Skipping School
We just hit day 100 in our Math book. There are exactly 7 weeks of the school year left. We are working hard.
I have been noticing strife’s presence in our home. I am not sure when he wriggled inside but see more stress, short tempers, impatience, and grumbling. Not just in my kids, but in me too.
It was time for a break.
We finished the 100th lesson in Math and a chapter of a book we are reading aloud together first thing this morning. And I felt the need to get outside. We skipped Science, Home Economics, History, Art study, Typing, etc…..
No formal school.
But we did do a little Chemistry, mixing a perfume we each created out of essential oils.
My 9yo made our lunch for a picnic (all by herself) and we rode our bikes to The North Korean Veterans Memorial at our local park.
We read the names of the soldiers, who gave the ultimate sacrifice, as we munched. Turns out there is a soldier with my big brothers name. We thoughtfully talked a little bit about the Korean War.
My daughter, using her own money, bought our dog a bone at the local hardware store in town. She navigated the change and receipt and then we pet the new little baby chicks and envied the chicken coops for sale.
We also visited our local library, picking up a book on CD for my middle daughter.
And what bike ride would be complete without a visit to the local dollar store? We celebrated with a treat right after we nibbled free samples at the local Teeter.
And then for the long ride home. 12 miles on the bike in all….. tired and sore, and maybe just a little bit healed. Smiles, conversation, grace and more patience than before we started.
Funny, how God weaved the Bible verse we are memorizing this week into our day.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
We skipped school today. Or did we?
I am thinking about watching the library movie on Anne Frank together tomorrow that I have been trying to get to for 3 weeks now but haven’t had a chance to fit it in between school. What better way to show my girl the life of Anne Frank than to watch her life unfold, together.
3 ways to add life and love back into your homeschool:
- Try skipping school when the spirit of strife enters your home.
- Attempt to erase the lines of demarkation you may have made between life and learning. Learning doesn’t need to include a text book.
- Create defining moments in your day and your kid’s lives one experience at a time. Intentionally. Together.
