Why we school at home

I adore this photo from a few months ago.  Taken in our schoolroom.

Because it encapsulates pretty much everything I hope to accomplish through homeschooling.

Yes my children are learning and honing various academic skills, but more importantly, they are living in relationship together.  Learning what it means to be a family and to run a home.  Discovering the joys of sibling relationships, while practicing the virtues of grace and of being charitable. 

Even with baby sisters who come and perch atop your mathbook while you're trying to work, and rest their chubby hand on your knee.  Because they're so very interested in what their big brother is doing.

 

These two are BFF's.  Two peas in a pod.  And didn't you know that counting bears and linking cubes are a team effort for a six year old and a three year old?  They so are.  Segregating children by age?  Um, not so much!

All of my children.  Working together.  Learning together.  Living life together.

Yes we have our curriculums we use, subjects we study, and times of individual instruction.  (There may or may not also be times when I want to rip my hair out.  But that doesn't really go with this post.  So I'll leave that stuff out.)  But the BEST things happening in our homeschool?  The incidentals, the stuff that happens in the midst of the messiness and PB&Js for lunch and babies ripping pages out of books crawling all around.


People often ask me how I "manage" to homeschool with two little ones underfoot.


This is how I manage.

This is why we homeschool.