We Call This School

We had some friends over for dinner the other night, and the Daddy asked Peregrine what we'd done for school that day. Peregrine replied casually "oh, we don't really do school anymore." Uh, yeah, school. We've sort of taken an extended break from the sitting-at-the-desk part of school. There's lots of real-life learning going on, though, and with my oldest only kindergarten age, I'm perfectly comfortable with that. I mean, really, what was the last time your kids' kindergarten served pancakes in the shape of jellyfish and letter Js? (Jellyfish pancakes with Jam. It's J week after all.)

There. I feel much better now. We start learning at breakfast time and go all day. Just don't judge us by the lack of time we spend at the desk, okay? Here are some more examples of the sort of schooling we engage in more often than not.

Caring for a savage baby who attacks us with slobbery kisses takes up a good part of our days.

Then there's observing the wildlife in our back yard...

...and planting things in the front yard.

There's geography in the hallway, which is enjoyed by all ages.

How about field trips to see Daddy at work at the substation? We even got a tour of one they'd built (before they energized it.)

Here's another field trip to the fire station with some homeschooling friends. 

What else? There's cooking with mom in the kitchen, which is math and science. (And usually yummy.) We sometimes refer to the kitchen as my laboratory, which makes it even more fun. There's music appreciation with Daddy, who's building his own speakers and likes to help the kids identify different instruments in the music they hear. Speaking of music, we've enjoyed a couple of outings to the free lunchtime performances at our local performing arts center. After seeing a woodwind trio one afternoon we read up on the different instruments in our orchestra book, and listed to selections of music that highlighted each one. There are trips to the library, and books in abundance, stories read in the morning, and stories before bed. Oh, and stories throughout the day as well. There is Peregrine excitedly reading words on signs as we're driving. There are trips to the coast, and outings to the park. There are wild playtimes at gymnastics and lots of fun times with friends. There are performances put on by our little "students", dances and theatricals to keep us all entertained. There are puzzles put together, and games played, quiet times and noisy times in this home where we live and learn together. 

So Peregrine may think we don't do school, but that's okay with me. There will be plenty of time down the road for sitting at the desk. For now, we'll take the hallway, the kitchen, the back yard, or wherever we are, and turn our living times into learning times as well.