A picture of our homeschool

Quite a few requests have come my way for a description of how our homeschooling looks. And I must admit that I'm curious to see our bigger picture too - for the day to day, moment to moment is where I've been for much of our first two weeks of this new learning adventure.

Of course, I have a plan - for the year, each term, and a rough plan for each season's focus and each week. And even if some of these are still in my head and some are down on paper, the intention is there for soul-filled learning.

But what it has actually looked like these last two weeks isn't quite the same as the plan (which was often the case when I was teaching in schools too).

This is a good sign, though. For the ability to adjust a learning program, to 'go with the flow' is an integral part of being a good teacher. And because so much of Rosie's (and Bethany's) formal learning is one-on-one now, a flexible approach that follows their leads and enthusiasm is both sensible and effective.

How can I tell?

Well I could set up elaborate assessment wheels, graphs of daily writing results, compare what we're doing with what school is doing right now....

But I'd only by trying to meet other's standards. And that's not what our homeschooling is about.

I can tell that things are going well in the way a regular Mama can tell if her child is healthy:

- I see smiles more often than before
- I see sisters building a more understanding relationship
- I see ease and grace in the way they play
- I see Rosie taking new risks - a sign of comfort and ease
- I hear her intelligent questions and see her enthusiasm for science and the natural world growing daily.

So I know.

I know with my heart, as well as my head, that its going okay. And that we're right where we need to be.

As for a picture of our homeschool....

We wake with the sun, and then doze some more

We breakfast on homemade goodies and the fruits of our garden

We use our heads in the mornings, but sometimes just get outside and pick berries

We use our hearts in the middle of the day, through art, or music, or helping others

Some days we go on an adventure somewhere - fossil-hunting, visiting a gallery, visiting a chocolate shop!

We lunch and rest and read books, and sometimes watch nature documentaries on iview

We use our hands in the afternoons - we play and cook and craft

Sometimes there is tennis, sometimes little aths, soon there will be horse riding

And as the sun goes down we share dinner, talk, play some more, read more books, clean up.

Another day is done, we wind down, time for rest.

 

Hope you enjoy the pictures. xx

Being True

        

          Suppose that life in the family is recognised as a path, a school for the soul and the spirit? What does this bring for the individual parent, for the family, for the child?

- from Lifeways by Davy and Voors

Speaking my truth is becoming more familiar for me these days. I'm practising expressing my gratitude for things in my life and speaking from the heart whenever I can.

And the truth this week, as the beginning of the school year is upon us, is that I'm feeling lost for words when asked about our decision to homeschool this year.

I clam up and freeze. I search for heartfelt words that lead to connection and understanding, but end up saying nothing, or perhaps mumbling a little about something if nothing feels too rude.

Its not what I expected I'd do for something that feels so right to me.

What am I to do? I found myself thinking.

And what I did was sit with the torment inside, rather than resisting it. I listened to what it had to say, immersing myself in its tension.

This is what I heard:
- that I'm sad to not be a part of the primary school this year
- that I'm scared of damaging Rosie's education and self esteem in some way
-that this beginning time of year is a time of great expectations for everyone
-that its okay to freeze and be unsure, for that's how I learn and question and look deeper.
-that homeschooling still feels right despite these fears and grieving.

And that we are all on the same educational journey, whether we homeschool or allow our children to attend an institution - we all want what's best for them.

We all want self-directed learners who question and seek answers. We all want joyous, happy little ones who grow in all their glorious ways, uninhibited and owning their own interests, passions and gifts. We all want our children to be true to themselves.

There is no right or wrong way when these are our goals as parents and educators. There are just different ways that feel right to us.

These words help to calm my panic. They soothe and let me take that much-needed step back. And I'm grateful for that.

Wishing you a beautiful new beginning and the blossoming of your children.

Carolyn x x

A milestone on the road to wisdom

Last week we celebrated the much-anticipated 60th birthday of my Mum. And it was a wonderful weekend filled with hot, sunny beach mornings, chats with my siblings who had gathered with us for the big event, and lots of coffee. A new jigsaw puzzle was begun, just like the last time we all gathered two years ago, but unlike last time this one was BIG, and didn't quite get completed by the time we said goodbye.

The three cousins played together with gusto - sometimes in accord and sometimes with a distinct note of discord. But play that was filled with love nonetheless, no matter the outcome.

Flags were strung from the newly completed decking, the BBQ had a workout and new clothing was paraded around during a special birthday dinner one night.

And as for Noni (as my Mum is known by her granddaughters), well she was very relaxed and happy. It was a Noni that we loved sharing time with. A Noni who shone with the wisdom of time spent learning upon this planet. A Noni who has come of age.

Thank-you Mum, for a lovely weekend and a special glimpse of that wise woman that you are.

Xx

A bush adventure

This week we packed up our wonderful camper trailer, loaded up our adventure-mobile and set off for a mini-holiday camping in the Mitta valley. 

It wasn't far from home, and we spent only three days away, but somehow it felt much more refreshing than that. 

We swam. We walked. We painted pictures. We made a map of the camp. We homeschooled (travelschooled really) around our tent, in the campground and on our little camping table. We visited Dartmouth Dam and went for a kayak. We cooked bread and curried sausages on a campfire.

In the middle of all this Bethany fell off a camping chair and broke her collar bone, poor little mite. But you know, she's quite fine with it. We tied on a sling, gave lots of cuddles when it hurt, and she continued to play like it never happened. Amazing.

*sigh* such a lovely family time....

And so simple too. I'd forgotten what's it's like to camp in the bush without amenities, without the prompts of the media or the call of advertising. Without wants, and so it seems without needs also. We were quite content. And looking even forward even more to our trip around Australia in April.

