Erin Napier is savoring summer with her family and reflecting on how quickly her daughters’ childhood is going by. The HGTV star says that these days, she’s found a way to slow down and soak in the little moments with her kids.
Erin Napier Explains How They ‘Figured Out How to Slow Down the Clock’
On July 23, Napier took to Instagram to share photos from a beach vacation, including one of herself walking hand in hand with her daughters, Mae and Helen. In another sweet photo, Mae holds her hands up in a heart shape.
“Mae is about to start kindergarten. The night before Helen went to kindergarten, I drove to the store after she was in bed to get bacon for her special breakfast the next day,” Napier shared in the caption.
She continued, “I turned on the song we listened to coming home from the hospital when she was born and cried so hard I couldn’t catch my breath, feeling her babyhood ending with such finality. I called my mama who laughed, because she didn’t have any memory of my first day of kindergarten.”
“The great upside to homeschooling is I don’t have that feeling at all this time,” the HGTV star wrote. “We bought her school supplies and she was giddy putting those Ticonderogas and a 3 ring binder in the buggy. I’ll be there when she reads a sentence for the first time and she’s so excited to read a book on her own soon.”
“We’ve figured out how to slow down the clock and savor these little years,” she added.
Fans loved seeing the photos of her daughters and hearing more about Napier’s homeschooling journey.
“I’ve never understood why anyone would want to keep their kids babies and not be excited to see them grow and learn new things,” one fan wrote. “If they’re hitting the next milestone like kindergarten, or moving on to middle school, it means they’re thriving and you’re doing a good job as a mother.”
Napier responded, “No exactly. I want to see them hit those milestones, personally. Not just hear about them.”
Napier also shared, “Ben teaches history to Helen and so we took a trip to Boston this summer for America 250. He could BUST he was so proud of everything she told the Concord Museum guide that she knew about Paul Revere. Truly the fruits of our labors.”
“Yes! I homeschool my two boys for this reason exactly,” another fan shared. “Soaking up all the minutes. Being there for the special moments. And still crying my eyes out but for different reasons.”
One fan noted, “Homeschooling is such a gift! Being around them and seeing those firsts (and being the one to teach them those too) is the best!”
“My mom homeschooled me and both of my sisters. She says her favorite part of that part of life was teaching us — she never got to miss all those firsts,” one fan noted.
Napier responded, “YES. This last year was the best we’ve ever had as a family.”
Others noted how much Napier’s girls have grown up, with one fan commenting, “That can’t be Helen and Mae!! Growing so fast!!”
Erin Napier Shares ‘Successful Year’ of Homeschooling
On May 20, Napier took to Instagram to celebrate their successful homeschooling year, including photos that showed some of the lessons and assignments their girls completed in homeschool.
“Somehow, we did it! 2nd grade / k-4 are ✅,” Napier wrote in the caption.
The HGTV star continued, “This is what I want you parents who think you’d like to homeschool but you’re afraid you can’t: if you can find 2 hours a day and ‘open and go’ curriculums, you can do it.”
“These girls are so happy, so good at communicating with all ages and types of people,” she shared. “And we feel like we soaked up every moment of growing up they did, instead of feeling shocked by it each passing week.”
Napier added, “We found the hack to slowing down childhood. It’s not for everyone, but it was medicine for our whole family this year.”
