When Kids Ask Why?

I was thinking the other day about philosophy.  How many people actually study philosophy at some point in their lives?  It's come to my attention that not many have.  If so few adults study philosophy, then why would I ever imagine kids would get the same experience?

Philosophy for children may not sound like a brilliant idea.  Given many adults I know haven't studied philosophy, one can imagine that children wouldn't either.  They certainly don't teach it in the school systems around here, at least not at the elementary level.  It's just not really viewed as a child's subject.  It's not what people expect their children to be learning.  The focus should be on more useful things, like reading, writing, math, and science, you know, stuff they need in the real world.  Those subjects prepare a child for college or university some day, but philosophy?  It just doesn't seem to fit the bill.

Once upon a time, philosophy was considered a great topic for all ages.  Philosophy encourages the student to think deeper on any subject at hand.  Of course, "the student" really referred to any philosopher, given the general concept of philosophy encourages the constant pursuit of learning and greater, deeper understanding.  The whole subject is about expanding one's consciousness, learning to look deeper.  It's not so much about learning what to think, but how to think.  You can never stop learning new ways to think!

Looking at philosophy that way, it's not surprising that children would take naturally to it.  By nature they are rather curious creatures.  Many children, especially those that haven't been indoctrinated into a strict structure of expectations, want to know the details of everything.  They're likely to want to know how things work, why people do the way they do, and what the greater meaning of things in the world around them is.  Can you blame them?  Everything is deep and interesting to them, and the study of philosophy just appeals to their natural curiosity.  They're encouraged to think for themselves, come up with new ideas, be creative, and explore things as deeply as they possibly can.  I'm surprised so few people are interested in teaching philosophy before university and college!  It's something I would think could appeal to many parents!

Of course, allowing kids to question "why" all the time opens the door to very frustrated and annoyed parents.  Constant questioning from children can be daunting.  It can be frustrating to adults to have constant pestering about why this works or why people do this in the way they do, but it's good for the kids.  If we want creative and innovative children, which most people do, these aspects should be encouraged.  There does come a point where the parent is so tired and frustrated that they just need to put an end to the questions for their own sanity, but I have to wonder if that's as common as many parents seem to think it is.  I can't count the number of times I've heard parents gripe at their children to just go play and stay out of their hair.  We're not the most interactive culture.  Many parents are more focused on their own needs than the needs of their children, which isn't all bad.  Unfortunately, the more acceptable that behavior becomes, the more we stunt our children's ability to learn, question, and be genuinely curious.  We want our children to be innovative, creative, and successful, but how can we do that when we're constantly putting our kids off to meet our own needs?  Perhaps kids need another outlet, a philosophy forum or other engaging group activities that will allow our children to expand their own minds and feel comfortable with questioning and coming up with new ideas.

All of this stemmed from something my daughter's philosophy teacher said.  (Yes, my daughter is only eight and studying philosophy!  Isn't homeschool wonderful?)  She was talking about an exercise they did about being nobody.  Being somebody means having all these labels and expectations put on you.  Being nobody removes you from that pressure and allows you to spend your time going through your life and doing what you believe is right pretty unharassed by society.  My daughter was one of two kids that thought perhaps it would be better to be nobody.  I have to wonder if any of their thoughts on the subject will change by the end of class.  Then she mentioned that my daughter asked a really good question, "What does happy really mean?"  I had to stop and think about that one myself.  What does happy really mean?  I think I'd have a difficult time expressing that myself.  How many eight-year-olds would think to ask that question?

Perhaps this is something that warrants more thought.  I might just have to start thinking about getting more philosophy books myself so my daughter and I can keep having intelligent conversations on the subject.  I think it's time to change my Amazon settings over to store credit!  I have a feeling I've got a lot of learning to do in order to keep up with her curious mind!

Today's History Lesson

My daughter has finally found a love of history!  It's inspired her to read!  Yesterday I mentioned that my daughter had come home to read Sam the Minuteman.  Today she asked if there were any more stories about Sam.  Unfortunately, there are none that I know of.  We decided to take a step further and branch off into other books about the time period.

