Ahh school. We didn’t pick an official starting day for this school year but then, we didn’t formally end last year either. Learning occurs all the time, more authentically when we are less formal about it.

Zoe has focused her energy into programming this fall. She loved creating Scratch games last year and this fall she has expanded into html.

On our goal list this year is visiting all the branch libraries in the Boston Public Library system. Both Zoe and Kinsley have record keeping cards, to rank various aspects of the libraries. They review the children’s section, picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, toys, ease of getting there, and bathroom quality before giving the library an overall ranking. Zoe has plans to take the final data and present it in graph form.

Kinsley, inspired by our reading of Ramona the Pest, has insisted on having seatwork of her own. She tucks herself into a corner and cheerfully works through her own schoolwork. She knows all her letters and many of their sounds. Pesky b and d still mix her up from time to time but she’s determined. She has also decided that she wants to learn to read so that she can play more of Zoe’s games. She has such ferocity when she decides on what she wants, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she teaches herself.

The rest of our days? We read piles and piles of books on every topic that catches our attention. We play games over and over, tweaking the rules to see if Zoe’s ideas are better balanced than the game designers.

Zoe tracks hurricanes, Kinsley colors stacks of pictures. Both kids build with legos for hours. We wander the city, Zoe leads the way on subway expeditions, Kinsley starts conversations with seatmates on the subway.

We cook, we clean, work on the boat, we live our lives at our own pace, and we keep learning.