A Reason Why I Love Homeschooling

Homeschooling offers our children the freedom of time. They do not have to be relegated to 40 minutes for art here, and 40 minutes for writing there, etc. In our home, we have a loose daily schedule that is stuck to 95% of the time. However, there are some days when Isabelle just really gets into something and I don't stop her. I let her explore until her thirst is quenched on whatever topic it is she has found so interesting.

For example, we were learning about the Hopewell Indians in The Mystery of History a few weeks ago and discovered that they had lived in Michigan. Isabelle wanted to find out if any had lived in our area. A quick Internet search pulled up loads of information and I let her read through articles and watch video presentations about the Hopewell in Michigan. This held her fascination for well over an hour, and I did not stop her. I did not want to, and I did not have to. There was no school bell that rang telling her it was time to stop learning about history. As a result, I'm sure she will remember much of what she read and watched.

Even beyond the "schoolwork," homeschooled children are blessed with an abundant freedom of time. When we finished our lessons for the day today, Isabelle decided that she wanted to create her own language. She spent at least 2 hours filling out both sides of a piece of paper with words in English, and their counterparts in "Wordick." There are well over 100 words on that piece of paper. She spelled all of the English words correctly and didn't have to ask for help. She displayed a general knowledge of how grammar works by forming the translations. Each word in "Wordick" ends in either an I, E, or Y, and they all are pronounced with a long-E sound at the end. She was using her education AND expressing her creativity at the same time AND having a wonderful time doing it! She was able to fully devote herself to this task at hand because she knew there would be no interruptions. She would not have to put her project on hold to be rushed off to an activity, followed by the activities of her younger siblings, followed by errands. No, she knew if she wanted to work on this all day she would be allowed to, with the exceptions of meal times, absolutely necessary chores, and bedtime.

Although the younger three children are not officially "schooled" yet, they are also afforded this freedom of time. If Alex and Olivia want to spend 2 hours creating things with play-doh, followed by 30 minutes of coloring, followed by 1 hour of having mama read, they know that (as long as mama says it is ok) they will be able to. There is no reason they should ever have to feel rushed, unless it is Sunday morning and we have to be at church, or there is a specific time-sensitive appointment or event coming up. I want our children to always feel that education and home are synonymous. I want them to know they do not have to place time limits on their learning because learning can, and does, happen all the time. Hooray for homeschooling!