If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers. ~Edgar W. Howe
Anyone out there feel this way? Personally, I love my children being home with me to the point that I'd almost consider homeschooling, but there are those days that I wish there was no one running across the floor so I could get it clean and keep it that way for longer than 10 minutes. Also, there is something to be said for occasional quiet. On a slightly more serious note:
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. ~Aristotle
This is one I hope we can all remember tomorrow morning when we're waking up much earlier than we'd like to be waking up. Then we'll need to remember it again each evening as we engage in our nightly battle against homework. So far, the work with the summer math packet has actually been fairly positive, as she's realized that working with mixed fractions is not nearly as difficult as she thought. One day, all this effort will pay off, right? Last but not least:
The simplest schoolboy is now familiar with truths for which Archimedes would have given his life. ~Ernest Renan, Souvenirs d'enfance et de jeunesse, 1883
This quote blows me away when I realize that it was written in 1883, and that all of the knowledge that existed in 1883 is easily obtainable to my children through the wonders of the internet. The vast ocean of knowledge that our children swim in is unprecedented in history. With this great power, of course, comes great responsibility (~Peter Parker). What will my children be able to accomplish with this amazing foundation of knowledge to build upon? It really puts those hours spent correcting math homework in perspective. I don't know about you guys, but I'm really looking forward to the first day of school!
