More schooly thoughts

For the last few years I've been a little envious of people with younger kids. "Don't do school," I'll think, "Go to the park, bake brownies, play a game!" Last week I had a brainstorm...I can still do those things too. Yes Jonathan has a heavy high school workload (and an even busier extra-curricular/social/theatre calendar) and Madi is right behind him, but you know what? They're here now. Well technically they aren't here NOW, in a twist of fate Madi is at the theatre watching Dracula and Jonathan is not. Jonathan is at a high school youth group life rally. Mike and Jake are at the mall, and I am enjoying some quiet on a rainy Saturday evening. The best part is everyone is getting a ride home and I don't have to go out to get anyone! (Thank you ladies who have my big kids and coincidentally are two of my handful of readers!) But I digress. Friday we went to a play in the big city. Then we met Mike for a yummy pizza lunch. Then we went to the big city library. It was like the old days. Jonathan did (at least part of) an Algebra 2 test in the car, but otherwise no SCHOOL got done. We all enjoyed listening to Sign of the Beaver on CD and got through more than half of it in just that one day. Yes, Jonathan will have some stuff to catch up on. Madi too. I'm really going to make a point of continuing to do those things like lunch out and the big city library. And park days, and games, and the beach, etc etc... I still can! You know that poem about leaving the dust and cobwebs because "I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep?" The same is true for homeschoolers. We homeschool in part so we can do these things, so ya know what? We're going to keep doing them! Yes I'll still yell, "get back to work" nine out of ten times, but that tenth time, you can be sure we'll drop everything and do something fun! That's what homeschooling and parenting in general, is supposed to be about!