Flexibility

February 16, 2008 by KellyH.

Our schedule has gotten off-track just a little. Last Thursday my husband returned from a business trip in the afternoon. I couldn’t go grocery shopping because I was waiting for him to call for a ride home from the airport. I couldn’t go Friday because we had the day off from school and spent it an hour away visiting grandparents. I couldn’t go Friday night because we had other commitments. I finally went this evening (Saturday) even though I dislike shopping on weekends/evenings. Not only has my “mom” routine gotten off-track, but some of the children didn’t finish up school on Thursday, so they’ll be working on Monday to catch-up. I’ll have to go through my lesson plans and rewrite them to fit in the catch-up day. But, that’s okay–that’s what makes homeschooling so great! We are not working on anyone esle’s schedule but our own. If we need to spend more time on something, we do. If we need to wrap it up quickly, we do. If we need to postpone it, we do. You’ll hear people refer to “teachable moments.” That’s where flexibility comes in. As we drove to visit grandparents yesterday, we observed the devastation caused by ice storms a couple weeks ago. Trees cracked at the top, and branches totally ripped off… the poor trees looked so sad and wounded, my heart broke. We were able to discuss how the damage happened, which led to weather and other science-related issues. There was a pile for burning branches in the community where my parents live. This led to another scientific discussion about heat, and “reactions.” Flexibility. Rabbit Trails. Teachable Moments. Call it what you like, it all comes down to educating our children according to God’s perfect plan: through the family. I am so thankful that we homeschool, and that my children feel they can ask anything, discuss anything, comment on anything… they enjoy having conversations with us!

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