So how do you like your parents?

A shoulder shrug.  A bored or irritated expression.  So the asker wonders, "hmm I guess they don;t like their parents.  They would probably be better off with other parents.  If they had other parents these kids would answer, 'We love our parents!!  It's great and so much better than having other parents'
Or maybe the inquisition begins with, "So how do you like life?"  Again my kids stare off wonder about this odd question and get bored and want to leave this place where people ask strange questions and make them feel "on the spot"  

Well my kids aren't asked those exact questions but they are sometimes asked, "So how do you like homeschooling?" 
Of course it would be great if my kids gushed on about how great it is and how we go to so many museums, and have so much free time for playing and they learn at their own pace  but sometimes mommy rushes the pace but we understand b/c we are well adjusted (more so than you school types)  and incredibly bright for our age. 
..but they don't.

My kids stumble on that question everytime and I see the wheels turning in the askers head. "AHA!" they think.  These kids would rather be in school" 
My kids have never been to school so the question "how do you like homeschooling?" requires a comparison my kids can not make. 
They would prefer not to be interviewed about ths homeschool stuff and would rather go on not feeling different.  They feel like regular kids and do not know why people are so hung up on this subject. 

September

September is looming around the corner and of course my thoughts are of, "Back to school".  The weather changes and my body can feel the back to schoolness of the air.  For some this feeling might be of exccitemet of new beginings, of clean pristine notebooks and paper ready for the new student who is going to buckle down this year.
For me,I still get nervous and I like reminding myself, "You are not going back"  I generally have to remind myself this until the end of September. 

For my kids though, September is just one more month closer to Johanna's birthday and Christmas, which they count down all year long. 
I try not to make September sound like the beginning of anything and hope they feel the same about September as any other month.  We enjoy the back to school sales in August and we celebrate the 1st  day of NOT back to school at the zoo each year on the first day of our town's first day back to school. 
In my head though the plans are reeling for the "school year" which we do not follow but  my own habits wont let me relinquish.  

I try and introduce my kids to various subjects and see what sticks throughout the year.  My kids dont; know that in September I get his urge to "buckle down"  to "do" school.  I'm pretty sure it is really just that clean notebook smell in the air that makes me want to get down to business.  So I placate myself with trips to Staples for "back to school" supplies; which include glue sticks and pens and rulers and oh those lovely brand new notebooks.  10 cents a piece!!!!  I love those notebooks because they make me feel ready to face the world because I can write things down and take notes and make lists.  I will conquer homeschooling,oh I mean eclectic homeschooling, no no I mean unschooling, whatever it is called I can conquer it with those notebooks. 

...And then I remember; there is nothing to conquer.  September is merely about "almost fall"  and my birthday and one month til Johanna's birthday and 3mos 'til Christmas. 
I'll keep trying to save the "New year" for January. 

 Michael snapped the above pic with a camera he got for his birthday.  )