I have a secret.  We still haven't "officially" begun school.  We're reading aloud, reading alone, working on projects, having lively discussions about history and current events, and doing some bookwork, but it's all very unofficial.  Whatever that means.

Actually, the reason we haven't officially begun has to do with the past ten weeks of morning sickness and my inability to function, which means I still have a few planning odds and ends to tie up.  So we'll get really going around the first of October.  And does it really matter?  We educate at home because we believe in education, not schooling.  Believe me, lots of education occurs around here every day.

But this post is about free time.  I was sitting down this morning making a list of all of the acceptable activities my children can do in their free time, when it occured to me that I ought to share it with you because I'd love more ideas.   If you have a good idea that isn't on the list, would you please post it?

Our list is a compilation of several lists made over the years, but I still think we could be doing other meaningful things with our free time.

·         Ask Pop Pop or Grammy if they have jobs you can do to serve them

·         Practice piano or guitar 

·         Practice Medieval Martial Arts

·         Read

·         Swim laps to improve strokes (breast, back, freestyle- 10 laps per stroke)

·         Run 10 laps around the circle, increasing to 20 by a certain date (you choose)

·         Typing program (30 minutes)

·         Write a letter on the following rotation-

                        1. Grandpa Bee

                        2. Adams 

                        3. Aunt Cynthia

                        4. Eric, Ian, Hudson, and/or Corrie

                        5. Carson, Dan, and/or Josh

                        6. Elise

                        7. Ethan and Ben

                        8. Toni Kumar

                        9. President Bush, our congressmen, senators, governor

·         Knitting

·         Puzzle (ask Mom the best place to begin this.  Only begin what you’ll work diligently on)

·         Origami

·         Carve wood

·         Nature Notebook

·         Organize a cupboard (ask Mom)

·         Memorize Scripture

·         Draw (we have lots of drawing books)

·         Drawing class video

·         Ballet class video

·         Jump on the tramp

·         Ride bikes

·         Skateboard

·         Roller skate

·         Sidewalk chalk

·         Play a board game

·         Research a subject you’ve wanted to learn more about and begin a notebook page on it

Unofficial School- Calvin and Hobbes contains deep philosophical study

PRAY FOR KAREN!  http://www.welovekaren.blogspot.com/