Amen to not doing “hands-on” stuff without a purpose!! While my kids draw and color on their own all the time (and I think there’s a difference there between their own creative exploration and forced craft ideas), I am glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t much care for crafty stuff as “school projects” – especially the variety that just end up in the trash when you’re done….and a big mess all over the dining room table.
Ironically, though, when I was an elementary classroom teacher, I loved teaching science largely because of all the fun, hands-on stuff you could do with that. Maybe it had something to do with the mess being in my CLASSROOM and not in my HOME (and being with 6th graders, who I could expect to clean up after themselves reasonably well…)
Now, getting started with homeschooling my own littles – Kindergarten down to a baby – I’d have to say literature. I LOVE reading aloud with my kids. And just enjoying it – not having to analyze and memorize vocabulary for every story. And I have also really enjoyed teaching dd how to read – it’s been so much fun to watch her progress and now to a point where she is really starting to take off on her own. 
Geography and world cultures is also another subject that really fascinates me.
Jen
