Why We Homeschool, Part 3

Freedom and Flexibility
I know, I know, I should probably be toting the qualities of time efficiency during educational hours and quality of education before I go raving about freedom and flexibility, but the freedom and flexibility aspect is what I am really reveling in at this precise moment with family here from Italy and a baby on the way, beautiful spring weather that I would dread for my kids to be spending in a class room behind a desk. Besides, it's a simple one that doesn't require much thought or preparation, which is good because my post-due-date brain cells are not exactly the sharpest right now *smile*.

I understand the value of the clock and the calendar, and heaven knows I like to be scheduled and punctual, sometimes to the point of obsession. I continuously find myself pulled between the Mary and the Martha. Beyond being punctual and reliable when it comes to commitments, I long to be the kind of person who doesn't live life by an agenda, but just LIVES LIFE. Who seizes those moments to be Here With Him (my heavenly beloved), and Here With Them (my earthly beloveds).

Now, don't get me wrong! I believe in structure, and thrive on it, as do my children, but a gentle, flexible, pliable, adaptable structure. The freedom and flexibility in education I refer to here is not that I can get away with doing "less" days of school than public schoolers, but rather that we are not tied to a 5 day school week, holidays on command and en mass with the rest of the public schooled population, an 8:30 bus pick up or a September to July school year. I am committed to teaching 180 school days, but when those days happen, is completely up to us. This is just one of the many perks of homeschooling, the fact that it provides us the flexibility to fit LEARNING around our LIFE, rather than the need to fit our LIVES around our LEARNING.

-I love that we can start school a month late in order to enjoy a fabulous September and still finish before school lets out in June.
-I love that we can school in the morning and take off in the afternoon, or take off in the morning and school in the afternoon. Or do some school in the morning, take off and come back to it later and heck, we can even do school at night if we feel like it. 
-I love that we can take a day off whenever we want during the week or on Prairie Guy's EDO and "catch it up" on a rainy Saturday if we want to (which we often do, because school hours are actually a wonderful time in our day) or not at all.
-I love that I can schedule our school year way in advance to finish before the arrival of a May baby,
-I love that we can take our family holidays while all other kids are in school and thus not have the line ups and chaotic beaches. And last but not least, and especially sweet;
-I love that I can decide our last 15 days of school have now been delegated an event for rainy days.