Not Everything Counts

Though I could probably argue with the best of 'em why even a day on the slopes could count as a day of school, I wonder Why should everything count as school?

 

Learning happens anywhere at anytime, but Why would I want to make every day, every event into a lesson plan? Who am I trying to please if I do so? Does it really matter what 'they' think?

 

Today, I am sharing why a day of learning is not always a day of school in our home.



 

Just recently, my husband and I facilitated this day of learning for our first grader:

Bible - My husband read and discussed with all of us Jonah chapter 2 {ESV if you are wondering}

Reading - Our first grader read aloud the final lessons of McGuffey's Eclectic Primer.

Math - I read and worked through Millions, Billions, & Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers, by David A. Adler with our little guy. We even did the suggested hands on activities. Later, he played Skippo with one of his older sisters and I.

Geography - We read Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills together. He spent the remainder of the day seeking out East, West, North, and South every where we went. He read road signs and commented on which direction the highway traveled. When their were no road signs, he sought the sun and time to determine East and West.

Art - While he finished breakfast in a slow-poke manner, I read More Than Meets the Eye: Seeing Art with All Five Senses, by Bob Raczka. He followed along and pointed out the details in between spoonfuls of 'crispy rice' cereal. Later as he patted the dog's head, he determined that indeed Moe, our dog, has all five senses like we do. Then, he built his own rocket ship that converts to a robot out of a cardboard box.

Music - After breakfast, we listened to Johann Sebastian Back, First Discovery - Music series, on a CD. The text and additional music were contained on one CD.

Science - We spent a few hours at a children's museum playing and learning about the human body, building materials and structures, motion, water, animals, and economics.

We covered all the bases and then some. So, why not count this as a day of school? We are on summer break! For our family, this is a relatively normal day. All children learn daily, and our children are no different. In our home, some of this learning 'counts' for school and some of it is just part of life.

This day,
these activities...
 were just a part of life.