"Which body part do we listen to with a stethoscope?" Susan Prows asks her children.
Four sets of eyes quickly scan plastic bones and organs as they search for the heart while playing "Somebody," the educational human anatomy game.Prows isn't simply enjoying her children, although she clearly loves their company - she's among the growing number of parents who teach their children at home rather than sending them to school. Educational games are one part of the semi-structured home schooling situation in the Prows household.
"The philosophy behind what I try to do is an idea I heard at one of our home schooling conventions - that is, that home schooling is not a technique, it's an environment," Prows said. "I try to create a learning environment so learning can occur anytime."
Prows and her husband, Paul, embarked on this three years ago.
At the time, they decided that daughter Natalie, now 10, wasn't being challenged enough in a public school, particularly one that didn't have much in the way of programming for gifted children. Since then, the couple have decided not to put Amber, 7; Adam, 5; and Joshua, 3; in school.
Prows offers structured activities in the morning, then more free-form learning opportunities in the afternoon. She wants the children to become self-directed in their studies as they discover new areas of interest.
Mornings find them reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, saying a prayer, singing two songs, reading some scriptures and talking about the day's date and important events that have occurred the same day in history. The girls pick a poem to read and memorize quotes that reflect a particular value being studied that month, such as courage or kindness.
Prows also works with them using "core knowledge" books that cover subjects on different grade levels, but she doesn't try to imitate the structure of a classroom.
Afternoons often are filled with reading, computer learning, taking part in a local public school choir, singing at a retirement home to perform community service, educational games, artwork and a variety of individual projects.
Every Friday there's a field trip organized by Prows and attended by other home-schooled youngsters - sometimes scores of them. One week, it might be a day in the park, another day they may visit Utah's first Capitol in Fillmore, go to the Ogden Union Station or visit the zoo.
Prows said she tries to take advantage of teachable moments, such as talking about different countries during lunch - their table is covered with a world map.
Prows has no grudge against more traditional schools but said she simply thinks that her children are better off in a close-knit, quiet home environment than a classroom with 30 children and a firmly planned curriculum. Natalie used to come home from school stressed out, she said.
"A lot of the best education is self-education," Prows said. "One of the best things about home schooling is that it creates an environment of self-teaching. The children are not so busy with somebody else's agenda."
Prows said she admires teachers for taking on such demanding work but is convinced her children are better off in this environment, both academically and personally.
"My children are nicer people when I'm there all day to nurture them and raise them the way I want," she said.
For her part, Natalie likes home schooling. She misses some of her school friends but has plenty of others in the neighborhood and through a regional support group of the Utah Home Education Association. "I like it because I can read as much as I want, anytime I want," she said.
Beverly Oliphant is another home-schooling proponent. She and husband, Thomas, chose home schooling three years ago for Jacob, 13; Sam, 11; Alex, 9; Anna, 6; Peter, 4; and Patrick, 1.
Oliphant said each home-school family develops its own style. Some prefer a disciplined set-up with chalkboards and desks ("I personally think that's a very hard way to home school"), while others arrange the day in a fashion that suits them.
"We home school until 1 p.m. There's no TV, no radio. I tell them you can use your own brain as long as you're doing something," Oliphant said. "If they get a little too rambunctious, I find something for them to do."
She said Jacob had some trouble adjusting when he was first taken out of public school but since then has become self-motivated and eager to learn. "He searches out answers for himself. In school, they really can't do that," she said. "The school situation is very disciplined. They listen to a teacher and it's like a menu. Children no longer recognize what they're hungry for."
Like Susan Prows, Oliphant doesn't dislike public schools but thinks different children need different approaches. Some children do just fine in school; hers are better served at home, she said.
To augment their learning, Jacob and Sam now attend a private school, Ben Franklin Academy, three afternoons a week. Private lessons also round out what they get at home. The boys might go to public high school, but their parents haven't decided yet.
And what about mom? Does she ever get a break?
Oliphant admits home schooling can be emotionally draining but says it is well worth it.
"For us, this was the only option," she said, adding with a laugh, "We decided kids are only here a short time and later we can have things - like a clean house."