In the park one morning last week, Harry suddenly said, “It’s good that I’m homeschooling.”

“Why?” I said, cautiously.

“I needed a break from school.”

“Just a break?”

“Yes! For a million years!”

“Why did you need a break?”

“I just did.”

“So do you want to go back to school? Maybe next year?”

“No. I just want to be at home, having fun with you. When I was at school I wasn’t having fun. I was just sitting there and writing and it was a boring way to learn… and that brings us to now!”

I can’t tell you how pleased I was with this conversation. Harry hasn’t really told me how he feels about homeschooling. I’ve asked a couple of times if he’s happy with it and he’s said yes. I’ve asked if he wants to go back to school and he’s said no. But his hadn’t previously given me any extra detail/information.

I suspect the reason he suddenly opened up was because I was acting like I wasn’t bothered, rather than my usual “Are you suuuuuure you’re okay? You don’t miss your friends?” way of asking. In fact, I started transcribing it into my phone (which is why I’ve got such a good record of it) since I know he’s more likely to talk if he doesn’t think I’m listening.

So I was thrilled. I must say that whenever I do ask him how he thinks it’s going, I get a nervous feeling in my stomach. I really love having him at home, I’m convinced it’s the best thing for us all, and if he suddenly said he wanted to go back to school I’d be gutted. But I don’t see that happening any time soon and that’s a relief.