Growing up in a Homeschool

From the time my daughter was a few months old, most of her days have been around homeschooling.  It is her normal.  When she was a baby, she was right there in the room with us as she played or slept.  When she was a toddler and preschooler, she was running around everywhere making messes right there in the room where my boys were learning.

These little ones may not seem like they are paying attention to what is going on with older siblings, but they may surprise you.

One day when my youngest was a toddler, we were all eating lunch and watching some Mandarin videos.  She started to copy the sounds she was hearing on the video.  But then her little toddler brain took over.  She heard the sound “kuh” which was how she said cookie.  She then decided that she wanted to eat a cookie so she proceeded to use her words for eat which were “apple peach”.  This prompted her brothers to start laughing which you can hear at the end of the video.  I love how sibling relationships are nurtured with homeschooling.

Fast forward to now and this little one is now in 2nd grade.  Even now it is quite often that I hear her voice across the room as she is drawing or playing on her own.  She pipes up and gives her view when I’m having a philosophy discussion with my son or when my older kids are discussing something for literature.  She is there, listening, absorbing.

What has been your experience with little ones growing up in a homeschooling environment?  Do you find that they are listening and absorbing things around them?