Three-Step Schooling

We try to maintain a balance of 3 in our schooling: Arts & Culture, Academia, & Practicum. The picture here shows a lamp that Anders finished this afternoon in his Shop with Pop time (Pop is his grandfather, who lives next door, and has an extremely messy shop filled with extremely powerful machines). We encourage the kids to learn all types of handiwork and practical skills, such as gardening, animal husbandry (they all take care of poultry & processing), and general abilities such as housework, mechanics, and physical education.
The next photo shows Stennes working on his guitar pieces for this week. Poppins really enjoys music and highly encourages any interest the kids may have in this area. They are required to learn classical (and traditional) guitar and piano. All other instruments depend on their faithfulness in practice.

Academia includes plain ol' book work. Sometimes there is a certain level of drudgery, but we try to keep plugging away at it the best we can. The photo below shows The Girl working on her daily assignment. It isn't quite the 3 R's, but so far it has worked for us and the goals we have as a family.