on going to school

On Friday, I had a conversation with my sister about kids and she asked me, point-blank, wouldn't 9 yo be better off in school? I said that he does not want to go, but I figured it would be better to ask him directly.

As we were coming back from taekwondo, just the two of us (7 yo exhausted himself throwing a fit over reading a pasuk which took him two minutes to read, but one hour to be anxious about), I said:
"Would you want to go to school, where you would have normal teachers who get a full night of sleep and do not scream at you all the time?"
"No, I do not want to go."
"Even if you end up stuck with a mommy who is going crazy?"
"Yes, I much rather have mommy. School is not bad, but once you have homeschooling, you cannot go back. It is like trading a piece of paper for a lollipop. Would you trade a lollipop back for a piece of paper?"
"But wouldn't there be nice things about school?"
"No, I cannot do well with only half an hour of recess. It is not enough time outside."
"But you have not gone outside the whole day today!"
"Yes, but when I come home, I have a choice of going outside right away."

Then, abruptly switching topics, we found ourselves describing the forces acting on water inside a waterspout. He wanted to know how the water droplets manage to rise up instead of being flung out from spinning. I was just playing along, hoping that whichever explanations were coming to mind were sound. Next thing I know, he is talking about putting a water cannon on top of a highest mountain and shooting water out with such force that it "keeps on missing the ground. I have a science brain, mommy, not math nerdy brain."

I do not know exactly what kind of brain you have, dear child, but it is a thinking brain.