Surreptitious Supplemental Homeschooling (SSH!)

With Sarabelle and Grice on spring break since last Friday, I have begun sneaking some home learning into the educational void.

Though the girls initially groaned when I told them I had rented the documentary Jesus Camp through iTunes, they were fascinated and watched it three whole times. We simultaneously experienced revulsion, disbelief, pity, fear, and more than a few belly laughs. Great conversation ensued.

To balance out the serious, I also downloaded 10 Things I Hate About You, which, as you probably know, is a modern remake of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. That one too has been watched more than once including a shared viewing with a friend during a sleepover. The girls happily pointed out all the Shakespearean inside jokes to their friend. I plan to slip a little more of The Bard in soon with the Leonardo DiCaprio/Claire Danes version of Romeo and Juliet, a movie I have been waiting to see for some time now.

This past Sunday, visiting our juice stand friends at the markets, we were reminded that the Duyfken ("Little Dove") was in port for the day and open for tours. With a little persuading the girls agreed it might be interesting to see this replica of a Dutch ship that explored Australia back in 1606, and actually came away with some additional knowledge of Australian history. Today they will help me review my study of Aussie history and civics as I prepare to take my citizenship test tomorrow. They might inadvertently learn something.

We've discussed the economy and laughed ourselves silly over the Ben Bernanke video from the guys who brought us the Potter Puppet Pals (and now cannot get the original song out of heads) and took in some early American history as well with their Learn About Governor Bradford! video.

Both girls continue to enjoy The Onion's Our Dumb World which Sarabelle received for a birthday gift last month, and which enjoys a prominent position on either the coffee table or the bathroom counter.

So, even if your kids currently enjoy being locked in a public school system where the education is adequate from a general standpoint, though not up to your standards, have no fear. Opportunities exist everywhere to slide in a little homeschooling. Just don't tell them.