Today we searched my daughter's book shelf and found a couple of books that she might find interest in.  She decided she wanted to learn more about what life was like for someone like Sam.  Right now she's reading about what girls did in colonial times.  We found that in If You Lived in Colonial Times.  She's found a couple things in that book that she wants to know about in that book.  I have a feeling this is going to inspire a whole lot of learning about history, which is extra exciting for me.  This is a subject I care a lot about.  On top of that, If You Lived in Colonial Times has plenty of information broken down into nice, easy segments.  My daughter can pick and choose what she's interested in finding out about at any given time and only read the parts she feels like learning about.  It's an excellent way for her to find something that's interesting to her.

I have to say, I really like this series.  The kids only have three books from it that I know of, but I'm thinking we may have to try and find more.  I know they have a whole number of books, some of them overlapping in time periods a good deal.  It seems like a good way to give just enough information on a period of history to encourage curiosity without going into too much detail.  The focus on daily life and normal things also makes these books a great supplement to other books about similar periods of history.  It's a great help for our history lessons, and I love it.

I'm thinking since we're working with colonial history and the American Revolution, it might be time to start looking into other books that would inspire my daughter to keep reading.  The American Girls have Felicity, which is about colonial times and the American Revolution.  I'm sure we could find those books at the library.  I though we had them, but apparently we don't.  I'm sure the library would have at least a few more books that may be of interest, though from everything I hear the Killeen Library doesn't have the greatest selection when it comes to American history, at least beyond Texas.  Still, it's one more adventure that can come out of all of this history love.  Perhaps we're going to have to make weekly or bi-weekly trips to the library.

Finally! The Homeschool Co-op!

Today was the first day of the homeschool co-op.  I have to say I'm a little disappointed that it's now only down to one day every week and a play group that's moving to Fridays.  It would be great for the kids to get out and see their friends from the co-op more often than simply three hours one day each week for class and however long the play group lasts.  Even so, it's good for them to be out with other kids, especially other kids that homeschool.  I'm sure they won't feel so strange once they're no longer the only homeschooling kids they know!  It's good to feel like maybe you've got somewhere you belong!

We had a pretty good day, in all honesty, all of us, not just the kids.  I had no idea what to make of anything when we arrived.  Being a pierced, tattooed (okay, so it's only one) mama with dreads I'd already felt pretty out of place, especially not being Christian.  The whole thing sets up in a church and apparently a large number of the older kids are all in choir at the church together.  I felt like I might not find a good place to be myself here, but at least the kids would have a good time.  Isn't that what mattered?

As we walked in we were greeted by another mom that directed us where to go.  There was a pretty sizable group there.  I felt very out of place with all the other moms there, and my kids seemed so unprepared.  All of the kids had backpacks.  They'd all brought their lunches.  I had no idea I was supposed to have them bring bags, lunches, or any of that.  I'd thought about packing lunches, but I'd decided better on the idea since we had places to go afterwards.  I didn't realize that they ate lunch at the playground and played for a good while afterwards, otherwise I definitely would have been more prepared.

Off on one side of the room there was a gaggle of girls playing hand games and doing other things I found quite familiar from my days in Girl Scouts.  My kids stuck by me, which I was grateful for because I didn't know anyone either and I felt just as lost and out of place as they did!  The other kids were mingling in the room and some of the oldest of the bunch moved out into the hall being overwhelmed by the chaos of it all.  It was kind of nice to see so many kids out and playing.  It looked like my daughter's group was mostly girls, which was good for her, and my son's group was a small number, four boys and one girl.  We got a look at the class sheet and I tried to figure out where I belonged in all of it.  It was highly confusing, but I figured if we'd just wait, everything would come to order.

