#10. No mad morning dash, trying to have everyone ready to head out the door while it’s still dark, no 7 a.m. lunch prep, and no racing through the house at 7:23, frantically searching for a shoe while shrieking, “The bus will be here in two minutes!”
#9. Girls like to do math in their pajamas. There’s something regal about it. Especially if you add dangly earrings. Feather boas are nice, too.
#8. Mix and match curriculum. No grade levels. No letter grades. Just mastery. On their timetable, not someone else’s.
#7. Family togetherness. Family togetherness. Family togetherness.
#6. No last-minute collecting of clear soda bottles so that you can cut them in half and send ten partial bottles to school for someone else’s idea of a creative art project. No collection of soda bottles at all, unless you choose to use them.
#5. Time to explore. Time to linger at the park. Time to walk. Time to explore. Time to watch ants build a hill. Time to observe the geese at the lake. Did I mention time to explore?
#4. Using great literature to teach everything from history to science to faith and morality. Sharing that great literature and enjoying it with your kids every single time you reread those great books. Reaping the benefits of amazing conversations with your children as they discover deeper meanings and more complex themes in the literature they read.
#3. Fewer clothes. Not that we homeschool moms are slobs, mind you, but my kids don’t need as many clothes as they would need if they were in school every day. The homeschool “uniform” can be a simple one. (See #9.)
#2. Swimming at the Y when all the other kids are in school. Having picnics when we have our run of the park. Playing in the snow when everyone else is conjugating verbs.
And, the #1 reason to homeschool?
#1. We love it.