Living Without School and Learning All the Time

We don’t do school. Ever. Not during a pandemic. Not before the pandemic. We won’t when this is all over.

We live life together. We play, explore, and indulge all the curiosities we want. We have fun. We prioritize happiness. We sleep when we are tired, eat when we are hungry, and veg out when we need a break.

We learn kindness by experiencing it, respect by living in it, and consent by knowing no other way. We don’t ask for permission to quench our thirst or empty our bladder. We speak when we have something to say and someone is open to listening.

We talk. We meet people. We read. We watch TV and movies. We experiment. We play games. We visit museums and gardens.

We go to the beach and wonder why the wind suddenly shifted. We get curious about why the waves are stronger and bigger some days than others. We listen with interest when someone or something explains the answer whether that’s 6 days or 6 months later. We connect it. We were curious.

We make mistakes. Sometimes we yell. We argue. We apologize. We work hard to get better. We get better.

We learn to be better communicators and more careful with people when they offer to share a piece of themselves with us. We handle the feelings of others with gratitude and respect.

We stay up late and get up later. Sometimes, we wake up to see the sunrise or to arrive at Starbucks before they open… because we are curious.

We cook and research and laugh and cuddle. We bake and play and sew and work with wood. We embrace failure and imperfection.

We travel. We ride on boats. We go to the library and the movies. We bowl. We game at arcades. We spend lots of time with family.

We acknowledge when stuff doesn’t make sense and let reason and logic guide us as often as we can. We ask to be left alone. We request a snuggle.

We are learning all the time. Every minute of everyday we are learning something new and connecting it with something old. It never, ever stops. It’s always desired and  in context. Our learning isn’t separated into subjects or by age or date.

It’s beautiful and lovely and lively and calm and fun and easy (now) and the best choice I’ve ever made as a human. I cannot imagine living any other way with my kids. I didn’t know this kind of happiness was accessible while parenting. I didn’t know it could be this easy. I had no idea how wonderful life could be.

Some don’t believe us when we say such things. It’s okay. They don’t have to. Living as though there’s no such thing as school is spectacular for me and my family. While I do my parental due diligence to keep it this way, I don’t think there’s an easier or more fun way to parent than this.