Homeschooling is hard, exhausting, constant work, and I would never encourage anyone to homeschool if they really didn’t feel led to do it. That being said, there are many benefits to homeschooling. One benefit that I appreciated yesterday in our home studies was the ability to alter our schedule. My oldest son became so engrossed in a book that he didn’t want to put it down until he had finished the entire thing. I even put his lunch beside him so that he could keep reading. The only time he paused was to go to the bathroom. Seeing that his interest was peaked, I decided not to stick to my daily schedule of what I wanted to cover with him subject-wise and just let him keep reading. Now, I still have to cover what wasn’t taught during that time period. It’s not like his independent reading replaced what he needs to learn in various areas. Nevertheless, I was thankful that he had the opportunity to maximize what had his attention.
Ivy League Homeschooling 
I just did the same thing today! James really wanted to finish a book. He had read 100 pages over the weekend in this book and begged to just sit with his steaming mug of Earl Grey Tea so he could enjoy reading it to the end. “I’ll be finished it in an hour, I promise. THEN, I’ll do my math!” Well, we didn’t get ALL of his math done but that quiet immersion in a great book is a priceless thing. They aren’t just building vocabulary, comprehension and stamina for reading for long stretches. They are learning the value of slowing down, enjoying the written word, escaping into a wonderful yarn, and getting comfortable with this kind of peaceful, contemplative time in their day. It is so good for young kids to do this. With the crazy way we all run, run, run through our days, time like this is like an anchor in a stormy sea.
So true…I like the idea of sitting in a giant soft pallet on the floor and surrounding ourselves with lots of interesting books, play some soft jazz music in the background, turn off all electronic devices minus the music player, sipping a cup of hot green tea and letting the day go by as you are transported to another place through the books. Now, that’s a lovely environment for old and young minds! I wonder if Peter Thiel has designed an education model for his offshore communities. Maybe he’ll hire us-ha! I’m there..