The Tomato Method of Child Rearing

It’s springtime, and I’m working in my vegetable garden almost every day. I’m already looking forward to those yummy tomatoes (my favorite), but they’re challenging to grow here in the Puget Sound. We have a short, wet growing season—without much of the sun that tomatoes need to thrive. Getting ripe tomatoes takes effort.

I start my tomato seeds in March, inside my house, near a good window with lots of light. Soon the seedlings sprout and then get replanted to bigger pots. They have to stay warm, so I keep them inside even when my other vegetable starts go out to the cold frame. When my tomato plants are finally big enough, I “harden them off” by putting them outside—first for just part of each day, then finally around the clock. Even once they get planted in the garden, though, I cover them to protect them from the rain and the cold. They’re finally “on their own” sometime in June.

What does this have to do with homeschool? No, I didn’t get confused and post something from a gardening blog. This metaphor is the way I explain one of my (many) reasons for keeping my kids at home.

One of the hardest queries to answer is when people inquire about why my kids aren’t in the public school system where they could be models for other children. This is a tough question, because I do want my kids to be a good influence on their peers. But then I remember my tomatoes. My children have their whole lives to be good examples. But I want to make sure they have the “root system” and the strength and have been “hardened off” by slow, careful exposure (to things of MY choosing) before I plant them out there in the world. Yes, they would probably grow if I let them go earlier—many children go to public school and turn out just fine. But I’m not taking any chances. If it’s worth all that care to get delicious tomatoes, it’s definitely worth it for my kids.