Well, actually, I don’t think we ever stopped “School”. I mean, sure we quit the formal, follow the curriculum type of schooling… well… pretty much back in December. Seriously. December is a horrid month for me personally. January was spent house-hunting, February moving, March – May the whole family was struggling with depression over Grampa’s death and dealing with Daddy’s deployment. It really wasn’t until June when we started to wake up from the emotional funk the last 6 months had put us all into.
But. In those six months, my kids have learned valuable life concepts. They’ve learned about death, and Heaven. They’ve questioned endlessly about God. The big guy started reading on his own, and pretty much went from a kindergarten level to a second grade reading level. All. on. his. Own. That’s right. Other than a few times when he asks how to pronounce a word, he is reading, and testing on a second grade level already. All by himself. Momma didn’t do a thing but supply him with the books. He’s also managed to just about beat Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. The Diva of the house has learned important lessons about screaming and yelling, and how it doesn’t work. She’s learned how to clean her room by herself. She also learned how to recognize her letters, and began writing a few of them. Pretty much on her own. I found a Disney Princess book that has a magna doodle board on it, and shows how to write the letters, and she loved it so much, she began doing the work on her own. And of course, with Big Brother showing her how, she’s conquered a few more computer skills, and is trying to read. She’s even figured out a little bit about clocks (mom found another Princess book. See a theme here?). Even the baby, who isn’t a baby anymore, has grown. He’s about halfway potty trained – meaning, he knows what to do, and how to do it… His legs are just a bit too short to get him up there on his own… But it’s awesome to know we are {that} close to being a diaper-free house! woo hoo! I’m not rushing him, oh no. I mean, the kid is only 2! But he sooo wants to be like big brother and sister. He sings his alphabet, knows his colors and body parts, even counts small amounts. He really wants to “kool” with his siblings. I plan to give him color sheets and such to reinforce the stuff he knows. He will get to listen along with all the books read, as well as have his own books read to him… and he’ll get to play along in Art, Music, and PE, as well as tag-a-long on field trips. The kid is going to wind up skipping grades, just like his brother. Even I learned a few things, about my kids, and how they cope with life, how well all handle stress, and things we all need work on, even me.
I guess you could say we’ve “unschooling”, although I hate the stereotype that goes along with that. I think every parent “unschools” in some way. Any time you turn a shopping trip into a math lesson, or teach your kids social skills through play… Or turn movies into lectures about how the main character reacted badly in a situation, and the consequences, and what you should do in that situation. (My mom was the queen of this technique!! Life lessons in cartoons, TV, Movies, even Star Trek! Drove us nuts back then! Now I do the same to my own kids. Go figure.)
But, I’m still gearing up for a more formal, follow the curriculum type school. Because I like having things laid out for me, and I like knowing, ok, by the end of the year they should be able to master *insert skill level here*. We’re starting early because I plan on many more field trips this year, and because I know December and March will be hopeless months. I also know we will all need time to adjust as DH ships out and comes back throughout the year. And really, when you’ve got a houseful who hate the hot weather, and would rather play indoors when it’s 100 degrees outside… what better way to spend the time then getting a head start on the school year… so when Fall comes around, and we all want to be outside in the lovely weather, we can be.