Top Ten

Have I mentioned I am enjoying homeschooling Nadia? Well I really am! Sometimes when I am sitting in a comfy chair reading a book with Nadia and Ian on my lap during a time of day she would have been in school if we weren't homeschooling our kids, I stop and reflect on how grateful I am. Here are ten things I love about homeschooling (in no particular order).

1. Nadia gets to spend 42.5 more hours a week (or 1,530 hours a year) with her mom and brothers than she would if she was going to school. This means far more hugs, kisses, and snuggles each week for one thing! Priceless.

2. She can take a nap, if she so desires (like she did today), and most days she gets to sleep in later than she would if she was catching the bus as she'd need to be out the door at 7:20am. I let her get up when she wants to get up. No alarm clocks are involved.

3. We spend a much shorter amount of time doing "schoolwork" each day than she would if she was attending a school, which means she has far more time to play (which is VERY important for young children!). Part of the reason we don't need as much time is because we don't take a 3 month break in the summer, and many times we do schoolwork on Saturdays also. When she's older I will assign her some "homework," but for now I am also enjoying the fact we don't have to deal with any homework in the evenings.

4. Instruction is 100% individualized. We go at her pace and can adapt to her learning styles and interests. I really, really hope my children's curiosity, love of learning, and love of reading will continue to grow over the years to come.

5. She'll be going on far more field trips over the next few years than she would have taken if she had attended a public or private school. I plan on taking the kids to many museums, aquariums, historical sites, theatre productions, etc.

6. We are able to enjoy chapter books during lunch. Presently we're in the middle of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle. I enjoy this time as much as Nadia and Ian, as I get to reread books that I loved when I was a child. Nadia has been wearing her Dorothy costume a lot lately as the last book we read was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

7. All of her instruction is in agreement with our world view (ex. spiritual, financial, and political matters). This probably would also have been true if we had sent her to a Christian school. Character development is of upmost importance. I pray that my children will grow to love the Lord with all their hearts, souls, minds, and bodies and love their neighbors as well.

8. She still has plenty of interaction with other children, and in most of these instances it isn't just with five-year-olds. I am a strong advocate of mixed age groups. I don't think that spending a large portion of time each week with kids only your own age is the best way to achieve socialization. She attends a Sunday School class for grades K-2, and the Sparks (AWANA) program on Wednesday nights is also for grades K-2 although for part of that time she is just with Kindergarteners. Her gymnastics class is a mixed age group, and her soccer team has kids from a two year age span. I've signed her up for two different homeschooling co-op groups this fall, and I purposefully selected co-ops that had mixed age groups (such as K-2). There were co-ops available where she would have only been with other Kindergarteners.

9. Once the kids are a little older, I will have her help her brothers some. My doctoral dissertation was on cross-age tutoring. :) This has been shown to have many prosocial and academic benefits for both the tutor and tutee.

10. We can incorporate a wide variety of "subjects" into our curriculum that aren't often included such as sign language, Spanish, piano lessons, etc.

*I always feel the need to add this disclaimer. I am not saying everyone should homeschool their children. Parents need to decide what is best for each of their children. That might be homeschooling or it might be a private or a public school.