Flexibility

       It's been a while since I have written anything, in fact, I believe an entire quarter has gone by.  Let me explain:

     My aunt had been fighting an illness for a while.  She would win the battle for a few years, and then have a few set backs and be back to champ status after a few months.  This all took a terrible turn recently. 

     If you remember, I have already gushed about how wonderful it is to have a flexible schedule.  I work three days per week and the kids are able to adjust their lessons, pack up and come with me.  They do a lot of assignments in my office, but we leave the art, science and anything that requires packing more stuff for the days we are at home.

     We began to help care for my aunt several days each week.  We were cooking extra meals to take to her. We were spending more time at her house.  Thankfully, we did not have to worry about missed homework, or making up tests.  We were able to be there when she needed us.  The week before spring break, I was at her house every day.  Things had changed dramatically and it was not okay for the kids to be there so every day, they spent time at another person's house.  The first two days, I gave them a "light load".  Basically, I picked out a few assignments for each girl and decided they just would not have full school days.  Tuesday night, I could no longer think through planning the next day.  I just clicked on "vacation" on each of their calendars for the rest of the week.  

    Virtual school is not so complicated. It really isn't.  It requires minimal preparation, in my opinion.  By generally, I would organize everything on the weekends and we would sail through.  As this situation had progressed over several weeks, by that week, I was prepping a day at a time. 

    The relief I felt was tremendous.  I did not have to write a letter to the school in hopes that they would "approve".  I knew that this was a temporary situation and had already talked to the girls about making up the hours and the choices they would have.  The were more comfortable with doing a couple of hours on Saturdays for a while and giving up two days of their spring break. 

    That Saturday, my aunt passed away.   I did not have to deal with multiple phone calls from the school.  My children did not have to try to focus on school work when their minds were overwhelmed by the situation we were in. 

   I was able to be with my aunt every day and focus completely on caring for her.   My children were able to be with multiple other family members without concern of wifi, lessons, assessments or anything else.  

   Yes, I know this is not a free for all.  We do have education as a priority at our home.  In normal circumstances, it is the most important thing we do each week, but these were not normal circumstances.  I am so grateful that we were able to make our own decision about vacation days.  I am grateful that we did not receive an harrassing phone calls about truancy.  We were able to do what we needed to do as a family.

   My children's grades did not suffer.  In fact, we have shout outs and certificates again.  It has been less than three weeks since my aunt died, and we are already back in the groove with lessons. 

    Not only is the curriculum wonderful and allows for acceleration for advanced students, but I think my children learn an even more valuable lesson about organization and personal responsibility each week.  They were fully aware of how those extra days would affect them.  They knew exactly how they would have to make up the time.  They also made excellent choices to make up the time.  They were able to do all of this with minimal panic or pressure. 

    I am so grateful that we are empowered to accelerate and take a day off when necessary.