Dreaming

One thought:

So I was thinking the other day about homeschooling, and why I don't do it when I love the idea so much.  I've noted before that my children are not the type to like to sit and learn on their own, constantly demanding 100% of my attention and how frustrated I get that I don't have 400% to give to them.  I've also noticed lately how social they are.  My children literally wake up every day and ask "who's house can we go to?"  Yesterday we spent the day at the beach, and while I was "lifeguarding" from the shore I watched Benjamin go out in the water and come back with no less than 15 different parents and their children.  He made friends with 6 different families on the shore and built in the sand with them.  Juliette was excited to have her friends there and explored all day with them.

Second thought:

James and I always keep our eyes out for properties.  In our plans, we would move in two or three years.  The new house would have one more bedroom, an office for James, and a huge rec room in the basement.  If we dream bigger, our little home is one a huge stretch of acreage within 10 minutes of town.  The problem with this lovely dream is that it comes with a price tag of $600,000 or beyond.

Those two thoughts merging:

I realized that we could get the space we want but not on the large property for $200,000 (plus interest) less.  And then I realized that we could go on a $20,000 vacation every year for 10 years or more with that savings...

And then an idea started forming in my mind...

What if, when Colin hit high school, we started to take those vacations.  Not all-inclusive vacations to a resort for a week or two, but big, long, two month vacations.  Big vacations to foreign countries where we study history and English and literature and photography and geography and art and philosophy and music.  What if we rent a home in one spot and travel around?  What if drive to historical settings and learn about history first hand, and experience new cultures, and read books together in the evenings?  What if the kids attended one semester of high school to do math and science and special interest classes and then we take off for a semester and "homeschool?"  Ten years would take us all the way from Colin's first year of high school through Juliette's final year.

I love dreams like this.  And something in me is really, really, really loving this one.