Things I'm looking forward to doing... and "missing out on."

Are dress up days something you'll miss?

As a home schooling mum I'm often asked "aren't you afraid they'll be missing out on XYZ." They are talking about participating in school activities such as choirs, school musicals, sporting events, getting student awards, Japanese/ French/Chinese day etc. The list could go on. I've even been asked if I'm worried about not meeting any other schooling mums...  There was a time early on in our home schooling journey when I thought they might be missing out on some exciting activities. However over the last year I've come to realise that those activities I was most 'concerned' about them missing out on would not be an issue. Home schoolers are able to participate in camps, musicals, choirs all of their own free will. Nobody is forced into participating- like students are in some mainstream schools. What I've noticed is that home schooling mums and dads are quite good at searching for activities their children want to participate in, and if they can't find one they will organise the activity for their own child and welcome everyone else to come to join in.  

Here some of the things I'm looking forward to as a home schooling mum:

* spending time with the boys;

* meeting new friends that are like minded so I don't have to spend my day justifying our decision;

* sleeping in whenever we need to;

* lazy, calm breakfasts as a family- everyday;

* freedom of choice;

* learning along with my boys;

* seeing Simon teach and grow with the boys;

* going shopping/ on excursions/ travelling etc when school is in- less people;

* going on camps with the boys;

* interacting more with our community and much more.

Some things I'm happy to miss out on: 

* Parent teacher interviews;

* my boys getting 'Student of the week' awards for something mundane and pretending it is awesome;

* not having to worry about getting notices and payments back on time;

* not having to worry about home work;

* no school pick ups or drop offs;

* competitions and comparsions (from the Government, school, teacher and other parents);

* my kids having to go on an excursion even when the weather sucks because everything's been paid for already;

* worrying about uniforms;

* worrying about missing hats, lunchboxes, jumpers and spelling books;

* the playground dynamics between parents;

*dress up days for Book Week;

*baking cupcakes at 10pm for the cake stall the following day; and

*working bees.

With our official start to home schooling just over a year away I'm getting more and more excited about the journey. I literally can't sleep at night because I'm thinking of all the great things we are going to do. I'm not worried about my boys missing out on anything because the way I see it, they are gaining more than what they are missing.

So what are some of the things you love/ look forward to about home schooling? What are you happy to miss out on? Is there anything you ARE worried they will miss out on as a home schooler?

Please feel free to like, share and comment. Feel free to message me with any edits or typos.

Happy home schooling.
Love Alexis
XOXOX