A relaxed day of homeschooling.

Children can't help but learn. People often ask if I have to stand over my children and force feed them knowledge, but, the truth is, homeschooling, at this point, is pretty easy going.

This is what has happened so far today. First comes breakfast. While I prepare, my daughter traces the alphabet with her finger (on a mat which is on the kitchen table). I pour them a new kind of cereal, and they want to know exactly what is in it, how it is made, and who made it. This is a popular question at meal time. Then we count out grapes, and they tell ask where grapes grow. After breakfast, I begin cleaning up the dishes in the sink leftover from the previous night, and the children dig into their "math box" full of math manipulatives of all kinds. They sort out shapes and colors, build things with blocks, and count the dots on dominos. The baby tags along, going wherever his siblings go and trying to do whatever they do. Before I do some work online, I write out a few sentences on a piece of paper. My daughter traces them, writes them on her own, and then sounds out the words. After lunch, the baby goes down for a nap and all those awake insist on making Valentines for Nana and Poppa (even though Valentine's Day was a couple weeks ago). They get out the cool scissors, paper, and pens. My daughter asks how to spell Nana and Poppa. She accidently adds an additional P, so it looks more like Popppa. My four-year-old sorts and counts change while my oldest and youngest sit at the piano pounding away the keys. The baby has always had an interest in the piano ever since he could stand on his tippy-toes to reach the keys. I don't think we'll have to force him piano lessons when the time comes because, like my daughter, he enjoys making music. Seconds later, they've moved onto something else. My middle child pretends to cook "Dad a healthy lunch", my daughter pulls out a coloring book, and the baby uses the livingroom as a jungle gym. He climbs up and down the couch, over his sister, under the chairs, stands up on the math box and tumbles onto the couch (and then off of it once again) and... once dad walks in the door... he's up on his lap. Soon we'll have bible study and bible trivia.... and more fun spontaneous education. Plus, I know the children are ready to read a few more chapters in the book we're going through!

With three children under the age of five, there's no need for strict lessons. Some days are more structured, but most are not. We do sit down and do crafts and projects, but it's not a daily thing. Sometimes I'm really involved in everything, and other days, like today, the kids do a lot more on their own while I tend to the house, the laundry, and the baby.

What does your homeschool look like?