Today is NOT our first day of school

It's the time of year for 'school shopping' and gearing up for the first day. For many children, today is that first day; some started last week and others will wait until after Labor Day; but, across the nation the words keep getting repeated "Today is the first day of school."
As others gear up to get started, our family is gearing up to take some time off.

We don't ever have a first day of school because we learn all year, all day, every day. Our investment in our children's education never takes a day off. It is an ongoing journey.

We do have some structured academics, and we work on those every day except Sundays. We don't rush through materials in hopes of finishing or covering it all in 180 days. Instead, we work until we've mastered it and then we go on. We don't have to finish by an arbitrary date; sometimes we're earlier or later than expected, but we get it done on our own time.

This allows us the flexibility to take vacations when others can't. And, it provides us with opportunities to turn those special vacation memories into teachable moments too. It's what inspired us to write the Vacation Education series in the first place, and keeps us returning to those lessons and the parks that inspired them time and again.

I do try to keep a general schedule of grades as the kids are often asked, "What grade are you in?" and they usually look to me for an answer and I'm left flustered trying to come up with an answer.

Just this morning, we were discussing what "grade" Jacob should be in - he's five, turning six, so is he kindergarten or 1st grade? I had to choose. We've been working out of first grade math and science books all summer long, and he'll be six before Labor Day, so I went with 1st grade. I guess I could say that today is his first day of First Grade, but that wouldn't change anything that we do all day, so what would be the point?

It's still the morning of this 'first day', but if I had sent them off to school, I already would have missed the following.

Tyler(age 11, grade 6): Mom, you know how people use abbreviations in texting and online games?
Me: Yes
Tyler: Like, LOL means laugh out loud and YLDTL means Yes, let's do that later?
Me: Okay, sure.
Tyler: What does IDK stand for?
Me: I don't know
Tyler ( in an exaggerated voice): NO ONE DOES!

A few seconds later he said: LOL

And, later Jacob (age 5, almost 6, grade 1) after listening to a book about constellations and planets, informed me of this: "God is the most powerful that there ever was and He is so powerful that He can send bad guys to Plupiter."
Me: Plupiter?
Jacob: Yes, that's a world far away from here.