Homeschool

Hi folks, how was your weekend? I had a lovely weekend, we had family staying with us so enjoyed a jaunt out to beautiful Tenby, a couple of fabulous pub lunches and a mushroom picking walk in the woods, during which we got caught in a freak hailstorm and were drenched to the skin. Which was so much fun. Coming home soaking wet through and huddling up by the fire with a hot chocolate and a healthy glow in our cheeks is what autumn is all about. Ella enjoyed herself immeasurably, she told me excitedly that she's sure she was born to be an explorer. So dramatic about everything. Love her.
I thought I would write a little about homeschooling today. Of course it's not for everyone, but we are lucky enough to be in a perfect situation to teach our girls at home. I'm a full time mum, we live in an area of outstanding natural beauty where fuel for learning is literally everywhere when we step outside our door, and there is a great network of other homeschooling families in our area which means support for me and lots and LOTS of playtime for the girls. So we decided to go for it. We actually made our decision when Ella was 3, and as we were already very hands on with her learning and development it just became a very natural progression for us into schooling both girls full time. It has taken me a while to find my 'rhythm' though. We started out with ideas of following the national curriculum and sitting down at a desk in a designated 'schoolroom' in the house for a set amount of time each day. As we settled into it though, we began to realise that our children were actually learning more during their 'free time'. The saying that they are 'little sponges' is so completely true, they soak up information and constantly surprise you with their knowledge of things you did not set out to teach them but they have simply picked up along the way. So we began to change tack. I began to each day consciously make a number of activities available to them and allow them to dip into these as they felt the inclination. I began to plan lots of 'hands on' activities, such as kitchen chemistry, baking, and art, art and more art. I began to read to them as much as possible (I have read to my children every day since they were born, but it became more intentional, I would link the topic to what we had been learning about that week, I would point out words to them etc ). And I played with them as much as possible. We became more child led, meaning that when their interest was piqued by something we saw or experienced, we would grow that into a whole project and incorporate all the subjects into that one topic, the benefit being that because it was something they chose and were already interested in they were engaged and fascinated by what they were learning.And as we did so, we observed their confidence growing, their curiosity growing, and their problem solving ability being refined. It is so immensely satisfying to see your child's natural curiosity and inquisitiveness translate into a real love for learning. So, that is how we learn now. And so far it's working. The best part is that we get to really enjoy eachother as a family. There are days I admit when I wonder if I can really do it, my mind feels completely muddled and I'm stressed out to the eyeballs, but when I remind myself of why we are doing this and consider the benefits I know I wouldn't have it any other way. Just lately I have been reading a lot about Waldorf Steiner education, and it really seems to fit with our way of doing things. I love how it centres a child's early learning around the arts, and encourages a deep connection with nature. I also enjoy the way learning is structured into daily and weekly 'rythyms', so that you have some structure but room for a lot of movement within that structure. This term I have tried a new schedule which I have written on a little 'wheel' so that the kids can go to it each day, turn the wheel and see what they are doing that day. I'm also planning to try a year long theme of months of the year, meaning each month we will take the month itself as our inspiration and structure our lessons around that, for example as it's November we will be doing some lessons based around fireworks, hibernation of animals, and continuing our autumn theme. Ella has requested that we throw in some learning about horses.

It makes me feel calm and organised when I have some idea at the outset of where we are going with our learning that month. I've got new workbooks for the girls this month, one for 'words', one for 'numbers', one for their topic and one for 'art'. I hope I can share with you as we go along and hopefully give some support and inspiration to you other homeschooling mums out there, and I would love to hear from any of you regarding your ideas. Happy homeschooling everyone!