Embrace the Freedom of Homeschooling

Embracing the freedom of homeschooling is part of my homeschool mindset. Why? Because learning is a 24/7 sport, whether we want it to be or not.

It would be so lovely to schedule all learning between 8 and 2, but of course, this isn’t possible. So why fight it?

Freedom of Time and Routint

Homeschooling is the ultimate in flexibility. Biology doesn’t have to be studied every day at 9 o’clock followed by math. Schools operate like this because they have a lot of children to move through the “system.” My home isn’t a system; it is natural and organic.

It would be futile to keep slogging ahead when a child is sick or doesn’t understand. When this happens in school, a child may be scrambling to keep up, but at home, we can follow our own pace and interests.

The most beautiful thing is our schedule or lack thereof.

Go to the museum on a Tuesday? Sure.

Go to the beach in September? Yes!

Do you need doctor’s notes? Nope, thank you.

Freedom of Homeschool Method

We are also free to try different strategies to facilitate understanding. This method isn’t working, toss it. This book is annoying, drop it. You already know this? Move along. We don’t have to waste our time nor endure ineffective methods and repetitive subjects.

I know excellent teachers attempt this also, but it’s difficult to cater to 20 or more students individually, while also meeting the requirements of a system.

Freedom in Exchange for Freedom

One day, as I was driving the girls to gymnastics, I had the realization that to provide them with a freedom I didn’t have as a child, I must relinquish my freedom to a higher degree than most adults.

I don’t drop everyone at school and then head to the gym or Starbucks. I don’t go to a job, where I get to spend time with adults and go out for lunch. I don’t even get to sit in a quiet car on a commute.

This hit me particularly hard one day in the late summer. The school year had started, and I took the kids to our neighborhood pool one afternoon. Two moms were leaving the pool (where they’d been by themselves!) to go home and meet the school bus that would be arriving shortly. Wow, such luxury!

Realizing my lack of day-to-day freedom has moved me to embrace freedom more fully both for my children and myself. There are very few things in this life we “have” to do.

So I am freely choosing to homeschool my children.

I’m freely giving up the opportunity to clean my entire house without having a disaster emerge in another room. I’m freely giving of myself to my children so they can enjoy a higher degree of freedom than what our society offers children.