How many of us have done this: I drove my son to school every day, and picked him up in the same way. Wow, it rhymes. He was exhausted, but this helped him to get more rest as the school bus he was assigned to passed by our home at 6:10 am every morning. He was not the first child on the bus! Poor babies. As for picking him up, I could get there early, like all the other mommies, and wait 30 minutes for him to be released, or get there LATE, and see him orphaned sitting sadly on the sidewalk. At least this way I did not have to fight so much traffic. It took an hour and a half to drop him off and pick him up every day! Max is now 12 years old, and has been home-schooled since 4th grade, and he can STILL sleep 10 - 11 hours. Our children are so sleep deprived - one study I read recently mentioned that sleep deprivation in teens is a huge factor leading to teen depression. Max has been so happy and healthy, he really enjoys his 'good sleeps' as he calls them. It takes a lot to grow a body.
For us, the decision to homeschool simplified our life. It led to many other simplification measures. For example, we eventually came to the realization that we did not need two vehicles. That was a biggie, as we chose to keep the car that was already paid for. This, in turn led to other side benefits - I could hardly keep ONE clean, much less TWO! I work from home, but I understand this would be difficult for someone who works outside the home. It has worked for us, though. At first it required some getting used to, but we quickly adapted to our new, one-car circumstances. Our insurance dropped to 1/3 of what it was before. That was an unexpected bonus. Now outings seem more special, probably what it was like for folks 40 or 50 years ago. Remember Sunday Drivers? Does anybody even use that expression anymore?
Here is something to think about - I found this great blog on simplifying our life. These were actually the very last things mentioned, but I think they should be first (ever so humble opinion).
- Cut back on your children's planned activities. If they have to use a time planner to schedule their activities, and you spend all of your time taxiing them around, they're probably too busy.
- Live closer to your work so you don't have to drive.
- Take a moment each day to be grateful.Pretty good advice. To read more: http://www.getmoredone.com/tips7.html
Just in case anybody wants to know - we use K-12, www.arva.org This is actually a public, virtual, school. Love it.
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5 comments:
Curious, does your son want to learn how to play a musical instrument, learn how to fence or dance? How about a foreign language other than Spanish? As the mother of one son (now grown), and a teacher, I was just wondering.
Cluny
Hi Cluny,
Nice to meet you! I love your name. Our son is working on the guitar, and says he wants to learn Chinese, or possibly French, but not until he has Spanish down. He plays basketball on Fridays, and Soccer on Sundays. He is older now, and enjoys getting together with his friends.
school does not provide instrument instruction, fencing, dancing or foreign languages other than spanish where I live. Budget cuts are to blame. And most of us can't afford private school. I don't think it's an accurate assumption that homeschooled kids have less opportunities for enrichment-if anything they have MORE because they aren't tied to a schedule and have parents who can take them to these activities.
Love your story. We've homeschooled two daughters and are coming to the end of my third daughter's schooling. Spending more time as a family is something we'll always treasure. Simplifying our life has been a gradual process and we are always looking for ways to simplify even more.
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