As the families started to evacuate the room I felt a little concerned.  Someone had asked me if I wanted my youngest to be taken to the playground for outdoor play.  She assumed I would.  I told her I'd be okay with taking him myself.  I was pretty free to wander around that first period, so I wanted to make sure I was there until he really got into his comfort zone.  He's never really spent much time at a playground and he didn't know any of these people, so I'd help him feel comfortable.  I had almost given up hope on finding where the older two belonged when it seemed like the only group left was made up of the groups my older son and daughter were in.  Those two groups went together to the gym, which was great because my older son, who is normally as timid as a mouse and quite the loner, would at least have his sister there until he was a little more comfortable, and I would be with him by the second class.

So off my older two went to the gym while I went out to the playground with my youngest.  He was surprisingly timid, given the usual boldness with which he usually takes to playgrounds.  He's usually ready to run around and investigate everything.  I let him go do his own thing and tried to take his sippy cup so he could play, but he clung to it with a death grip.  I attempted to pry it from him, but decided to give up hope as soon as I realized it wasn't going to work without him crying.  Thankfully it wasn't long before he'd ditched the cup to climb on a car made of wood, metal, and old tires.  It wasn't long before he was proving just what an adventurer he could be.  He climbed all over the structure and even went down the tallest slide (though it was on my lap) and seemed to have a grand time of it.  We just found out the other day that he's still a bit chunkier than he is tall, so I think all the exercise of climbing and running around outside every week will do a good bit to make sure he's just a chunky baby and doesn't end up on the unhealthy side.  It might also do good for his constant desire to eat every time he so much as thinks there might be food nearby.  At least now maybe he'll be more inspired to adventure than eat us out of house and home.  He's going to be a strong one with all of that getting out and playing.

Apparently P.E. in the gym for the other two was a good deal of fun.  I just feel it's too bad I didn't get to see the games they were playing.  From the sounds of it, they all had a lot of fun.  My poor older son looked absolutely exhausted by the time he met us inside for the sign language class.  It was a sure sign that he didn't get enough sleep last night.  We need to tailor our schedule to getting them to bed on time a little better.  They all looked pretty wiped when I got them out of bed.

The sign language class was short, and I guess we're going to combine it with the kinder-music class for the littlest ones, so I'll be able to spend that time with both my boys that period, or at least for part of it.  The kids in the sign language class seemed to think it was pretty fun and wanted to be in on the music and songs too.  I thought the sign language was great.  I think we might start working on using it a bit more around the house.  As much as my littlest is a little too young to be working with baby sign and I should be focused on language skills, I think it couldn't hurt.  Sign language is a useful skill and you never know when it might come in useful.  It never hurts to know a different language because you never know when you might need to know it.  Well, in their case, it may not truly be seen as another language, especially since deaf people aren't incredibly common, but it's always good to have the knowledge.  Plus, as the teacher pointed out, it's a great way to be able to ask the kids if they need to use the potty or anything else from across a crowded room or across the playground.  It's definitely got it's uses.  My poor son didn't really seem to be paying attention.  He looked around like a zombie while eating his snack and didn't even try most of the signs.  I thought he was just tired and he would probably be like that all day.  I was a little disappointed, but it was understandable.

After that I watched the littlest kids play while my older son was learning about the body and my daughter went to chemistry.  I felt bad because I didn't get to sit in on what both of them were doing, but I got reports in on my older son.  They were singing, dancing, had show-and-tell (which I wasn't prepared for in the least, so I felt a little bad), and they made little paper bag puppets.  They apparently had a great time.  I also apparently didn't have to worry about my shy, exhausted middle child.  I guess he was participating and was quite involved in everything.  Here I was thinking he would be spacey and exhausted the whole day, but apparently he just needed a bit of a snack to perk right up!

My daughter through all of this didn't seem interested in telling me anything.  At the end of it all she showed me her folder where she had two poems by Emily Dickinson and an imagination drawing they did.  She was supposed to write a poem, but her writing skills are definitely lacking.  She's got a lot of work to do there!

We decided to stay and play when everyone was having lunch.  Most of the kids just got up and played instead of eating.  My kids had a blast.  My son did have an accident in the playground, but he wasn't the only one in his class to have an accident.  It's hard.  They're still so young and they've got so much to distract them from using the bathroom when they need to.  I can't entirely blame them.  Next time we'll just have to remember to work on it, and work on making sure there's always a spare set of clothes packed, just in case.

