Finding Flexibility

"Flexible" is not my middle name. I love my schedules and checklists - no matter how much I change them, I always feel better having a plan. But of course life isn't all about me any more, so I've been trying to work on being more flexible. After all, isn't homeschooling about what's best for the kids?

This afternoon, after a full morning of Odyssey of the Mind practice and a great SLC co-op, we came home for lunch. As I finished cleaning up, I tried to pry Noah away from his new Magic Tree House book to head into the classroom for our scheduled lessons . . . Singapore math, a math-related game and critical thinking.

"Just let me finish this page," he requested. Then "I'm almost done with this chapter" followed by "I really want to read the whole book."

My initial reaction, of course, was to steer him away from it and promise to get back to it later . . . until I realized how ridiculous that was. My child was begging to read an entire book in one sitting, and I was about to talk him out of it just because Mondays are for math!

So instead, we curled up under a puffy blanket and I listened for about an hour as he read until the end. We did squeeze in a little math afterwards, but even if we hadn't, it was one of my best homeschooling memories ever! I know I'll remember this day for years to come . . . I just hope I can remember (and apply) the lesson that came along with it.