School time

This is one of those hurray for homeschooling posts!

I actually buckled down and started school 2 weeks ago. I ordered the few books that we needed, high school stuff is expensive, and it arrived last week. I haven't had time to plan out our year yet but we had a number of things that I wanted to finish up before we started anything new.

Lorna is out riding this morning so I figure that she's doing PE and getting some socialization at the same time since she's working with the endurance trainer :) As I talked to a few of the girls that ride in our gymkhana club over the last few weeks I was saddened by how rarely they get to ride. They have to get up for school around 6am and they don't get home till after 3pm. They also have tons of homework so there really isn't any time for them to ride during the week. Even their weekends are spent catching up on homework and other things that just don't get done during the week. They don't have time for much of anything. That is in contrast to Lorna who rides every day (she usually has time to ride more than one horse), she gets to volunteer at the vet once a week, and she gets to go out to work with the endurance trainer once a week. She's having absolutely no problem keeping up with school, still has time to read for fun, participate in Sweet Adeline's, and has started sewing a crazy quilt. Oh, she also gets paid to ride someone else's horse once a week since it needs more exercise then they have time to give it. Sure there are some days that are busier than others but we have the flexibility to rearrange things if need be.

I'm not saying that homeschooling is perfect because it does have its drawbacks. With a little effort to find opportunities to supplement what I do at home with the kids, I think they are getting a well-rounded education with lots of free-time to explore their own interests.