After it all I found out just what an impact the homeschool co-op had.  Not only do I feel different, but so do the kids.  I'd met some really cool moms that are involved with things I wish I could be involved with.  They raise their kids the way I wish I could raise mine.  It was a huge breath of fresh air and felt like a step in the right direction.  On top of that, my exhausted middle child proved he learned something in his sign class by showing his sister all the signs he learned in class today.  My daughter said she needed help writing for her class, so she decided to come home and read a book.  She picked up Sam the Minuteman, read it, and had all kinds of questions.  More importantly, she actually retained a lot of what she read!  She wants to work on writing too, so I think we may do some of that after dinner while I'm cleaning the house.  I've never seen her sit down and read an entire book without complaining, never mind cruise through it!  I guess she didn't have the right incentive!  On top of it all, both my younger two came home exhausted.  My youngest son tried to climb into his own playpen to sleep, so I picked him up and put him in.  My middle child climbed up on his bed while we were gathering the laundry up and pulled a blanket over him.  He said he was tired and needed to take a nap.  He took a nap when he was tired without me even having to ask him!  And me?  I'm cleaning the house, got the laundry together, and it feels like my life is finally going to start going in the right direction.  I'm so incredibly calm right now, even with everything going on.  I can't wait until next week to do it all again!

So now it's time to start dinner, a little later than planned, but that's okay.  All the kids need baths and showers, because they got pretty dirty playing that hard, especially outside.  I think they may all sleep well tonight and tomorrow we're going to be off to a brilliant start again.  I already know my daughter has a million questions about the American revolution, which is good because it's going to be so much easier for her to learn about it now that she's starting to find drive to read.  My aunt sent her a lot of books on colonial America and the Revolutionary War, which is fantastic because that's something my daughter and I can really share a love of.  She's branching out and isn't as stuck on just one thing, art!  I have a feeling my middle child is going to be a lot more inspired to branch out and learn new things too, and we can keep practicing his sign language.  Hopefully we can get into doing a lot more and really start getting into a routine that makes all of us happy, something we can all gladly work with, and get a lot more done in our days!

How I Miss Nice Weather and How Fast They Grow

This week we had some pretty nice weather.  It got down to the 80's, which meant we were able to open the windows and let in some fresh air.  It was nice not to need the air conditioning running all day.  Hopefully that will save us some money.  It's not easy living in a state where air conditioning is required in order to live or you'll get sick from the heat.  This week it's going to be back up to the 90's, which is better than it was through most of the summer.  Yes, the weather is finally turning towards something nicer.

As the weather changed we decided it was time to sort through old clothes.  The boys will probably both need a new winter wardrobe.  My older boy has pretty much outgrown all of his clothes.  It's not that he's too wide in the middle.  Actually, clothes that fit him around the middle are too short on him.  It's that everything is too short.  My younger one will probably be set for another few months, but he's starting to not fit his pants around the middle and his shirts don't want to go over his head.  Since he's been born that's been a sign that he's about to shoot up like a weed, and if he does that he probably isn't going to fit anything in length much longer either.  Thankfully we can still manage on shorts and t-shirts for a while longer.  I guess that's the good thing about Texas!  The warm weather means summer clothes really last.

The whole thing has me thinking about the weather.  I love the weather back home.  This time of year we would soon have lessons on why the fall leaves change and all of that.  Things would be getting cooler and we would have to start planning to bundle everyone up for the cold.  This time of year is filled with shopping for winter jackets and snow boots and knitting mittens, scarves, and hats.  We might even be in the weather for long pants, sweaters, and light jackets.  My daughter would probably want tights with some of her skirts.  My littlest and I would be starting the fight over whether or not he has to wear a hat.  He doesn't seem to think there's a need.  I, on the other hand, would realize that his ultra-fine baby hair isn't going to do much to keep his head warm and he needs something to make up for that.

