One of the ways we homeschool is getting out, joyfully.
There is a common theme among all the different choices and possibilities for getting out: Joyfully.
I think that possibly the most precious part of homeschooling is watching that joy your children have when they get out. Not because they never see daylight, but because outside is a place that spontaneously makes a child joyful. When there are no schedules to meet and tasks to accomplish, your children can play and learn joyfully.
Think back to your childhood. Close your eyes and picture the best memory you have of being out as a child. Now take a moment to recapture that joy and innocence. OK you can open your eyes now.
Did you feel the joy? Was it a memory of being shuttled off to practice or a tutoring session? I think for most of us the answer lies in a quiet moment, frozen in time, that held no timetable, no tasks, no schedules.
Now, the next time you get your kids out to experience the world, visit a museum, see the lions at the zoo, or even just play at the park or in the backyard, remember that feeling of joy from your past. Drop the schedules and tasks. Relax.
And let your children get out, joyfully!
What is your most favorite memory of outside as a child?
(Mine is sitting in the cherry tree in our yard at the very top where no one can reach and I can see the whole neighborhood. Of course it is springtime and I am eating cherries until my belly feels fit to burst. It is calm and quiet and, wait for it. . . life is just a bowl of cherries!)