Why Aleks Unschools

A friend of mine was sharing her concerns about sending her young 5 year-old to school this year and all her experiences talking to the principal about it and whatnot, so I thought that I'd ask Aleks about school since his friend was going, which would end their Thursday morning playdates. It went something like this:

Me: Hey Aleks - you know that you don't go to school, right? You know you're homeschooled?
Aleks (playing with something, not even looking up once): uh-huh.
Me: Wait, look at me. You know how everyone keeps asking if you're going to school this year?
Aleks: uhmnh.
Me: You know we homeschool, right? That you don't go to school?
Aleks: yeah.
Me: Do you want to go to school? Would you want to try that one day? You don't have to.
Aleks: No!
Me: Why not?
Aleks: Because I have to stay home to take care of my legos!!
Me: !!!

So there you have it. We're too busy strengthening our spatial awareness to bother with school. You'd think, though, that he'd actually take care of those oh so important Lego, right? Like pick them up? Not scatter them all over the house and let them fall in the cold air shaft? Not leave them on shelves and on beds and in my purse? In the mind of the five-year-old, taking care is building and bothering to search for a much-needed piece. Having them out is having them ordered, ready for use.