I don’t officially homeschool our kids.
Sadly, my patience is usually gone after the PB & J hits the counter at lunchtime, and keeping the kids focused on anything longer than an hour generally requires some form of sugar or technology. Or Benedryl.
Ok, it’s not that bad, but you get the idea.
Still, I am passionate about infusing learning opportunities into everyday life and finding fun, meaningful things to do together.
So I guess you could say that I unofficially homeschool our kids.
One of the ways we’ve brought school into the everyday is to transform our kitchen wall into a learning center. We have four clocks representing the four time zones of the contiguous United States, labeled according to locations where friends live. Having these clocks in the midst of our busy traffic space allows us to see immediately what time it is in Washington or Chicago or Montana. It helps us judge the best time for phone calls and for figuring out if so-and-so is eating dinner.
We also took a cue from the beloved classic Sleepless in Seattle, and hung a US mapbelow the clocks. This map is special in that it is laminated and came with red pins to indicate our family travels. It’s fun to return home from trips and get out the Vis-a-Vis marker to chart our paths together. Lord willing, I’m hoping this map will look like a spider web on steroids by the time our kids leave the nest!
We refer to our map every day when we read the news, hear of others’ vacations, or learn the attributes of other states. Our kids have a running list of places they’d like to visit, with our youngest declaring his goal to go to all fifty states!
My sister and friends who homeschool all tell me that it’s really “a way of life.” I get that. And you know what? Based on what God says in Deuteronomy 6, I actually think it’s his idea to weave teaching into your daily life.
If you agree, then I officially declare you an “unofficial” homeschooler.
Start in the kitchen. Benedryl optional.
~~~
What creative ways do you have for incorporating learning into your everyday life?
**Thank you to “Photography by Kamarah” for the lovely pictures! Look for her on Facebook.
[first posted on my former blog]
