I shamelessly absorb other peoples' experiences to help shape my own thoughts and approach. What she was saying is in perfect accord with other families to whom I've spoken who have been home educating for years.
In a nutshell, you loosen up. You become less structured because you begin to see the whole life experience as a learning opportunity. You spot, grab and delight in random opportunities - she'd just come back from 2 days in Rome because they had been learning about the Romans, obviously.
I love their approach, their children, their attitude and their lifestyle.
I'm a cake and eat it girl though. I really love cake. I really love eating it. And so in home ed, like in so many things, I'm keeping a foot in both camps.
Here we are embracing the wonder and flexibility of HE while also picturing my boys going to secondary school with all of the friends, opportunities and learning that it will afford them.
I've begun wondering if perhaps we're viewing home education as a means to an end.
In my head is a gardening analogy; kids are like seeds. Some can be scattered anywhere and they grow. Some can be planted straight out but they need a little care and space. Some need to start out in a greenhouse until they're big enough, or it's warm enough outside, for them to be transplanted.
Maybe HE is our greenhouse.
