A Pajama Day; Reflecting on All the Benefits of Homeschooling

We spent a lazy morning in bed and hanging around in our pajamas yesterday.

My younger two boys had a sleepover the previous night and were up early ready to play (though they wanted to stay in Evan's room).  They brought out all their stuffed animals and staged battles, brought up their Nintendo DS games to play side by side and just hung out together.

Ian asked me to come lay in his bed with him and watch some more Harry Potter and Evan eventually joined us.  We had no plans to go anywhere and it was nice to know that we had nothing pressing going on; no school, no plans, no schedule.

They told me that they all wanted a pajama day, a bit of time to visit their great grandmother and a lot of time to just play.  So that's what we did-- or rather what they did. 

It was nice to have this week off and reflect.

Looking back over our two year journey I have to say I see so many more benefits to homeschooling than I first started with:  

• They have to get along; 80% of the time they're the only playmates they have!  As soon as my boys woke up yesterday morning they asked if they could have another sleepover that same night.  They love spending time together in these fits and spurts and do act as one another's best friends on occasion. 
• They're slowly getting a bit better at occupying their own time-- they played for over two hours while I was on the computer looking at curriculum, writing my blog, exercising, doing laundry, etc.  They build with Lego sets, play with blocks, use their imagination and enjoy their time "off" from school.  
• They're much more competent at home doing chores, making their own breakfast and lunch, and cleaning up after themselves.  
• They're more confident, outgoing and sure of themselves.  When people ask if we like homeschooling we're all quick to answer that we LOVE it & we do.  
• They're eager to listen to stories and learn (most of the time)
• We spend so much time with my grandmother and other family members that we would rarely get to see if the boys were in school. 
• My husband and I yell much less, the kids are happier than they've ever been, and as a family we seem to be such a stronger unit. 

Ian build a whole marina on this rainy morning

We spent the whole afternoon at my grandmother's house visiting with her, playing with her cat and building such wonderful bonds with yet another generation.