Profiling the Home Educator

In celebration of Home Education week, Principled Discovery is hosting a week of reflection on homeschooling.
Today's writing prompt is:
Describe yourself, your family or one of your children. What is it like to be home educated in your family? What is “normal” for you?

I try to educate my children in a way that respects who they are and the fact that they have amazing potential. I am a basics type of person. I think that math, reading and writing are the most important subjects in the early years. With these skills, kids can learn about the things that excite them, and the things that excite them can be used to teach these skill. I don't like to waste time, mine or my kids'. I want everything we do to have a purpose.

Today was a 'normal' day for us. We homescooled during and after lunch. Before lunch, the younger kids played with stuffed animals, read some books, watched a nature show and made a big mess with art supplies. We had sushi for lunch while my oldest and I discussed Descartes' mind / body dualism. After lunch, the youngest cut pictures from a catalog while I did math with the first grader. After math, the youngest declined to do her math which is very optional still and chose to have me read a science book on dolphins. While I was reading, the first grader was copying a recipe into her cookbook (using my back as a table). Next, I read a couple of chapters from Paddle to the Sea. That was all of our formal schooling for the day. The rest of the afternoon, the first grader spent making a badge for her stuffed German shepherd; she has asked me to spell police and station so far.

How is that for a profile and for normal? What does it say about me as a home educator? Dunno. I always planned to be more structured and require more from the younger ones. I just can't make myself believe that grammar is more important than making a badge for a stuffed police dog if you are in first grade.