When Our Homeschool Turned to S**t
This has been on my mind today…
One winter morning, we set out on a nature walk. Nothing fancy, just some fresh air and a chance to stretch our legs. That’s when it happened. The kids stopped, pointed, and announced with total fascination:
“POOP!”
There it was on the path. Just sitting there, waiting to be discovered. And instead of me steering them back to the “lesson plan,” they had one question that became our curriculum for the whole week:
“What animal did this come from?”
We started guessing. Deer? Rabbit? Maybe raccoon? The curiosity snowballed. Back at home, we started researching. We found pictures of animal scat (yes, that’s the proper word) and compared them. We talked about the diets of different animals and how that shows up in their droppings. The kids wanted to make their own scavenger hunt checklist of “poops to find,” so we did. Suddenly every walk was a full-on investigation, magnifying glasses in hand, kids crouched down like little detectives.
And then nature gave us another gift — snow. Once they had learned about scat, the curiosity expanded:
“If we can tell an animal by its poop, can we tell it by its footprints too?”
That week turned into tracking lessons. We studied paw shapes, stride lengths, and patterns. We matched tracks to the animals in our region. Every walk became a treasure hunt. They weren’t just “getting exercise.” They were observing, comparing, classifying, and recording. In other words, science.
And here’s the thing: none of it was on my lesson plan. There was no worksheet waiting on the table that morning titled “Animal Scat and Tracks.” But it was real learning. Engaged, memorable, full of wonder.
The kids didn’t just learn about animals. They learned how to follow a question, how to investigate, how to let curiosity guide them. That’s the kind of learning you don’t forget — even if it started with poop.
So yes, sometimes school looks like math books at the table. Other times, it looks like poop on a trail. Both count. Both matter. And both are homeschooling.
? Lindsey
certified special-ed educator & co-founder, Schoolio