I’ve written about some of my favorite things about homeschooling before. But as I’m watching my friends gearing up to send their kids back to school (which starts July 29th), I just have to compose a top-ten list of things to LOVE about homeschooling at this time of year!
10. We don’t have to start school on the same day the county chooses for public schools. So we always wait a couple of weeks before starting back. It feels so deliciously decadent to do this!
9. I don’t have to get anywhere near Walmart, Target or the mall this week, while they are jam-packed with back-to-school shoppers.
8. I don’t have to spend $$$ on each child for school supplies that they have to share with everyone else…or things like hand sanitizer, band-aids, Kleenex and other items for the whole classroom. (Downside, though—I DO have to cough up the cash for curriculum and that isn’t cheap. I’d probably come out cheaper with the school supplies. But I like knowing that my kids are actually using what I’ve bought for them. I loved shopping for school stuff when I was a kid—it would’ve really upset me if I didn’t get to use the items I’d chosen for myself.)
7. I can wait to buy our school supplies in late August or early September, when it’s all on clearance.
6. We can go to Chuck E. Cheese’s or a park on a weekday and the kids pretty much have the place to themselves. We love doing this with another homeschooling family.
5. I don’t have to start making the kids go to bed early to adjust to the school year schedule. Bedtime is pretty much the same, year-round.
4. Another shopping one, but I don’t have to drop $30-$50 bucks per kid on new backpacks and lunchboxes. We need those only rarely—and when we do, we still have a collection from when the kids went to school. And those costly back-to-school wardrobes? Non-existent until the weather cools off, then they’ll just need some new jeans.
3. Baby Jonah won’t have to say goodbye to his favorite playmates for 6 to 8 hours every day. I remember how little Eli used to fuss for Zach when Z went to school.
2. No school open houses or curriculum nights to attend, no new teachers to adjust to (and no having to worry over whether my kid would get a good teacher or a bad one). I know exactly what my kids are learning, and that they have a dedicated teacher who loves them very much. And if it turns out that the curriculum I chose isn’t a good fit, we can change it. Again–the flexibility is what I love most about our lifestyle.
1. We get to sleep in two weeks longer than everyone else! Wait—we get to sleep in most days throughout the school year, too. Yay for homeschooling!
For more Top Ten Tuesday posts, visit OhAmanda!
I hate back-to-school – love having my kids home with me! I hate when school is back in session.