The Mindful Homeschool

This week we had to take our vacuum cleaner in for a repair.  I dreaded the idea of taking a whole morning or two of my time to load up the three kids in sub-zero temps and drive to and from the vacuum cleaner store, a good 20-25 minute drive each way.  But if there is one thing I know about myself, it is that I love my vacuuming and I cannot do without it!  

So on Monday, I decided to combine the trip to the vacuum cleaner place with a trip to the MOA where we were able to hang out at our favorite Lego store, make Lego cars and check out the latest merchandise.  That worked out okay because I had been promising them a trip to the Lego store for over a week. 

And today, I had to pick up the vacuum cleaner which involved another 50 minute round-trip drive to the same store/repair center.  But this time we brought Harry Potter along!  My dd suggested that we pick up the book and audio-tapes (which were waiting for us on the library reserves shelves) before we drove across town.  That way we would be able to listen to the beginning of The Goblet of Fire in the mini-van while we accomplished our errands.  This worked out great and I couldn’t help feeling proud that I was “home-schooling” while driving.  Such efficiency! 

It is moments like these when I think that HSing is so doable and people just don’t realize it.  It is possible to do all that you need to do to keep the household running fairly smoothly while learning.  The curriculum doesn’t have to come out of a box and the learning doesn’t need to take place sitting at a desk.  This type of learning leans itself toward what one might call child-centered learning and un-schooling but who is to say it is not as effective if not more effective than traditional schooling methods.

The children are regularly sharing with me what they have learned from these HP books and there is a genuine and whole-hearted desire to read and learn more.  Sounds like pure, unadulterated learning to me!  Now if I could just learn a few spells to make that vacuum cleaner zoom through the house and make my house look nice and tidy!