing machine, stove, oven, and various kitchen appliances.

(I feel like I should knock on wood at this point.) I’d also like to mention that we did NOT have to call the fire department when our smoke bomb – made per the instructions in our science book – got a little out of control that one time.

Be Grateful for the Small Things

I have so many memories of our homeschooling days. Funny things my kids said. Dumb things I said. All the laughter. The times when I didn’t feel like laughing and our day magically did a 180. The times when a lesson or project led us into new exciting territory. Or simply a moment sitting in the sun together.

The majority of these memories are all in my head. You try to take a lot of photos but there are some things you just can’t capture. So you call on Frederick – that slacker mouse who sits around watching – to help you remember. Like he did in the dead of winter when the other mice were all cold and disheartened.

“Close your eyes,” said Frederick, as he climbed on a big stone. “Now I send you the rays of the sun. Do you feel how their golden glow…”

Frederick by Leo Lionni

Homeschool for any length of time and you will experience times of bountiful harvest as well as lean and bleak days. Through it all, I wish you the sustaining golden glow of Frederick’s rays as you look at thankfulness from a homeschool perspective.