First of all I love being at home. I love having time to bake cookies, do the laundry, read to my kids, plan a garden, and just be at home. I think this may be the main thing in keeping the main thing the main thing. When I am home centered I feel less frantic and more focused on what is really important to me and my family. I hope that isn't overly selfish, so I will meditate on it a bit more.
Second, I am realizing that this idea of education is very broad. Having a good workable definition of a good education is really not a one size fits all deal. I have two children that are still at school and I think it is the best education that I can give them. There are at least two of my children that I think would be crushed by that particular form of education. That leaves five that I am still trying to figure out. They may do well either way and I just need to spend some time reflecting on what areas they need to emphasize. I know that I cannot give them all of the information and activities they would get if they were at school, but we can talk about things at home that are important to us that might get overlooked at school. We also have a little bit more creative space at home since we don't have to conform to an outside schedule. There are definitely strengths and weaknesses to any education method and I think it takes a lot of prayer and studying your children to know where they will do the best. Resources are a big limiting factor and those have to be considered as well.
Third, knowing your community and learning to go with it's flow are important. We live in an academic community that has a definite academic calendar. Trying to do school at home when everyone else is on vacation will make you a not so friendly neighbor. Once everyone got into school mode, life just got a whole lot smoother. We can have our school time and still be able to be social with folks outside of our house.
Fourth, sometimes the best education is just plain learning how to live life. There is a comfort in structure that allows you to bop along without thinking much about why you are doing what you are doing. When that structure is removed and you have to figure out what to do next learning how to make wise choices is a valuable lesson. Some of my children just need to learn how to live with others and manage their time well. If they learn a little Algebra too, wonderful. They have a long time to learn a lot of things, the best thing I can teach them is to think for themselves.
We aren't doing any activities outside of school right now, which leaves a very open schedule. That may have made a difference last year, but who knows? I am enjoying having time with the kids. We are learning how to live with one another and let love cover a multitude of sins. We are getting a taste of college life and living with international people. The kids are planning the twelve days of Christmas with a different country's traditional Christmas dinner every night. This could get crazy expensive, but it will be memorable. I am enjoying some fantastic late summer weather, and the bounty of Soren's garden. Life is full and it is good. I just need to keep reminding myself that being full is a good thing and walking slowly is not bad.
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