Besides being keenly self-aware of the fact my lack of discipline wouldn’t lend itself to homeschooling, the following two conversations help reinforce the fact my kids are better off in school:

Conversation with the Tall Kid:

TK: I have to do a report on something from the 1940s now.

Me: Ooh, Errol Flynn made The Sea Hawk in the 1940s! He was such a character.

TK: I’ll be doing Goering. *waits for response* Wingman of von Richthofen? Revolutionized the Luftwaffe?

Me: Oh. Him.

Conversation with the Short Kid:

(A little background—the Tall Kid got a chess set. The Short Kid checked a book on chess out of the library, then a few hours later challenged me to a game.)

SK: Checkmate, Mom.

And to reinforce the idea I’ve been married a very long time, the other night my husband and I had to run to Staples. While that’s my favorite store, my kids hate it so we left them home. We’ve been doing that in short spurts, testing them (the TK’s 13 now).

Conversation with the Husband:

DH: It’s weird to be in the car with you without the kids.

And at the exact same time:

DH: We should go parkin’.

Me: We should go to Applebee’s.