One of our members recently wrote about her family's learning experience as new homeschoolers. This is shared with permission.
“Hey kids! Why aren’t you in school today?”
Oh how many times we are going to hear this line.
“This is their school,” was my response to our kind tour guide.
It’s so easy to find the beauty in our state - especially this time of year. But our adult brains, our conditioned brains (through no fault of anyone!), see this as a “day off”, a “fun day”.
In the short time we have been homeschooling, I have begun to unschool myself and in turn my kids. Sounds crazy, sounds like they aren’t learning, sounds SCARY.
Today would be the perfect example in my eyes of how much learning has nothing to do with a test, desk, or building called “school”.
My five year old read almost every sign from here to Moultonborough. My twins socialized appropriately (life skill that has slowly been forgotten) with adults, tour guides and a dear old friend (who we are grateful that could come today!!), did a scavenger hunt, listened to an audio book, and countless steps up and downhill which challenged their endurance, balance and moms too!
And if “learning” seems like it should end at 3pm, we did our overtime when they came home to verbally vomit everything they saw today to daddy! Some of the details I had never guessed they would have retained.
If you have stayed with me this long- yes more than I usually write- I want you to take away this- our children are ALWAYS learning. So breathe deeper, read more, and know that they are ALL going to be okay (no matter where they are learning from these days!!!)
By Eliza Hale
