Sometimes when we talk about homeschooling, we talk about letting our children set their own schedule, letting them decide where they’d be most comfortable doing school, letting them stay in their pajamas to study if they want to, and you know what? If I were just wandering in here for the first time and didn’t know anything about homeschooling, I’d be pretty outraged. I can hear myself now: “You let your kids set the schedule? You let them stay in their pajamas? What, do they run your whole family? Why aren’t you being parents?”
I know I’d say that because I’ve certainly had those thoughts and feelings about other things. I’ve seen family situations where I believed the parents were being way too lax with their children and not taking the role of leadership in their home seriously. I am definitely not a believer in letting kids run the show. They need boundaries. They need to be taught respect. They need to have consequences.
However, children (and adults) learn best in certain environments, in certain atmospheres, at certain times of the day. I know I can’t do anything worthwhile at all before ten am, so I plan my work for later in the day. Why should I expect my child, who takes after me, to perform at top capacity just because I decide it’s school time? I know I can concentrate more easily when I’m comfortable, and I wear knit pants around the house. If my child can focus more easily wearing his pajamas, why not let him?
There is a huge difference between pandering to your child and working with his biorhythms to achieve the best results. It’s not spoiling your child to let him choose not to do math until the afternoon, when he’s just had lunch and his brain is sharp. It’s knowing what your child needs and giving it to him so he can function at his best. The boundaries are there—the limits are there. But you’re working together as a team to determine where they should be, for everyone’s benefit.
Related Blogs:
Children Who Don’t Fit the Mold
Letting Your Kids Set the Schedule
Benefits of a Homeschool Co-op