My favorite part of homeschooling is the talking. My kids talk to me as people--not just as my children--more than when we were separate for most of the day. This happens best when one of them is working on something alone with me. With Madelyn, that's usually cooking or doing something artsy; with Nate, it's most apt to happen in the car or when we run.



We started having the kids run about six weeks back, when outdoor soccer ended but indoor soccer started. There's no practice for indoor soccer, so to help him stay fit, we "assigned" laps. To keep the experience communal rather than prescriptive, I often go along.

Take out the dad--who doesn't run-- and this could be our cartoon replica.

The one way I could improve these conversations is to ask more questions and lecture less. I get excited when they broach big topics and start steering the talk. So I'm writing this as an outward reminder to lead with Socratic questioning more than telling them how to think. (I'm gearing up for our unit on Ancient Greece, too).