When are you going to stop doing that?

First- we are semi-settled in our new home. By semi-settled, I mean that the beds are set up, the kitchen is usable, and we have a place to sit to eat. Boxes abound, still. I FOUND the boxes of homeschooling stuff, but have not yet cracked them. It's a work in progress that is going to take some time. And patience. A lot of patience.

Over the last few years I've been asked by family, friends, acquaintances- anyone who really hears we're homeschooling- about how long we're going to do that. Do we have an end in sight?

At first people thought we'd just homescool preschool. Weird, but not everyone goes to preschool, so Sweet Pea would probably turn out OK and not too bizarre or socially maladjusted. Then we did Kindergarten. This seemed much less alright with people- Kindy is a real grade and skipping it meant that Sweet Pea would... what? Not know how to line up? To raise her hand to go to the bathroom?

I'm not sure exactly what she was missing out on since she learned to read fluently at 4 and do basic arithmetic. But she was missing out. And lots of people kindly took the opportunity to inform us and her of this.

Now we're coming to the close of 1st grade and Sweet Pea is now 7. 7! She's quite the woman of the world at 7, right?

We're going to come to our senses and send her to school any minute so she can do all the stuff she's not doing, right?

Wrong.

I have no clear or immediate plans of sending Sweet Pea or Little Bird to school. They are happy and thriving and learning and engaged and loved and safe at home- if it ain't broke, I'm not fixing it.

Opportunities do change and every moment I evaluate and reevaluate where we are and what we are doing and why. And if it's working.

And it is!

Sweet Pea is starting piano (and organ) lessons soon. Little Bird is going to take a dance class. They have little friends they see and places they go- and the world keeps turning.

Fin.