I have always said that I intend to do school year round and Saturdays too, for that matter. My reasoning is that if our style of learning is inherently integrated into our everyday life then how could we possibly justify changing our lifestyle on Saturdays and during summer, particularly when there are such great opportunities for learning experiences during those times.
That being said, this Summer I thought we maybe ought to ease off the academics and focus more on life skills for a while. I thought it would be good for us; instead everything descended into chaos. There was more contention and boredom than we've ever had before, and I was forced to admit that our family culture is just better attuned to the loose structure that comes with a year-round-school mindset.
So here we are, loving learning and loving life. It's a Saturday and we're all in the car driving to visit family. R is sitting in the back seat reading James and the Giant Peach. She's been burning through it at an alarming rate. This morning she exclaimed, "I just never want to stop!"
We began reading Treasure Island last night as a family because R has taken a particular interest in pirates lately. In the last couple of weeks we finished reading Little House on the Prairie, Doctor Dolittle, and The Enormous Egg. Every night R begs me to read "just one more chapter!"
We had a fun little impromptu science lesson during my breakfast preparations. The girls asked for fried eggs for breakfast, so I had them watch the butter melt as I explained that it was a solid changing into a liquid. Then I broke the eggs into the pan and had them watch as it turned from a liquid into a solid as it cooked. I also explained the terms "translucent" and "opaque." We also talked about the water condensing on the outside of their glasses of apple juice.
Each night when we read books together, C helps me read the simple three letter words. She gets better everyday. She is so close to being able to do it on her own. She just needs to have that "Aha!" moment that all new readers experience at some point.
I can't sufficiently express just how fun and satisfying this lifestyle is for us. I know it's probably not for everyone, but I do wish more homeschoolers would give going curriculum-less a try. I think you'd be surprised by just how much you'd love it, not to mention the immense long-term rewards for your kids.
