- I'm a mom of two kids, ages 6 and 9, and they've never been in a school.
- I count down the days until school starts, because it leaves us with more things to do.
It's mid-August, one of my favorite times of the year.
On social media, I see my fellow parents gritting their teeth through the late-summer rituals of purchasing new uniforms and visiting stores to fill classroom supply lists. Then come the sweet first-day-of-school photos of kids in their slightly-too-big uniforms holding chalkboards declaring their dream career.
I like watching this rite unfold each year. But I've never participated in it. Nor have I ever rushed my kids to the bus stop, worried over a last-minute project, or dealt with a barrage of emails from the school.
That's because my kids, ages 6 and 9, have never been to school.
Our end of summer is slow
While other people's late summer looks pretty chaotic, ours is comparatively mellow. We have a lot of slow days hitting up our local ice-cream shop, visiting local spray parks, and reading stacks of library books. We also dream about what we will do in September, when, for us, the whole world opens back up.
In the absence of springtime field trips and summer crowds, we can take advantage of opportunities that most kids have to cram into their summers or weekends.
If someone's interested in geology, for instance, we visit the natural-history museum in the fall — it's nearly guaranteed to be empty on a weekday morning. We might camp once or twice in the summer, but once school is back in session, those cabin rentals are suddenly wide open, and we can take a spontaneous trip to take advantage of beautiful fall weather. Children's librarians, having spent the summer running programs and hosting gaggles of children, are available for longer chats.
We teach them year-round
Paperwork and planning are not part of our fall routine. The main reason for that is that our style of homeschooling, called unschooling, means we are educating year-round, every day. We believe children are always learning. So though I adore the fresh start of a new school year, we are more likely to work in tandem with the seasons of nature and of interest.
In the fall, we're keen to hit the orchard or a working farm to learn about all things harvesting. Then my 6-year-old might be inspired to include pigs and apples the next time he writes a comic — his favorite mode of self-expression, and a great way to learn spelling, story structure, sequencing, fine motor control, and humor. My 9-year-old might take an interest in a video game where players can farm, harvest, and trade. Those games usually lead to impromptu discussions over dinner about economics, politics, and ecology.
My 9-year-old recently became interested in square roots after binge-reading old issues of "FoxTrot" over the summer. To support him in his curiosity, my husband and I explained what we remembered from math classes, watched YouTube videos with him, and checked out math library books. This was more than enough to satisfy his interest and give him more to think about.
This pattern will repeat all year: pique interest, learn a little, move on.
Learning doesn't just happen in a classroom, during school hours, with assigned subjects and requirements; it can and does happen on the couch while sitting upside down reading comics. I've witnessed it enough times to truly begin to trust that process.
I'm grateful for the privilege to use this style of homeschooling, and I love that late summer is a dreamy, relaxing time of year for our family instead of the hectic rush of getting ready to send the kids back to school.