ANOTHER REASON TO LOVE HOMESCHOOLING

When the boys and I went to Japan for 6 months to visit Ruther there, I was very very VERY glad that I was homeschooling the boys. It was a great opportunity for us to be together as a family and I would have hated to let that moment pass. If I was working then, I think I would not have been able to leave Manila or stay long in Japan. If Nikki was going to school, same thing. So it really was a blessing that we made it to Japan and managed to be there for 6 long months. It really was not just a learning experience for the boys, but it was also a learning experience for me and also an opportunity for us to be together as a family in a foreign country. I loved every moment of our stay there. Sure, there were times when we were low on money (living in Japan is very expensive!) but God never neglected us and we were able to handle things on our own. It was really wonderful. I loved how we made new memories, how the boys learned about the seasons (it was our first time to experience autumn and winter), how we learned about the culture, how we tried to speak in Nihongo, how we adapted to their way of living, everything! It was really a great opportunity for us. I was really really sad to leave Japan and Ruther. Even Nikki wants to back there and has been telling his dad about it these past weeks. Because of this, Ruther has suggested that if he does get an extension on his stay there then we could all go back this year. That to me is wonderful news. When we left for Japan last year, I felt like I won the lottery. If we get to go a second time, I would feel like the happiest woman on earth. That's how much those 6 months affected my family. I hope that God grants us another opportunity to be together. After all the good our first visit has brought to us, I am only looking forward to this second visit. So I hope God grants us this and I will keep my fingers crossed...

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http://homeschooling.families.com/blog/reasons-i-a-glad-i-homeschool-change-of-scenery

Reasons I am glad I Homeschool: Change of Scenery
by Andrea Hermitt

This week I am blogging from Richmond Virginia. The kids and I are traveling with my husband who works as an IT (Internet Technology) contractor. We wanted some extra time with him and a change of scenery as well. Since he travels quite a bit, homeschooling makes it easier for us to get quality time with him because we are not necessarily tied to a school year calendar.

Sure, the children and I have commitments that do not allow us to travel all of the time. There are arts and academic classes, which are important, and we hate to miss a class. Sometimes my personal workload does not allow it either. However, the classes are flexible, and end and start later than the standard school year. My work (as an artist and web content writer) is quite flexible as well. In addition, the children's' classes ended two weeks ago and we are currently reviewing the year's curriculum before calling the 2006-2007 school year complete. This work can be done from anywhere we please.

My husband's job takes him to lots of places. Some are fun, and some are boring (like where he has been for the last 6 months and still is now), but we still managed to find the children's museum last time we were here, and are thinking about trekking over to Washington DC later this week.

It is great fun to be able to hop in the car with him on some of his business trips or to meet him at the tail end of a conference. In most cases, we just cancel a couple of appointments (though we try to take advantage of appointment-less weeks); grab our laptops, lessons, and go. Doing the same old stuff is a lot more fun when you are doing it from a different place. Homeschooling gives us a special advantage to enjoy a change of scenery often.