For Example (A short list of FAQs)

Kevin asked the other day what kinds of things I'm doing with Jacob to 'homeschool' him. I explained that my most basic definition of what homeschooling looks like to us these days is that we do all the normal things any other stay-at-home parent does with their children, but that it will continue when the other kids his age go off to school, and that it will get more sophisticated as time goes on.

Last night I was darning socks and Jacob asked if he could sew a little something up. I gave him a threaded needle and he went to town on a tiny piece of fabric that I had leftover from some other project. This isn't the first time he's 'sewed' with me, and even though I threaded the needle for him this time, he is capable of doing it himself. I think it's pretty cool for a five year old to have that kind of control and fine motor skills.

And that's what homeschooling is all about to me at this point: Having the time to follow your passions and desires in terms of learning. It was pretty late at night when Jacob started his little project. If he had to get up at the ass-crack of dawn to go to school then I would have had to tell him no. Perhaps he could have started his little project later this afternoon, like when he would be getting home from 'school', chances are he wouldn't though, but even if he did, the moment would have been lost.

I didn't take Home Ec. until middle school. Jacob is getting all that kind of 'instruction' as a five year old, not because I'm deciding it, but because he's asking for it. He's going to get exposure to a lot of the same things as he would in school, he just gets to pick the order and decide how long he wants to spend on it. That's what I call self-initiated learning.

Beyond that kind of thing, I don't really don't where this is headed or what I'm doing. But I have faith that the universe will help us along our way as far as presenting opportunities, and I know that I'll figure it out as we go along. I also know that the time may come when he needs to be in school (for one reason or another), and that we'll accept that.

Some other stuff real quick: Jacob's been planting seedlings, transplanting them, getting him garden ready with Zach's mom. He's learned a ton from doing all this. He goes with Zach sometimes to 'jobs' and learns stuff there. He still loves baking, through which he learns measurements, chemistry, time, etc. And he goes everywhere with us, gets a ton of exposure to other people, other adults, who all have stories to tell and lessons to share. This is a big one for me, I want him to learn from a variety of people, and to learn how to get along with a diversity of people.

I stopped posting on here about homeschooling a long time ago because I didn't want to bore people. I started that other blog for those kind of posts, but it's too hard to update it, and home learning has become something that is so enmeshed in our daily lives that there's really no way to separate it anymore. So I think I'll just try to post little tid-bits here and there, you know, for the Curious People.