School Today

School in December is nobody's favorite thing.  Seriously.  That tree goes up, and all I want to do is plan presents and play piano.  Period.  But today was a beautiful example of how schooling looks different for us in December but is completely legit in my opinion.

Our day began with me needing to rouse both boys from sleep in order to leave the house by 7:45 a.m. to be at the nearby elementary school in time to deliver 6 bags of groceries for the Backpack Buddies kids.  Paul wasn't just reluctant.  He was kinda ticked.  So, I stopped and had an important conversation about serving even when we would rather sleep in.  All I had to do was quietly explain the purpose of the bags.  It's food so those kids can eat over Christmas break.   And he was all in, folks.  With a smile on his face.  It didn't hurt that I promised pumpkin bread from Starbucks at the end of the trip.  Service is rewarding, people!

We arrived at the school and delivered the bags, Merry Christmasing our way through the building.  It was so good.  And educational.  The lesson?  It's not always about us.  Sometimes we have to climb out of our warm, comfy bed in order to do something for others.  Good lesson.

When we got home, post-Starbucks drive-thru, it was time to practice piano.  Music.  It's school around here.  It counts.

Then they went downstairs and played while I practiced piano.  Soul-care for the teacher.  Also important around here.

After that, I called them upstairs and read to them from Johnny Tremain for about an hour.  History and literature rolled into one!  They were entertained, and we are all learning lots about Boston during the American Revolution.  That's just cool.

Now they are playing chess on the living room floor while I write this blog post beside them.  I can hear them strategizing and problem solving.  It's all school.  I know it's not traditional.  And yes we will get back to math and spelling and vocabulary in January.  But sometimes learning is best snuck in between the everyday stuff.  It's almost like I'm preparing them to learn in real life situations rather than just a classroom.  Right?

Here's the pic: