I must be something of a homeschooling anomaly. Every article I read about the surge in numbers of homeschoolers - like this one from today's Orlando Sentinel - seems to attribute it to parents wanting to instil "morals" and "values" into their children. I, on the other hand, believe that no instilling is necessary, and that my children will find their own perfect path through life. Of course our parenting and our religious life will influence them - how could they not - but I see no need to shelter them from the rest of the world. Actually, the secular nature of schools here is one of the things I like about them. No, I am homeschooling Sophie because I want her to have more fun, more free time, more running around, more playing - and, simultaneously, more challenging learning. I want her to be able to follow her own interests, to learn how to access information rather than memorise information, and to read wonderful books, not waste her time filling in worksheets. Have you ever noticed how bad teaching can kill the most amazing literature? We're reading The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe right now - a magical and entrancing book. Do a search something along the lines of "teaching activities "the lion, the witch and the wardrobe" and see the mindless, boring questions that some teachers will have their pupils answer. It's depressing.

I'm extremely happy with the way our homeschooling has been going this past week. Sophie is such a delight to be with : endlessly enthusiastic and cheerful, and willing to try everything. Unless, that is, "everything" includes a trip to a store of any kind. In which case she protests vociferously.

We have fallen into a routine of a sort ... I hate to admit this, because I have this image of myself as being very flexible and free-spirited, but, sadly, I seem to cope better these days if I have a plan, rather than just letting things happen.

So, I get up around 5. Get poor Steve some breakfast, and hang out with him till it's time to give him a ride to the bus stop. I'm trying to get the bus stop changed (the bus goes right past an intersection which is an easy walk from our house, and a natural stopping place too) but until those bureaucratic wheels have turned, I need to give him a lift to the designated spot, which is almost two miles away. Wave goodbye to him at 6.15, and I'm home by just after 6.20. I am enjoying my peaceful morning interlude ... generally, I sit outside on the verandah, listen to the birds, watch the sun rise, and do some writing of one sort or another. I'm thinking maybe I should do some yoga or something instead, though ... we'll see if I can muster up the energy tomorrow.

At seven, it's time to wake the rest of the family. I make breakfast number two (this one distinctly more elaborate, as a later rising makes for a better appetite) and, at 7.30, we eat outside by the pool. Bobby goes off to work at 8, and the girls play till 8.25. Today they got in some good jumping time. At 8.30, it's back to the bus stop with Ems. When we get home, I whisk around the house as fast as I can. Sweep, mop the icky bits (we have acres of tile here), and do the bathrooms. From 9am, I'm at Sophie's disposal. We don't have a set plan, but every day she does some math (we're using Singapore Math), does a science experiment (at the moment, we're using a wonderful book I bought a couple of years ago), reads to me (she's reading Magic by the Lake to me) , is read to (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is our book of the moment), and writes something. The writing's often inspired by something she's been reading. Over the weekend, for instance, she read Roald Dah's The Twits, so today she thought of, and wrote about, a new trick that Mr Twit could have played on Mrs Twit. Inbetween times, she swims, bounces, and scoots. Or we go on bike rides. Today the two of us rode to the library - it's a lovely little ride, very safe and easy, and fun.

After lunch, we generally play games, draw, paint and so on. At 2.30 I fetch Steve, and at 4.30 I fetch Ems. It's nice for Steve to be with Sophie without having Emmy on the scene - the two of them interact quite differently when they're alone. When Ems gets home, she does her homework, and then all three kids go outside and swim some more. It's all very pleasant.

I wonder how it'll work when the weather cools down? At the moment the pool is by far their best source of entertainment.

The homeschool group we found last year hasn't got going again yet after the summer - most people are still away on vacation. I've hooked up with another group, though, and will be meeting with them tomorrow. This group is bigger, and has many more girls Sophie's age, which is a huge plus. I hope she clicks with someone, and I hope I like at least some of the other mums.

Oh, and two cool things happened today : firstly, our neighbour brought us a plate of brownies to welcome us to the neighbourhood. She seems sweet, and the brownies were yummy. It gave us a kick, because it seemed like such an American thing. People don't generally visit with goodies when you move into a new neighbourhood in South Africa, so this was fun for us. And, when I dropped Ems off at the bus stop, I noticed a boy (who goes to a different magnet school, his bus comes a couple of minutes before Emily's) wearing a t-shirt from one of last year's UU cons. I thought his mom seemed very nice when we chatted a day or two ago. They must go to the other, smaller, UU fellowship. I'll ask tomorrow.