10. The amount of depth we can go into on a particular subject at any given time. For example, we do current events, and I will tell him about something important that has happened somewhere in the world, and he will grab his globe and go find it. I think he has a better grasp of world geography than me at this point.

9. The fact that I know where my son is all the time (which may not be such a bonus for him, eh?)

8. No bullies! Not that it was an issue with my son, but I have heard some stories that would make your toes curl, and I am just glad that my son will not have to deal with that type of crap. I am not of the opinion that dealing with bullying is a “normal” part of growing up.

7. Not having to pack lunch and snack every single damn day. AND knowing what he eats every day as opposed to what is traded away/thrown away.

6. Being able to really control what my son is learning, and how. Not that I am doing some sort of free-form schooling, but empahsizing the things I think are important versus what someone else might think. Also, being able to introduce a critical thinking element to pretty much every subject.

5. The definite downturn in illnesses. Some people might see that as potentially bad, but I’m not one of them.

4. No more endless fundraising appeals. While I totally understand the need, they are still exhausting and annoying.

3. Field trips! Field trips! Field trips!

2. No drop off or pick up lines! Yay!

1. Waking up whenever we want. And then doing whatever we want during the day instead of planning our days around when school gets out.

I never really knew how much of a nonconformist I truly am until we started this.

Tomorrow, the flip side!