Geology day

We don't simply travel about your glorious planet smuggling us a cut-price, term-time holiday, while evading the truancy patrols, community police, social services, and EWO, you know.

We do all that and we provide an education. It's hard. We have to read books, talk to the children, then visit secluded little coves in the sea-beaten coasts of England to follow up everyone's fancies.

I think I should be pitied.

Take today. Squirrel, with her rock collection standing at 34,673 (not including the gravel) says she wants to be a geologist.

I must then declare today a geology day. But we are interested in history too! So we all travel to the beach underneath the Howick hut, in Northumberland, where we can find both.

We've read about this site, and learned how excavations turned up neolithic hazelnuts. Tiger wanted to come and look for some.

After a few hours at the beach, examining sand, rocks, mudstone and every pebble we can find, I say yes, we have found hazelnuts. Let's go home and eat cake, and plan to visit the museum in Newcastle where there's a Howick hut display and it's warm.

Now do you see how difficult is this style of education? It is all physical experience, this type of learning. All wind in your face, touch and feel, roll about, stare-at-the-bull-in-the-field, follow your ideas, pursue your interests, put theory into practice, and don't forget the notebooks.

So yes, I think you are right. I should be pitied. There are only some who can do it, and better not you, when you stop me to say, Home education? Rather you than me.