It was a little sad going through the boy's things.  I'd forgotten how much of the clothes I had in a 2T I'd already given away to a friend of mine whose son grew into them sooner than mine did.  We're going to have to start carving out a little bit of money every month to start getting him some new clothes a little at a time.  Thankfully there are plenty of places with low cost clothing for a toddler his size.  I hate thinking about the new size he'll be in.  2T typically fits a toddler at age two.  That means he's no longer my baby and is now considered a toddler.  He's almost two, which seems nearly impossible!  It doesn't seem like it's been so long since he was born.  How incredibly fast time has flown this year.

My older son is going to be jumping into boys clothes this year.  Things sized at x-small are just the right length.  I know I could still shop for him in the toddler section and look for things that are 5T, but the only reason to truly hold on to that is to attempt to hold on to his youth.  I keep wanting to think that he's still a toddler, but he's a preschooler.  He's taking an interest in reading.  He loves super heroes and dinosaurs.  Pokemon and Transformers are favorites of his.  He's even starting to get interested in sports.  He's no longer happy with the simple things that used to please him.  He's growing up before I know it!  He's growing to match in size too!  He's jumped from a 3T being perfect in size to a 4T being a little too short in all of a year!  It's good to see him growing.  Maybe he won't be the shortest boy in his classes at the co-op this year after all!

Then there's my daughter.  I can't call her my little girl anymore.  She's much too big for that.  Thankfully, she's got enough in hand-me-downs and in clothing from Marrok's mom to last her through the year.  My only problem is going to be in keeping her in shorts and pants for the homeschool co-op.  She's got PE first thing when we get there, so she'll need to be wearing something suitable.  You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get her to dress warm when it's cold out!  She'd prefer to wear skirts and dresses all the time, even better if they're sleeveless.  She's really starting to develop her own sense of style, and it's a lot more feminine and girly than I could ever imagine any child of mine being!  Every day it seems like she's just more and more adult, and she's only eight!  I can't help but think she'll be all grown up before I know it.

In all of this, I don't think I would have taken the time to reflect if the weather hadn't started to turn already, even though it's turning back before we know it.  I'm really homesick already.  I wish I could be looking forward fall leaves and snow this year, but I know that's not going to happen.  I don't have very many options for that in Texas.  Even so, as the weather turns cool, I know I'll at least be able to enjoy taking my children to the park.  The kids and I can enjoy going for walks.  It will be nice to get outside.  I can't wait until we can throw open the windows and let the cool air in instead of spending a fortune in electricity to keep the house a bearable temperature.  I can't wait until things start feeling a little bit nicer.  Now if only that could speed up and my kids could slow down on growing for a little while!

Unschooling and Socialization...I Think They're Missing the Point

I was listening to a podcast today about adults who were unschooled.  The general idea that was put out there is a lot of adult unschoolers feel isolated in their environment, that they're just different from their schooled peers and they don't quite fit in.  The response given in return was kind of shocking, not in contrast, but that those who were responding completely missed the point.

So, the topic presented is that many unschoolers grow up to feel that they just don't fit in with the societies they surround themselves in.  This was determined by asking a number of unschoolers from their thirties straight down to just entering adulthood.  Many of those questioned felt they were set apart from their peers, that they felt they were somehow inherently different for their need to constantly learn, understand, and better their environment as a whole.  They look for better ways to do things, even if it means feeling like they've got to reinvent the wheel.  They're innovative, creative, and driven.  As I know from my own experiences, many of the schooled adults I know just don't feel that same motivation and drive in their lives.  Most of the people I know don't even bother with reading books.  "Why read a book when I can just wait for it to come out on TV?"  Most of them have absolutely no interest in expanding their knowledge...on anything.  Because of this, they may have problems integrating themselves into "normal" society, at least at first.