I definitely recommend taking the risk and submersing yourself in the nothingness of a bush experience. At the very least you'll have a greater appreciation for home when you get back. At best you'll find an easy stillness within your family, a pulling-together and closeness.

May you share a bush adventure with your lovelies soon.

X x

Food from the garden to take camping...

A new year, a new education

Hi there lovely Mamas,

It's a new year, and despite it's quiet beginnings there is definitely a shift in energy and the impetus for change is firmly in our court.

In our household we've embraced the ideas of 2013 and are putting them into firm action. First off is our further commitment to homeschooling.

We've officially registered Rosie for homeschooling in Victoria and are in the process of negotiating 3 days a week of formal schooling for her at our lovely local school.

As I've written before, this is not a common approach in our neighbourhood, nor do I know anyone else who does this, but it feels right to me. And despite pushing those feelings aside for quite a while now, this passion to school my girls at home still knocks at my heart and I can ignore it no longer.

Thus....we have begun lessons for the year, starting today, with a look at our yearly calendar. It's part planning-part learning about the yearly cycles we live by, but either way an important way of looking at the world as both a natural cycle and a period of time during which we can manifest our desires. With a yearly plan on the wall (see photo below) I can help Rosie, and all of us, to look ahead with increased clarity and balance.

This was a fun learning experience together and I'm looking forward to further learning adventures next week.

Peace Mamas...

Our 'new' homeschooling space with Great Nan's old table

The yearly calendar - days, weeks, months, seasons, solstices and equinoxes, birthdays and holidays all on show.

Writing practice on the new kitchen table - so lovely to be working on wood.

Our solstice days

With Christmas coming closer and the Summer Solstice now past we have had a week of family, hot days (over 40 degrees Celsius at one point) and now some Summer rain to keep the garden growing wildly.
Rosie is happily home for the holidays after a full year of school (albeit with lots of homeschooling days, as is our bent). Its a lovely thought to know that she'll be around all day everyday for imaginative play, reading, adventures and whatever-takes-our-fancy.
Bethany is now talking more too, after a couple of months of that frustration that comes from not being understood. I'm sure she must have been telling us detailed stories and asking complex questions, and yet we were oblivious.
A new side of this little girl is now emerging, to the joy of everyone.
And so, with friends and family in tow, we journey to Melbourne tomorrow for Christmas festivities and begin to think about the new year.

Wishing you connection, creativity and joy over this holiday season.

Carolyn x x

Rosie painting Ian's nails ready for a 'play' she wrote.

Nana needed her nails done too!

Miss Rosie has actually become a lot better at applying nailpolish

Miss Bethany deep in play by herself - so lovely to see

Nana and Pop bought this 'paint by numbers' for Rosie for her birthday - but I think they like it more than she does...








Purple-podded peas growing well in the warm weather


Our substantial strawberry patch is still producing thanks to some selective watering over the hotter days

Miss Pippy, our largest hen, in the chook yard.

Unwrapping my inner child

Christmas is a time for me when family expectations, or at least my perception of the expectations, can trump the joy and excitement I see in my girls faces. 

This year I worked on being present (ha, ha), focused on letting tension go and on unwrapping my inner child, if only for a few hours.

My inner child plays better, she accepts more and she's more able to let others do things for her.

This has been my Christmas - and I DO feel more relaxed, despite my initial expectations.

How has your Christmas been dear Mamas?

X x

Voices of love and fear

Its been a while since I've graced this blog with my presence, though it hasn't been far from my mind in all that time. I could say that as a Mama I've been very busy, which would be true, or I could say that there are a lot of things up in the air, which is also true, and that this Mama has been a little lost in it all.
Truth be told I've been feeling like something is changing, something not-quite-tangible and not-too-sure but exciting nonetheless. And I just haven't felt that I've had anything to write or anything that I've needed to 'nut out' in order to make sense of things. I've been existing in a kind of shell where my antidepressants protect me from undue anxiety and low moods, but where they perhaps also prevent me from really feeling passion for things as well.
So life has been okay - not fantastic or inspiring and not really bad or too low either. Just a kind of limbo.
But, in that time, there has also been a growing sense of unease - why am I not writing? Why am I not wanting to make decisions? What is it that I want to do? And, ultimately, why do I have depression? For this mama is sure that everything happens for awesome reasons. And I feel like this awesome reason is starting to make itself known.

And that's really awesome.

And a little scary too.

You see, what this Mama has wanted for a few years now is to homeschool her children. To travelschool. To gardenschool. To adventureschool. To worldschool. Its such a big dream - so amazing and yet so very scary.

What if I get it wrong? What if they hate me for it later? What will other parents say? What will Rosie's school say? What judgements will be passed upon our family for my choice?

The list of fears in this Mama's head is very long.

And yet in spite of these my heart remains firm. This passion has not diminished in several years and the growing of my girls. When I look into my heart it swells with gratitude for the opportunities I already have to provide education, learning and love for them. I find myself drawn to other's homeschooling stories. I read blogs about homeschooling and travelschooling families (Soulemama, Ben Hewitt, Soultravelers3). And when I look at my bookshelves and the pile of reading material next to my bed, I see a collection of ideas about what I could do with my girls at home.

The evidence is all there.

And yet still I waver. Those voices of fear are strong and prevalent. And somehow related to my depression too. Surely, this mama thinks, depression is the body's reaction to not following your passions. It's a stillness of emotions - a nothingness in which passion is lost, given up on perhaps, and a sadness pervades. And so the antidote to this must be re-igniting that passion, listening once again to the messages the heart gives and, with help and support and time, following where those messages lead, so that true healing can begin.

And so that depression can turn to expression.