There sometimes comes a time when a homeschool child requests to attend a regular school. A child’s request to attend school is not confirmation of parental failure. You did nothing wrong. Did you read that? You did nothing wrong. Desiring school is not a reflection of poor homeschooling. It reflects an independent mind that is curious about the considered “norm”. It is natural to wonder if you are missing out or what a day in the life would be like.
Let me tell you something that may shock you; children do not appreciate homeschooling in the same way we do. We have the amazing blessing of watching our children blossom in front of us. We experience the joy of watching them discover new things. We relish the click that occurs when a lesson finally sinks in. They learn phonics, addition, and all about the Civil War. They feel the frustration of not understanding a lesson. We may catch those tears and make phonics fun but to them it is school. They may love it. I loved public school. We have a way of making the best out of things and finding something to gravitate toward. They do not have our perspective. The appreciation will kick in around the same time as appreciating when you said “no” to spending the night at a friend’s house.
Yes, there are plenty of kids who appreciate homeschooling or express that they prefer it to school. Even so, there is a distinction in what it means for mom to be the one to teach addition, the book of John, and where China is on a map and for the child to be corrected, tested, and assigned book reports. My daughter says that she does work because I give it to her and even when she enjoys it, she never wants to do it. They are kids. Rarely are desires of a child to be taken personally because they differ from us.