Sunflowers, School and September
Thoughts on the start of school with a book, movie, podcast recommendation and the best gluten free (and easily dairy free) Sweet Crescent Rolls recipe I have found.
The shadows are yawning and lingering in our backyard these days. The morning air whispers for a sweater but you will boil in it if you are still wearing it by mid afternoon. My kids are lying on our big hammock and in the distance I can hear the sound of our local elementary recess.
It is the first day of school and I’m feeling a touch wistful.
My husband and I decided to homeschool and almost always feel confident in that decision. I believe that God has called us, specifically me, to homeschool our children and I am at peace with the choice. I would be so bold as to say that I really believe in what we are doing as a family and for our children. I feel a lot of joy about what it means but by saying “yes” to homeschooling we are saying “no” to many things, specifically the first weeks of school.
I love the start of school.
There is nothing quite like the sound of new indoor sneakers squeaking on freshly shined floors or the name tag made especially for you by your new teacher. I love the perfection of an unused white eraser and a new pack of sharpened pencils. September has a unique way of brimming with potential.
My kids don’t know September as I knew it. For them, September is a time to read in the hammock in the afternoon and feel the leaves fall. A month to have the whole park to themselves because the rest of kids are at school. A month of running out to pick apples and grapes in between Math and Science.
We have two raised garden beds in our backyard. Each plant requires a certain amount of space in order to grow well. I like to grow a variety of sunflowers called Russian Giants. True to their name, they grow to a height of 12 or 14 feet and the blooms are the size of large dinner plates. Every sunflower seed takes up the space of 9 lettuce plants or 16 carrots. Every year something doesn’t grow because I grow sunflowers. And, not only do I choose but the plant itself chooses what grows. Sunflowers are allelopathic. They give off toxins in their roots, leaves, stems, flowers and seeds which impede the growth of other plants. They require and intentionally demand a lot of space. Growing them doesn’t always make sense.
When I plant that tiny sunflower seed in the middle of a large empty space I wonder if I have made the right choice. They add nothing to my bank account, table, or freezer. Growing flowers does not fill your stomach and rarely fills your pockets.
But I plant them anyway and then I wait.
That is how I feel about homeschooling. I know people have looked over the fence into our lives and wondered at our choice. They have asked how the kids will do if they miss out on [insert anything you want into this blank] and will they learn enough to get into University. They have wondered if my children will learn to make friends and about the lack of experiences and big vacations because of the missed income. Not to mention the questioning of using my teaching degree for only 3 people for the last 13 years.
And truthfully, as a former public school teacher, I have wondered the same thing at times. From an economic perspective, homeschooling doesn’t make sense. But I am not trying to measure my life by economics, I am growing flowers.
I can think that my kids need to have the same life I did. I can get stuck thinking that if I just control and replicate my own upbringing then I can guarantee they will be alright. But they are not me. Their life will be different because our children are not clones or extensions of ourselves. They are a stewardship and a gift. Our children are God’s and thankfully he is not in the habit of replicating things.
The Biblical witness of Yahweh is that he is a God who does new things. When death and evil have finally been vanquished and all has been set right God says, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelations 21:5) God’s promises fulfilled are accompanied by newness. He certainly asks us to intentionally remember the past but only as a reminder of how he takes care of us, not as a practice of going backwards. And things that are new will look different than what came before.
Whether you are homeschooling or public schooling this year, we are all making choices - saying “yes” to somethings and “no” to others. You might look at how much space or sacrifice one choice requires and you might wonder if you made the right decision. But, I have come to see that raising kids is like planting a garden and that is always about doing something new. Every year, I spread the dirt and plant a new seed, not an old one. And every year I make choices of what I will plant and what I won’t.
My feelings of sadness in September don’t mean I have made the wrong choice. I have no guarantee how this plan is all going to turn out. But one thing I know for certain: after a long wait, when the Russian Giants bloom, I am never disappointed.
Some things you might like:
Gluten Free Sweet Crescent Rolls/Butterhorns:
THIS RECIPE IS SO GOOD. Did that convey my enthusiasm? Growing up I attended a summer camp with INCREDIBLE food. The kitchen was staffed by volunteer mothers and grandmothers from nearby farms and they would cook homemade delights all week. This is where I was first introduced to Mrs.Siewert’s sweet crescent rolls. Yum! This recipe is the closest I have to replicating them. They are best fresh but still pretty good when you warm them up and you can always add a little glaze to sweeten them.
*I easily replaced the dairy items with non dairy items and it still worked. I did half water and half soy milk and used vegan butter instead. Enjoy!
My summer read was - “A History of Christian Thought: From Augustine to the Eve of the Reformation” by Justo Gonzalez. It is really well written and a very accessible introduction to Christian thought. If you have ever wondered what Augustine thought or just what exactly Aquinas was on about - this is a great book.
If you loved the Olympics this summer and wanted to watch just an absolutely incredible story I highly recommend Young Woman and the Sea (it’s on Disney+). This movie is such a powerful true story of perseverance and the challenges that women in sports have had to overcome.
I am loving The Greta Eskridge Podcast found HERE. I have followed Greta for several years and she is such a light in the internet world. She is a fellow homeschooler and spends her time talking about parenting, homeschooling, and chasing joy. But she has also devoted much of her life to helping parents navigate healthy conversations about pornography, sexuality, and our bodies. Her podcast is a gift and I encourage you to listen or take a read or follow her on Instagram @maandpamodern