Friday, February 18, 2011

Have you started school yet?


Have you started school yet ?


I get asked this question at church, by people at work, by other homeschoolers.


I may be a bit grumpy ( WHO, ME??), but, in all honesty, if I hear that question again, instead of answering with a smile and my stock answer, I will just scream.


Or eat peanut M &Ms.


My stock answer, you say?


We don't ever start or stop school, we learn all the time, we read, we do Maths, we write, we study...or we don't..


"Youth is the time to go flashing from one end of the world to the other in both mind and body; to try the manners of different nations; to hear the chimes at midnight; to see sunrise in town and country; to be converted at a revival; to circumnavigate the metaphysics, write halting verses, run a mile to see a fire, and wait all day in the theatre to applaud 'Hernani'." -Robert Louis Stevenson


That describes our homeschooling.


Whch translates today as mum walking in the door from early morning work, one son helping her to prune flowers on her way in, one working on his computer for music stuff, one playing the piano, two conpleting the retro arcade game Golden Axe ( I thought it was Golden Max!), a son now studying Spanish, everyone stopping to say a prayer for a soul, mum suggesting a trip to the shops for errands and fun and talking about Blessed Fra Angelica and someone finding the Faith and Life book with reprints of his paintings, while listening to Gorecki...and music lessons, work, youth group later.


That flashing around, in mind and body. And in discussion.
No screaming. No peanut M&Ms.
Yet.



6 comments:

Erin said...

Maybe you should say, "what, start? we never stopped!"

Leonie said...

Or - school? What's school? Lol!

Beate said...

I told one curious priest that he could consider us as always learning or on a permanent vacation depending on how charitable he is ;-)

Ikwym, though. Once I had this long conversation with a mom about unschooling and afterwards she replied, so when do you start school? AARGH!!!

HomeGrownKids said...

Hahahaa, have to laugh... or I'll scream! I have had so many discussions with others just like Beate described above - how frustrating.

But I remind myself (most times, although usually after I have vented) that they don't know... they know the schooling system and they do try to know. They do this by showing interest and asking about our learning, but it isn't real to them.

*~* Smile *~*

Therese said...

Just yesterday I was sharing with my husband how enthusiastic Christopher is about learning. He is our first home schooled right from the get go. I said to him that I had heard that going to school can poison a child to the point where they don't like learning and I think that happened with Tom and Amelia a bit. Steve said that at school they would do be doing the same kind of activities that I do with him. I wonder then if it is the way a classroom is set up that is the problem.

Hopewell said...

Thought you'd like my post today--
http://hopewellmomschoolreborn.blogspot.com/2011/02/transitions.html