Home schooling… many people think that this form of education is boring, unsocial, and narrow-minded. However, I love home schooling. I love the flexibility, the freedom, and the fact that my parents are teaching me. Home schooling is rewarding and enjoyable because of its essence of flexibility. We can do so many things that we would not be able to do if we followed any other form of education. Each day is laden with benefits.

         The flexibility provided by home schooling has many advantages. One of these advantages is that we can have our own schedule. A typical day starts with my dad waking me up at 6:30 to have my own devotional time. I love this because I do not have to worry about having to rush or miss a bus. After this, I go to my parents’ room to have family devotions. This is wonderful, because my family and I can open the Bible together and learn from it, and spend some time together. After prayer, I brush my teeth, clean my room, and go downstairs for breakfast. There is usually a nice homemade breakfast waiting for us. To have a homemade breakfast is just a little thing, but these “little things” make home schooling even more special. After breakfast, we start our school work. I do my school work with my mother and siblings sitting across from me. We can work together, help each other, and do experiments together.  My parents are there to help with everything. I enjoy having the chance to work with my family.

          In home schooling, you are always with your family. They know you and understand the way you need to be taught. My mom plans what I do based on my personal needs because she knows what I am good at and in what I need to improve. We can adjust our schedule if something happens, or limit the things we do if we are sick or have to go somewhere. The flexibility to be taught according to our individual needs makes us better students.

          In home schooling, everything we do is a learning experience. We are not constrained by time, so we can be flexible. We sometimes play fun educational games that involve Math skills, critical thinking, word root games and more, and that is counted as part of our academic work for that day.  We take hikes through the woods and learn about nature. We take fieldtrips to exciting places. We learn so much from these excursions, and have lots of fun. One example is a trip I took to Charleston, South Carolina in March with my father and three brothers, when regular students were at school. We visited Fort Sumter and a naval museum. This was very enjoyable and educational. Such trips are highlights of the year. Learning through such experiences enriches our education.

There are other things we do for our education that are not from the pages of a textbook. When we do chores, clean the house, or cook dinner, we are learning life skills. Sometimes we go to the store, or to the mall and bookstore and buy what we want with our money. We learn financial responsibility, and we still have fun. We have enough flexibility with time to occasionally drop everything for one whole week or longer to focus on things like art, sewing, take part in prison ministry, or other outreach ministries. All these activities are a part of school.

            The freedoms included in our home schooling allow us to do things that we would not be able to do if we were in a typical school environment. In the middle of a school day, Mom will take us out for ice cream or some other special event as a reward for diligence or excellence. We can have friends over to play during regular school hours.  We get to watch good and wholesome movies, read interesting and educational books, listen to inspirational stories of faith, virtue, and character and discuss them with the whole family.  Sometimes we debate politics with each other, based on what we read in the newspaper. We have these discussions during regular school hours and throughout the day. I really enjoy conversing with my family about things I have learned. It reinforces the values we treasure and helps our overall education to be well-rounded in every aspect of our character and intellect. Being together as a family during the day and discussing many things with each other teaches us to think well, because “the mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”

Flexibility is the keyword in our home, and because of this we are constantly learning. We can be flexible with our time and schedules. We can plan events and experiences according to our personal needs. Every thing we do, whether it is life skills or debating in our home is fundamentally important to our overall education. When regular students are in school, home schooling allows us to have various experiences that are not limited to a schoolroom. The thing I love best about home schooling is the flexibility to be able to learn with my best friends – my family.