Posted in My Homeschool FAQs

My kids are doing VBS this week.  Yesterday morning my daughter said to me "I really like VBS, but they only give us 5 minutes to eat our snack and it's just not enough time."  (I am sure they give them more than 5 minutes, she is a sloooow eater!  LOL)  Anyway, I said to her "You know if you went to traditional school you would have a set amount of time to do everything."  She looked at me with a puzzled look and replied  "Well, how would I learn about the things that interest me?"  I thought this was an interesting observation.  She has never been put in a postition where learning, or much of anything else goes by a set schedule.  If she is interested in what we are doing we continue.  If she "gets it " we move on.  If she wants more time on a particular project there is no pressure to move to the next topic.  If we don't get to the other subjects today (Which we usually do.) we will start with them tomorrow. 

Then later in the day I was reading an interesting article over at the Life Without School blog.  The post  was about how her 5 year old son is a digital native.  This was a new term for me, but it means he has grown up with technology at his fingertips and all around him  He doesn't have to learn about technology like we adults do, it is normal to him.  This made me realize that my kids are homeschool natives!   Homeschooling is there norm.  I am very comfortable with homeschooling because I have done it for so long now, but I am an immigrant to the process! For me public school is normal.  It is what I compare homeschooling to.  My kids don't compare.  My kids know nothing about raising their hand and waiting to be called on.  They don't know about standing in line for lunch, or how excited everyone gets on pizza day!  LOL  They have never had a teacher who did not sleep under the same roof as them!  Their normal is not the same as mine!  It will be interesting to watch how this unusual educational choice will form who my children will be.  I love watching them think for themselves and fill their days up with the things that interest them.  Some things may not look like learning, but who know what is really going through my 3 year olds mind as he follows his current passion?  (Taping piece of paper to his bedroom door with black electircal tape!  LOL)

I remember when my older son was 6 and he was obsessed with freezing things.  He would fill our freezer up with everything from weeds from the garden to Hot Wheel Cars.  We were glad when that phase passed I must admit!  LOL

The world is full of possiblities and I look forward to watching my "homeschool natives" find their own path through it!