Why is there a rabbit in the classroom?

We get that a lot when people stop by and see our fuzzy white and brown spotted long eared house pet. Bunny Britches, a Mini Lop, has been a member of our family for a couple of years now. She has the cutiest personality and enjoys spending her days flipping cardboard tubes around her pen, exploring new mazes built from boxes by the girls and munching fresh spinach leaves and carrots before stretching out in her pen, giving a good yawn and taking a well earned rest.

However, Bunny Britches isn't the only rabbit in our classroom. No, we chase rabbits all day long as we flip through science books, history text and scriptures in the Bible. That's one of the best things about homeschooling! My girls get to stop at anytime, make a left turn and chase a rabbit as far as they want to go and when they get tired of chasing the 2 toned black and white Dutch rabbit, they can turn right and spend the next hour chasing the spotted chocolate Harlequin. Chasing rabbits is just something that can't seemed to be helped and with 4 girls learning at home right now, we have a lot of rabbit chasing going on!

Sometimes our rabbits even run together, like when we are studying pioneer days and a rabbit breaks loose and wants to know what they ate in those days and another rabbit joins in and wants to know not only what they ate, but how they cooked it, which leads to the next rabbit wanting to know where they got their goods from to even cook with! I'm telling you, we can be up to our eyeballs in rabbits after reading just one book.

The girls chasing rabbits is like watching Bunny Britches explore her box mazes. Each time she is let loose to run through them it's in a different shape with different areas to discover. She may start down one path only to allow her nose to take her down another path where she finds a carrot. Or she may start at the bottom and find a ramp that takes her to another level where a new toy awaits. There is always something wonderful waiting for her with each new adventure.

Some people would say that chasing rabbits is counterproductive. They would say that more time should be spent in text books learn the basic 3 R's. I however strongly disagree. Allowing my children the freedom to explore and learn a topic they find interesting seems not just like more fun, but it instills a love of learning that can't be forced on a child. My goal is to make them lifelong learners, not just students in school.

Our school year started this week and I have to tell you, I have already had to set a few carrots out to lure the rabbits back that my girls have chased. They've traveled to the center of the world and learned what it is made of. Then to help them remember they have created their own worlds out of paper mache with cut outs to see the layers of the Earth. They have ridden magic carpets to Ancient Rome and studied about Roman soldiers, conquered lands and the Barbarians that finally overtook them. And they have studied the scriptures that will guide them as they learn what it is to be a Godly Woman.

I'm looking forward to the weeks to come, the rabbits we chase and the places they take us. I'll be updating with highlight's of our weeks adventures and post pictures of projects made, cozy reading spots found and lessons learned. I hope you will join us as we chase the classroom rabbit.