Homeschool isn’t just book work. When people ask how long homeschooling takes, I’m certain that’s what they are referring to, but homeschool encompasses so much more.
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I’ve found that the longer we’ve homeschooled, the more and more homeschooling has begun to encompass everything and everything we do. No, we don’t take our books with us. That’s not what I mean.
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Homeschool includes all the small, seemingly insignificant parts of our day. It includes the conversations we have at the dinner table or while we make breakfast. It includes the kids playing imaginative games outside in the dirt. It includes cleaning the house and taking out the trash and packing their own bags for an outing or sport.
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We have some incredible neighbors who have spent their careers educating kids. They never question or quiz our kids for being homeschooled, but rather, they create opportunities for my kids to hang out and pick apples or pumpkins or grapes from their yard while they have conversations about all sorts of topics and subjects. My kids practice being polite, respectful of their property, and continue practicing their conversation skills with other adults.
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Today, we picked Concord grapes. Lots and lots of Concord grapes (three 3-gallon buckets full!). They’re devouring grapes at the moment, and are going to try to make both juice and jelly…if any grapes last the night.
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Homeschool is everything and all the things. It’s all the conversations and all the interactions. Homeschool is SO enjoyable…enjoy it all!