Putting the home back in homeschooling

We are finally starting the last week of our commute to the junior college. It has been long, expensive (at least for our modest budget), and very time consuming. Four days a week in town until noon (or often early afternoon) has meant a lot of my projects being put on the back burner. Has it been worth it? Far more than the time, money, and effort we had to give up. Just the experience has been of great value to my son. As for me, I am going on a library fast for a few months. :) We will continue to have co-op classes each week and get his allergy shot on that day. One day out of the week is much better than four!

At least it has been easier since my son has his driver's license. Before then, we'd return home in time for me to get a couple of housework "must do's" done, fix an early dinner, and then leave to take him to fencing classes at least three times a week. I'd wait for him at the library or McDonald's until it was time to leave. Since he has been able to drive himself, I have been home at night (and enjoying it very much).

By the time he takes junior college classes again in his Senior year, he should feel comfortable enough in his driving to commute all the days except when he gets his allergy shot (until he turns eighteen next November and can sign for himself).

This is the last semester we will have opportunity to do a real "Charlotte Mason" type of learning. I'll talk more about what we plan to do later, when my brain is more alert. Hmmm...that may take too long. I'll talk more about it before next semester, how about that?

Once this week is over, I have organization projects that have been waiting for awhile that will be the first priority of "more time at home". Sometime after Christmas and New Year's, I want to dust my sewing machine off and begin some sewing projects throughout the Winter months. I have a couple quilting projects I want to do (nothing too big), some craft projects and a few "Home Dec" projects...not to mention a stack of books to read.

However, only once a week will I have to get up before the sunrise and have to function as an alert homeschooling mother. The rest of the week I will most likely continue to get up early but I can curl up on the sofa with a second cup of coffee, a devotional book or my Bible, most likely a cat, and have time to become fully awake before having to leave the house. That sounds like a very good thing.

Photo: Billy Jacobs, There is No Place Like Home, Allposters.com