[Nevertheless] We Might Just Have a First Day of School
It's the time of year when people ask my children when their first day of school is. We don't have one, as we homeschool and we have this inherent inability to stop learning.
In Home Depot the other day, my eleven year old and I were shopping for a canvas dropcloth to use as an art canvas. We wanted to make three equal sized art pieces for as little money as possible, but needed to have them fit a specific sized room divider. We eventually decided on a nine foot by twenty-five foot canvas after making some drawings and doing some calculations. Geometry and math for the win.
This same child goes to physical therapy twice a week, and her physical therapist "talks shop" with her, using the names of the muscles she's using. He explains to Alia how the exercises are helpful, helping her better understand how her connective tissue disorder makes her body function differently and what she can do to better support her joints.
My seventeen year old is going to teach a special effects makeup class at our homeschool co-op and is compiling a list of supplies so that they can figure out how much per student to charge for their class. Haley is also writing a class proposal, class description, and syllabus for the class. So much of my children's learning stems from doing. In this case, it's much more than math and writing - it's real life skills like planning, time management, seeking out the best deals to keep costs down, and great amounts of creativity all wrapped up into just the planning process.
In a few days we'll take a trip to the aquarium with the Afghan refugee family we're helping to resettle in our community. We're hoping to learn the Dari, Farsi, or Turkish words for many of the creatures as we teach the family what they are in English. The resettlement process is a wonderful opportunity for my children and myself to learn about different countries, cultures, religions, languages, and the intricacies of adapting to a completely new environment.
And the list goes on.
Just the other day, Alia told someone that her first day of school was on February 16, 2008. She's right. It most definitely was. Perhaps we do have a first day of school after all.
My seventeen year old is going to teach a special effects makeup class at our homeschool co-op and is compiling a list of supplies so that they can figure out how much per student to charge for their class. Haley is also writing a class proposal, class description, and syllabus for the class. So much of my children's learning stems from doing. In this case, it's much more than math and writing - it's real life skills like planning, time management, seeking out the best deals to keep costs down, and great amounts of creativity all wrapped up into just the planning process.
In a few days we'll take a trip to the aquarium with the Afghan refugee family we're helping to resettle in our community. We're hoping to learn the Dari, Farsi, or Turkish words for many of the creatures as we teach the family what they are in English. The resettlement process is a wonderful opportunity for my children and myself to learn about different countries, cultures, religions, languages, and the intricacies of adapting to a completely new environment.
And the list goes on.
Just the other day, Alia told someone that her first day of school was on February 16, 2008. She's right. It most definitely was. Perhaps we do have a first day of school after all.
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