Currently my two sons 8 and 6 are attending a private Christian School. Thankfully the school is 100 yards behind my home. The class size is less than 16 students and their academic standards are fantastic. 90% of the student test 2 grade levels above their actual grade level.
I believe that every involved parent does homeschool; for us it is an ongoing everyday affair. After school and on the week-ends we spend time teaching them Latin, Biology, French and Spanish and other subjects. We have a nice size garden and other personal interests. Everyday lives can include many hours of teaching. Just from helping in the garden they understand a great deal about science, weather, biology, etc. When they have question about things like how car engines work, it is easy to go to the library, get on the internet and do a project to find out the answers to these type of questions. There is so much in everyday life than can be used as a teaching experience. Time with our children is priceless.
As an aside, my 6 year old was home with me today because of a sore throat. We went to pick-up some additional meds for him at the store and the cashier while commenting that he was a handsome child also asked his age. When I said that he was 6....she proceeded to ask if he attended school and if so why wasn't he at school!!!!!...as a stranger I was shocked at her noisy question. It made me wonder how many homeschool parents run across these type of comments!! I explained that he wasn't feeling well...but even now I am mad at myself for feeling like I should answer such a rude intrusion into MY business about MY child!!!
I was often asked why my kids were not at school when we did an errand during the day.
I just kind of thought it was their way of making some conversation, you know, showing some interest. I just said they were schooled at home and most of the time people thought that was quite interesting.
I guess I never put much thought into why they were asking. I guess it didn't make much difference to me what they thought about it anyway! :^]
Frankly, you sound like you put as much effort into after-schooling as I put into home-schooling! Good for you.
Kudos to you and your family! I would have told that person that busybodies should try to mind their own business!
That aside, I think its great that your teaching your kids spanish. Thats a must, and something I want to do for our kids. Like it or not, the hispanic (of which my husband is) population is growing at a substantial rate, and our kids will have much more choices in the working world if they are bilingual.