Freedom To Be Flexible

Hello, Friday!

It’s been a long week, and by some standards, a bad one on the homeschool front. I spent Monday in bed, struggling with pain from a tooth infection (which has since improved greatly along with my appreciation for modern medicine). Then all four kids came down with colds – nothing serious, thankfully, but enough to disrupt their sleep, sour their moods, and keep us home from Classical Conversations and piano lessons and speech therapy. Add to this pregnancy fatigue, and catch-up housework from my day in bed, and my weekly OB appointment, and yeah… not much else was accomplished this week. We did a few bits of school work on Tuesday and a few this morning, but other than that, the subjects on our weekly schedule did not happen. This could be discouraging – and at times it was – but at the same time I felt strongly that God was handing us an unexpected break from routine, and our best response was to embrace that freedom and savor it.

So we did. We stayed home, and rested, and played, in a way that has not happened since the school year started. And it was wonderful. All three boys told me, at different times, how nice it was to not go anywhere! I was amazed to watch their play grow in creativity and focus as the week went on, and though we weren’t doing “school,” it was evident that this time was needed. They built elaborate Lego structures and played with blocks and pulled out old puzzles. We read picture books and watched a few movies and baked muffins and lined up every single colored pencil we own in rainbow order and yes, our house is a disaster. Please stop over today and see it and you’ll immediately feel better about how clean your house is.

This morning we were all feeling a bit better and decided to venture out for a short walk at our favorite park. I had not been here in months, due to summer heat and pregnancy aches, and I did not know how desperately I had missed it until we arrived. It was quiet and lush and ever so refreshing.

We walked slowly (my one and only speed at the moment), and Little Sister gathered acorns while her brothers collected leaves and feathers and other treasures. I was reminded again of how children need this time outside, to explore and observe and learn about this beautiful world around them – at their own pace, without Agendas or Lesson Plans or Adult Expectations of What Will Be Learned Today. The kids were still sneezing and sniffling, but they loved it and are already telling me what they want to do the next time we go back.

A little fresh air covers a multitude of sins.

Side note: you wanna talk about viral load? Just ask a mom who has been Sneezed Upon, Coughed At, and used as a Personal Snot Remover for the past week. My children are doing to their best to ensure that I don’t miss out on any of their germs, and whether they or my immune system wins this battle is still up for debate.

So here we are, still tired, still comforting a crabby toddler who can’t nap, still trying to teach these boys how to BLOW THEIR DANG NOSES – but grateful. I am grateful for the freedom to take a break, to rest and play, and to see, once again, that education is so much more than just school work. This week was hard, but it was not a waste. It was messy and beautiful; exhausting and restful; unproductive and worthwhile.

Thank you for reading this rambling post which does not have much of a point except to remind you, and me, that education is a life, both the good and the bad, and we have the freedom to adjust our days according to our needs. Some weeks that means hard math and phonics practice and history readings, and other weeks that means hours of Legos and slow walks in the woods and a decent amount of screen time. And if mom is spending her week forcing them to do the former, when what they really need is the latter, no one will be happy.

(Charlotte Mason may not have had Legos or screen time but I know she would have agreed with me on this one.)

“The claims of the schoolroom should not be allowed to encroach

on the child’s right to long hours daily for exercise and investigation…

Play, vigorous, healthful play, is, in its turn, fully as important as lessons,

as regards both bodily health and brain-power.”

~ C. M.

Amen and amen.

Originally written September 24 2021