* the library offers to register you as a school so that you can take an extra 18 books out on top of the 72 books, 4 CD's, 6 puzzles, 4 DVD's and 4 magazines you already take out
* your children ask you whether watching cartoons is part of school
* everything is learning
* you go on an excursion to a museum or nature reserve with a bag full of books and stationary to sketch and record everything you see
* you have maps on the walls instead of painting with little arrows showing pen pals, excursions you want to go on, places you have been or any other topic
* you go on holiday whenever you want to
* you go to the grocery store in the morning and people either stare or ask you if your children are sick
* your boys hair is longer than boys around you
* every question becomes a lesson
* you have solar systems hanging over the dining room, a science experiment growing in the kitchen and models drying on the lounge floor
* school never starts at exactly the same time every day
* when people regularly ask you - "But what will you do when they get to high school?"
* you take a lunch break and head for the beach to come back and carry on with learning activities
* making food becomes an opportunity for learning
* Dad asks your kids - "What did you do for school today?" and they answer - "Oh we didn't do school ,we just had fun - we did all these science experiments and made models of the pyramids"
* your greatest concern is finding another shelf for the new books you've just bought
* people tell you that your children are so confident and can participate in conversations with any age group
* your children know more about almost any subject and you don't recall ever having covered it, but you did see them reading books on the topic
* your whole house has become a classroom
* your whole house has become a classroom
* you can't imagine a day without homeschooling your children
* you go to a new town or area, you look online to see what learning opportunities there are
* your children's school friends all want to be homeschooled because they see how fun it is
* your children have books packed all over the car to ensure they can read while they travel
* your children carry a magnifying glass in they bags as an accessory
* you love it when public schools start so they can get off the roads so you can get back to your excursions
* your children consider the library a highlight
* every visit to the doctor or hospital becomes an anatomy question and answer session
* your children exhaust people with their questions and their persistence in getting an intelligent answer
* you eat lunch together at home and have real conversations
* you take out educational DVD's at the library and music CD's for your latest composer studies
* when you spend your afternoons doing sport, cultural activities and visiting friends and not having to come home to homework
* schooling after lunch is considered punishment
* you keep checking on the clock to see when you can phone your public school friends
* you get to be the teacher, principal, sports coach and cultural affairs coordinator all in a day
* your children write with red pens and you mark with pencils
* the only bully know is your brother who insists on telling you what to do all the time
* you sleep late mornings after big nights and then do a ful day of school
* you don't know it's a public holiday until you try to go the library or store and find it closed
* one of the most important electronic pieces of equipment is the printer for bulk printing
* your neighbours wonder why there is the sound of children's laughter in the middle of the day
* your family gives you books for gifts, Christmas and birthdays
* your children think you know everything about anything
* your children enjoy talking to grownups and small children
* your read every website, newspaper or newsletter about excursions, shows for lesson opportunities
* every time someone comes to your house to install, fix or deliver something, they are met with students eager to learn
* your cupboards are full of recycled objects for the next project or craft
There are probably loads more.
What would be included on your list? Feel free to add your own!
Posts
These are great! So many apply to my own family.
ReplyDeleteI would add: "when you go camping with friends and the kids bring their 'treasures' collected on a walk, laying them on the picnic table and ask "is this science class?"
(visiting from Raising Homemakers)
Yes you're so right! In fact I am sure my children just like to say that so that they can say they did school even when they are playing:)
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