Personally, I can understand where that statement is coming from.  I've felt disconnected from my peers because I like to read.  I enjoy learning.  I could see myself sitting in on college classes for no credits, just for fun.  I watch documentaries because I actually enjoy them.  I would much rather read about history or science than about some celebrity that doesn't even know I exist.  I'd rather hold discussions on math, science, history, education, or spirituality than sit and gossip about what's going on with everyone we know.  Honestly, my peers aren't like that, at least not around here.  I'm different, set apart from the group because I'm a life-long learner.  I also don't fit in because I always like to be doing something with my time.  I'll knit or sew while watching television so the idol time of watching some brainless show isn't wasted on rotting my brain.  I go for walks and dance to keep active.  I don't like my idol time being, well, idol.

That being said, the people who contradicted that idea weren't actually adult unschoolers.  These were mothers of unschoolers, some of them grown.  They insisted that their children had no problems socializing and that the whole concept was outdated because homeschool and unschool communities are so incredibly large.  There's tons of support and they can make other unschooling friends, so they don't have any problems with socialization as an adult.  These communities teach children how to socialize and get along with other people.  They learn to treat other people with respect and expect to be treated with respect.  Why?  Because that's how they were raised.  Adult unschoolers can fit in anywhere.  Why?  Because the unschooling community is so broad that they can move across the country and still be involved with other unschoolers.  Most of their friends generally are other unschoolers.

See the problem here?  Most of the ones sited interact largely with other unschoolers.  They don't spend much time around their schooled peers.  How does that give an honest description of unschoolers integrating with their schooled peers?  If you ask me, that's entirely missing the point.

There was one mother who insisted on telling a story about her thirteen year old son and overhauling the system of the school play he was involved in.  His idea was that if one of their actors looks bad, they're all going to look bad, so rather than choosing people based on the social pecking order, they should choose the best people for the job.  The director was so impressed that he talked to the mother about it to find out what made him so different.  This, of course, has nothing to do with how well this kid felt he fit in with his schooled peers.  This story doesn't tell us how he deals with other adults who were not unschooled.  This tells us absolutely nothing about how that one individual felt, but how his mother felt about the whole thing, and how his mother felt it was a huge sign of how well he was integrated into a social life with schooled kids.

It seems to me that these mothers are just desperate to feel that they're doing the right thing.  By stating that most of their friends are unschooled kids, it's almost as though they're trying to justify their choice to unschool.  "They've got plenty of friends!  Their friends are people like them!"  So, what they're saying is, "They pretty much exclusively socialize with their own kind."  Is that okay?  Is that a good thing?  Is that a sign of being well-adjusted individuals?  Honestly, I don't think it's a sign that they aren't.  As humans we tend to seek out people who are like us.  Therefore, people who have similar interests and similar drives are likely to be our friends.  Those who don't are unlikely to have much interest.  There's nothing wrong with that.  However, I don't think too many unschoolers would like hanging out with a lot of the people in my community that simply aren't driven to do anything with their life.  Far too many schooled adults I know tend to be pretty apathetic.  There's nothing wrong with that, but let's call it what it is, a lack of ability to integrate into that society.

I guess what I'm saying is if you want to contradict a topic, perhaps you should think about an actual contradiction.  Actually answer the question, not just dance around it with only addressing the half that sounds appealing.  These moms of unschoolers aren't proving their point at all, especially in stating that people recognize these kids and adults are different, that they stay to "their own kind" pretty much, and that they don't really have much interest in their schooled peers.  Doesn't that kind of prove the point that was made in the first place?  The statement made by the grown unschooler who feels like he doesn't always fit in with the world around him?  Personally, I think it's just one more sign that people should learn to think the whole question through before they speak because commentaries like this only go to prove to people exactly what they're trying to deny.  Unschoolers are different, and if those comments were to be taken out of context by someone trying to make the unschooling community look bad, it's pretty much handed to them right there.  It would be so easy to say that unschoolers only fit in with other unschoolers, therefore unschooling should be outlawed.  It makes them seem like they're trying to segregate themselves from society, and someone who's pushing the issue could even take it so far as to say that unschoolers think they're better than everyone else.

