When We Get Hijacked

Every afternoon I sit down in the living room with my kids but sometimes our plans are hijacked.

It is afternoon and everyone settles into their favorite chair. Even the dog has his couch to lay on.

I with a pile of books, and my kids with coloring supplies or knitting needles.

We are ready. And so we begin to read and discuss.

I live for this time of day. I get a front row seat as my children learn and develop those thinking muscles.

Every day is different. Even though we cycle through the same books each week (if it is Wednesday, it is science books day) we still sit down together at the same time of day. Every day.

But this week we had a couple of days that were completely different.

We sat down together, everyone perched and ready to think and discuss. I began reading. The kids began listening and occupying their hands with drawing and knitting.

And then came the interruption: “I need to tell you all something!”

“OK,” I answered. “What do you need to tell us?”

And then it began. A fantastically divergent discussion of music theory, which of course devolved into an argument because twins cannot ever hold the same opinion – unless they decide to both agree to disagree with me. (can you relate?)

I love it when my kids use what they know to think about life in different ways. They are trying out all that critical thinking I have been trying to teach them all these years.

But wow! We sure did a lot of discussing this week – and not so much reading. . .

Have you ever had one of those weeks?

Our Blog was busy this week – Thank you to everyone who is commenting and joining me as we talk about homeschooling life! I really enjoy the conversation and fellowship.

I wrote more about Our Path to a Relaxed Homeschool : Narration in a Hole in the Yard (yes, that was a great day with the kids!). I also put up a selection of books for boys and dads that you can share for Valentine’s Day, tips for how to teach tough subjects with Explaining Math with Hippos That Hop, and thoughts on that mother instinct and that little voice we hear sometimes telling us we need to help our children in P is for Psst!

We are evaluating lots products this week that will result in interesting and exciting reviews in a few weeks:

UltraKey Online from Bytes of Learning (a typing course for the whole family)
Drive Thru History Adventures (online curriculum built around those fantastic Drive Thru History episodes with Dave Stotts and his car!)
Wulf the Saxon (Audio Drama from Heirloom Audio Productions)
CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack and The Art of Cursive (a fantastic program that both my teens are loving!)
A 24 pack of Magic Stix Washable Markers from The Pencil Grip, Inc. (Ok, these are really fun!)
“Taming the Lecture Bug and Getting Your Kids to Think” by Joey and Carla Link from Parenting Made Practical (this is going to be really useful for me and make my kids much happier!)