The Shortest Commute to Class
Every August and September, families from all over begin that familiar school-year dance. Alarm clocks ring, shoes mysteriously disappear, lunchboxes need filling, backpacks need finding, and somewhere in the middle of it all, parents wonder how the summer went by so quickly.
Don’t Miss the Short Commute
I have always enjoyed those old Family Circus cartoons where Billy is given a simple assignment but somehow takes the most complicated route imaginable to get there. The dotted line on the cartoon might show Billy wandering through the yard, climbing a tree, passing through the doghouse, crossing a fence, and eventually arriving at his destination. Sometimes I think about Billy when I consider the daily commute many families make just to get their children into a classroom.
Think about the typical school morning:
- Wake everyone up
- Get everyone dressed
- Find the missing shoes
- Prepare breakfast
- Pack lunches
- Find backpacks
- Locate the permission slip that apparently disappeared into another dimension
- Rush everyone out the door
- Drive through traffic
- Wait in the drop-off line
- Finally get home
- Then discover that someone’s lunch is still sitting on the kitchen counter
- And a few hours later, you do it all again.
All that transportation, rushing, waiting, and coordinating can consume an astonishing amount of a family’s time and energy. But homeschooling offers a remarkable alternative. The classroom is already there. There’s no bus to catch, carpool line, or morning traffic. There are no forgotten lunches requiring an emergency delivery, rushing to beat the bell, or wondering which number on the windshield belongs to your child. The commute from the kitchen table to the schoolroom may be only a few steps. That’s not merely convenient; it’s a blessing.
Blessings We Can Easily Overlook
One of the dangers of receiving a blessing every day is that we eventually stop noticing it. Homeschooling has plenty of those everyday blessings. Your children don’t miss the school bus because there isn’t one. You can pray openly. Pajamas can be perfectly respectable school attire. A beautiful fall day can turn “recess” into a two-hour exploration of God’s creation. The family pet can provide emotional support.
You can slow down when a child needs more time, or accelerate when a child is ready for more. You don’t have to organize your entire morning around a drop-off line. The teachers don’t go on strike. You have opportunities to learn together as a family. A walk outside can become a science lesson. A history lesson can turn into a conversation about God’s providence. A question asked at breakfast can become an afternoon rabbit trail of discovery. And you can spend ordinary moments with your children during years that, as every older parent will tell you, pass far more quickly than you expect.
These things may sound small, but they aren’t. They are the stuff of family life, and family life is where much of the most important discipleship happens.
The greatest blessings of homeschooling cannot be measured in minutes saved in the car or gallons of gasoline left in the tank. The deeper blessing is the opportunity to educate children within the context of a loving family. At home, education doesn’t have to be confined to a particular room, a particular period, or the sound of a particular bell.
A Different Kind of Education
Through it all, you have the opportunity to know your children more deeply. You learn what makes them laugh, discover what discourages them, see how they think, recognize their strengths, identify their weaknesses, encourage their gifts, and patiently work through their struggles.
Most importantly, you have opportunities to point them toward Christ—not merely through formal Bible lessons, but through the ordinary rhythms of life. That doesn’t mean homeschooling is easy. It isn’t. There will be difficult seasons, frustrating days, and mornings when the schoolbooks appear to have multiplied overnight while everyone’s patience has mysteriously vanished.
Some days, Mom will wonder whether she is really making a difference. When those days come, remember what you have been given: a tremendous opportunity. You’ve been given an opportunity to educate while strengthening family relationships, turn ordinary moments into extraordinary memories (I like to call them Deuteronomy 6 moments), make disciples while doing math, and enjoy the shortest commute to class imaginable.
So when the morning feels chaotic, when the lesson doesn’t go according to plan, or when you wonder whether all this effort is worth it, pause for a moment and look around. Your students are home. Your classroom is nearby. Your children are growing up right before your eyes. And the privilege of educating them is still yours. That is no small thing. It is a stewardship, a calling, and by God’s grace, one of the great adventures of your family’s life.
So enjoy the short commute. And while you’re at it, enjoy the students, too.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:
- What blessings of homeschooling have become so ordinary that you may have stopped noticing them?
- How can you and your spouse share the responsibility and joy of educating and discipling your children more intentionally?
- What is one practical way your family can make the most of the time God has given you together this school year?