Normally I'm not one for writing something that aggravates me so much here, but this is an issue that needs more attention.  Perhaps we can use what we learn from these unschooler's experience to figure out how we can raise the bar for schooled children all over the country, or to encourage more parents to do something different, even if it's just to get their children out of sub-standard school systems and learning.  And perhaps it's worth accepting that a lot of unschoolers feel different from their schooled peers, and maybe there's something parents and peers can do to help them connect to their schooled peers a little bit better.  It's all in the name of improvement, and if people could look at that instead of jumping on the defensive every time something is said about the way they do things, perhaps we could make some progress in the world.

With all of this hitting me right on the heels of learning that the Texas school system now believes that George Washington is no longer considered a valuable part in studying our founding fathers, nor are Thomas Jefferson or John Adams, I'm a little irritated.  Hearing all of the changes in the history program to take out the labor movement and Malcolm X, it's only more incentive to do what I think is right.  Now I'm just waiting to hear that they're going to be canning women's suffrage and that will be the last blow to the Texas school system in my book.  Honestly, I know I'm doing the right thing, and I don't feel I need to defend my choices tooth and claw every time someone brings up something that might not be seen as a positive.  Instead, I think it's my job to figure out how to work with that flaw so maybe my children can have a more positive future than those who have come before them.

First Day of School

All over Texas kids were loaded up on buses and packed off to schools.  I still can't get used to how early schools start here.  I remember it being September before we ever hit the schools.  While all the children got on the buses and packed into crowded classrooms and cafeterias, my children were at home, playing in their rooms.

I have to admit, it's a little sad when the kids go back to school.  All kids seem to look forward to going to school when they're young.  I know I used to think it was exciting.  True, it was pretty much the same kids year after year, so there wasn't always the thrill of meeting new kids, but it was still something new and exciting.

A part of me wants that for my kids.  A part of me thinks it would be good for them to have somewhere I drop them off and leave them in the care of another adult with tons of kids thier own age.  It would be a good experience for them.  It would be nice to know that they're learning with other kids and having to listen to rules someone else is responsible for enforcing.  It's kind of nice that it wouldn't be all on me.

At the same time, I have to say it's kind of nice to see that yellow bus drive by with all the kids who are coming home from school and know I don't have anyone there to meet.  Instead my kids spend the day with their family doing cool things they'd never get the chance to do during school.  It's kind of nice to know I'm not required to be home when the bus stops off.  I can go run errands when I want, and each errand can hold lessons for my kids too.

Instead of school this year, my kids will have their own kind of school.  The co-op starts in almost two weeks.  My oldest will be studying philosophy and chemistry, two classes that aren't offered in school at her age.  My middle son will be learning sign language and about the human body.  Sign language isn't something I've ever really known to be taught in school to kids of speaking age.  The littlest ones have play time, so my youngest even has a chance to get involved with other kids and learn, even if it's just "playground education".  You might be surprised what a child can learn at the playground!

While I do feel a little sad that my children will miss out on something that was such an important and influential part of my childhood, I think it's better for them.  I think they'll enjoy it a whole lot more, especially the co-op.  I can't wait until we start that!  I'm as excited as they are, maybe more than they are.  Every day they ask me when they get to go to the homeschool co-op.  Every day I feel bad that they can't go yet.  It's going to be a great fall for us.

Reading Poetry

We've finally made progress!  My daughter actually likes reading some things.  We're still playing the game of her trying to convince us to let her read the shortest piece she can possibly read for the least amount of work, but she's found something she likes reading, which helps.  It also helps that she's going to need to read for the homeschool co-op this year.  I'm starting to like the idea of this co-op more and more!

So what has got my daughter reading?  Years back we got a copy of A Light in the Attic.  I haven't done much with the poetry in it because, well, I'll admit it, I hate poetry.  I write poetry now and again, but I hate reading it.  As a result, I didn't put much thought into reading it to her.

Don't get me wrong, I'm good with poetry.  I understand it.  Unfortunately, it just doesn't captivate my interest.  I find it rather boring.  It's just not something that inspires me.  At this rate, she's going to be reading well enough for the co-op in no time!