Home School Curriculum Experts

I have always laughed at the idea that what we do at our house is called “homeschooling.” Sure, this year we have actually managed to set aside a corner of our playroom with a table designated for “homeschooling”, freeing us from having to empty the kitchen table before and after every meal. And we did really great with this table for about the first month. But I don’t like that the room has too little natural lighting, so we moved back downstairs to do most of our work. Even with the better lighting. though, I get a little stir crazy at home and want to get out, so we take this show on the road a lot (especially when it gets warm outside). You have no idea how quickly kids get their Easy Grammar done if they are sitting in the parking lot at McDonald’s waiting to go in and eat lunch. Or at the library where they each get to play computer games at their own computer as soon as they get done with their handwriting. Or at the park at a picnic table, where the playground and the woods beckon them to hurry up and finish their math. It’s a little unconventional, to be sure, but I find it a great occasional motivator to park them (literally) in front of their reward and let the longing for it spur them on. I have tried many (many, many) forms of punishments and grounding for work left undone, but nothing works as well as that visible reward. Even the promise of getting to do something later that day doesn’t quite do the trick. I don’t know whether it’s because my kids are visual, or because they maybe just don’t believe that I will follow through with something that is not imminent, or maybe it’s because they have me as a captive audience to answer their questions…I really don’t know. All I know is, the kids who went with me to the bank, the car wash, Walmart, and McDonald’s today - they got their work done. The one who stayed home with Dad? Not so much.
So, how about your home? Do you homeschool, or is it sometimes “car-schooling”? :) Can you grade algebra at a red light? Is your shoulder out of socket from reaching around into the seat behind you to grab that book and read for yourself what in the heck that science question is asking? Have I run into you at McDonald’s?