My Top Ten Homeschooling Perks

1. Kids need a well-child check? A dental or eye exam? Easy! I schedule them for the best slots and we miss no class time and have no homework to make up afterwards.

2. Family needs a vacation? We can go! Even if it is the middle of the week and school is in session. The best places for families won't be crowded and we can pick up where we left off in our lessons whenever we get back.

3. When the teaching method or curriculum aren't fitting my child well, I just change them.

4. Including the children in our lives (the good and bad, difficult and easy, happy and trying times) is helpful to them and to us. They learn as they see us handle life and we have an easier time remembering that we are always modeling and therefore need to do our best.

5. Finding answers to their questions, learning alongside them, and watching them discover the world is absolute magic.

6. Savoring the time I have with them, building our relationships, enjoying knowing them a little better each day. I have eight extra hours with them that I missed out on when we were in regular school!

7. If there is unexpected company coming, I have three great helpers who will roll their sleeves up and whip the house into shape with me.

8. I enjoy far more frequent and guilt-free dates with my spouse. After all, sometimes we would like to have a private conversation.

9. No school lunches. My children eat healthy, balanced meals at my own table - often ones they helped prepare.

10. People think I'm special, awesome and different because I homeschool. Really, I'm just a regular mom who tried something different and it turned out to be awesome for our family.

Want to read my top ten drawbacks to homeschooling? Here's the link.

My Top Ten Homeschooling Drawbacks

1. When on earth will I schedule my pap smear and mammogram?

2. Same goes for eye and dental exams.

3. There is nobody to complain to when the teacher isn't living up to expectations.

4. Need to work on something without interruption for more than 20 minutes? Hire. a. sitter.

5. If one of my children asks me a question, I feel it is absolutely necessary that I find the answer.

6. There is no such thing as time to myself. Unless I hire a sitter.

7. When my children were in school somewhere else, I could clean the house and it would stay that way until they came home again. Less time in the house for them to make a mess. Now that we are homeschooling, I've brought the mess of glue, paperclips, binders, etc to the house, plus added eight hours of active time. Triple the mess, none of the cleaning time.

8. Want a private conversation with your spouse? Or on the phone? Head to the bathroom and lock the door. Or hire a sitter.

9. No school lunches.

10. Money spent on sitters.

Watch for my Top Ten Homeschooling Perks in my next post!