What Do Homeschoolers Do All Day?

Having burnt out a little with "school at home" as our method of learning, the past couple weeks we've been doing "life" instead. The boys and I all learn so much more and are so much happier when we follow our own interests. I thought I'd start recording some of the things we do each day during this relaxed learning phase, with artificially separated academic subject areas highlighted so I realize how much"school" we're actually doing and learning even when we're not "doing school."

So here's today:

- All four of us read the bible at breakfast - the boys read Psalms and Proverbs, Daddy and I read Matthew. History, Character, Geography, Reading.

 - Spoke a little Spanish to each other throughout the day. Spanish

- Little Bro wrote a(n other) letter to Santa--getting an early start-- and learned to spell "anything" "stocking," and a couple other words he asked me how to spell. Spelling, Writing, Handwriting

- Big Bro read 2 or 3 Magic Tree House books, one on mummies. Ancient History, Reading

- Boys made block houses for their stuffed animals. There is only one block box, which they both like to use as their houses' foundation. Spatial Reasoning, Sharing, Negotiation.

- We had to go to the orthodontist, where Little Bro read his Usborne Book of Knowledge. Reading, (I don't know what part he read - history, science, etc.)

- Watched Jacques Cousteau film from the '70s on Easter Island. Poor sound quality + French accent = practice in listening carefully. History, Science, Anthropology, Geology, Geography, Religion

 - At lunch time, I read from A Child's History of the World, about Columbus. We already knew the whole story, except the story about Columbus' response to those who belittled his expeditions, where he showed them how to stand a raw egg on end, after which it was easy for them. History review, Geography, Politics, Religion, Ethics

 - Also at lunch, I read 2 or 3 chapters of Life of Fred: Butterflies. We're re-reading the first books in the series, then I'll buy the rest. Telling time, Geometry, Arithmetic, Astronomy

 - That inspired Little Bro to find the book Is There Anything Bigger Than a Blue Whale? which they read together.

- Little Bro drew a whale holding a fork in one flipper and knife in the other, ready to dig into a big stack of pancakes with syrup. Art

 - Went to the park, where I walked/hiked with the dog and the boys played tag with a bunch of different-aged kids for just over an hour. Physical Education, Social skills

 - At bedtime, I'll read more from Castle Diary and start reading The Apprentice. History, Literature, Vocabulary

 Wow, I'm really glad I did this. I could go on and on. That's not all we did today. I can't remember everything. And I was doing my own thing most of the day and didn't even notice most of what they did and learned through their own joyful play.

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