What a difference a day makes.

Today was one of the first days in weeks where school got happy again. I have no idea why our learning times turned upside down. Was it looking at what others were doing and trying to do thier thing. Maybe, was it change that just didn't quite bring the kids along with it. Maybe. Just a bad run of not quite knowing what I was ding, maybe. It could have been as simple as having changed enough that my homeschool planner couldn't cope. That could be it in a nutshell.


Through the process I have learned that my esteem is inexplicably tied into the quality of our learning times. Whether its respect issues, joy, laughter or unity it has a huge effect. A good friend has suggested that I address this ... food for thought.

But it was good to have us working together, to have the freedom to learn and enjoy, and to not have the pressure to rush. Even with one child needing to work in thier own space, one heading down with chickenpox and only one settling down to work it was good to enjoy doing what we do. It's been a long time. Hopefully we are in a better place and can enjoy going forward.

Snowed under

Figuratively that is.

Over the last few weeks life has become incredibly complex and busy. Yesterday is the first time I managed in months to clear my desk and feel ready and awake for the new week. The kids dutifully took the bait of extra computer time to help out and finish off their school work for Friday.

Yes a clean slate for the week ahead.

The week has also been one of blessings, good friendships and the ability to sort out the misunderstandings off life, and yes there were misunderstandings.

Deep feelings that reminded me of all the stuff you work at forgiving and move on from , which just maybe hasn't been completely forgiven.

And stirring up the depths - the looming possibility of a church split ... the stuff you hope isn't real, that you really don't want to deal with. That you hope you can cope with as message after message is more about how we can do what we feel is right than about seeking truth.



Right now my clean slate isn't all that clean. Home church sounds so good. Not having to wade through controversy after every Sunday, not feeling like each week you are being forced to take a position that you don't agree with. Not being manipulated.

God is good, he is in control, and we can trust him. Just now I wish that I knew where the next few weeks were leading.

Learning at the Dining Room Table

Sometime in the last few months, we seem to have made a transition. Somehow I'm less tossed by the fear of what we should be doing in our home-school. More sure about the choices that we have made, more content to let things take their right path.

We have made some interesting changes to the way we do school. Changes that wouldn't be standard opinion, but changes that work for my trio. The biggest change has come from running as one class in everything but Maths. This means we are all starting at the working at the same place in Latin, Greek, Writing, Grammar and on the same topic for History, Bible, Science and Literature. It wasn't an easy choice. Lots of prayer, some occasional panic, but a sure feeling that this is what we need to do for us.




At the heart of the change is the pull between actively teaching and independent learning.

Independent learning is great, its how my 10 yr old has taught himself to draw/design engines, planes, anything that challenges his engineering brain. Its how my daughter has learned to sew.

But when its a subject that they are told they need to learn it seems to be more of an issue of struggling through what they hope is right. For two of my kids, if not all three, independent learning is a case of trial and error that slowly has sapped their love of learning, their confidence and their achievements. Independent learning here seems to be a case of working through the book, hoping that we get it, panicking that we missed something, never really being sure of ourselves, and sadly not realizing that help is just a question away.

Slowly over the year subjects have been combined, often so that we are all in the same place, learning together, sometimes slowly, sometimes faster, but happier, stronger and with far fewer corrections and re-works. Sometimes it gives out some strange results - like my 9 yr old getting logic faster than the 7th grader, sometimes we learn to wait for someone, sometimes its way to loud, sometimes quiet and steady. Slowly each day our confidence is growing.

Eventually I will have to work on a balance between the two, but for now this is good, this is encouraging, and this is teaching us how to learn from each other.

We are pottering

Yesterday was a mix of trying to decide if we had energy to do something or not ...I was very in favour of enjoying a quiet day just pottering. After all three boys (hubby included) had asked several times what we were doing my daughter wrote this on the school whiteboard ....

WE ARE POTTERING.
So find a pot (in finding a pot do not pull out Mum's flowers) and start "ering" it for an hour. You must do it outside or you will have to clean up the mess.

Its still written there and still leaves me smiling.

Facing the Giants

For a long time we have been trying to find the balance between our kids wills and trying to keep a tidy home and a regular homeschool program.

We all love homeschooling, its just that for Mum and Dad - learning featured much higher in that than for the kids.

Trying to find the balance has been a journey, one that has needed much prayer and thought. Its had some ups and some downs...ok lots of downs. Not because homeschooling is hard, just well three strong willed kids and a determined mum can give some interesting results. I've learned a lot about my kids, education, sibling rivalry and life along the way.

This year has seen a lot of change in how we home school and how we react to each other. I've had to work out what my motivation is - to prove that homeschooling works, to have really smart kids, or because we love God and each other and believe that this is the best option for our families education.

Last Monday we showed the kids a film that is having huge results in how we talk about school and how we respond to each other. The film "Facing the Giants" comes from the same people who produced "Fireproof" and while blatantly Christian it has an equally good message - Give God your Best and leave the rest - good or bad, win or loose up to him. He can do the impossible - or not... our job it to give him our best and give him glory. The kids watched the film with us and they are thinking. Thinking and acting on what we saw - and that's good.

Watoto

Last night we were privileged to have one of the teams from Watoto in Uganda visit our church. Not only visit but host overnight two of the kids and their caregiver.

On stage they are great, full of energy and praise, and beautiful voices. The sound system lost them a bit loosing the voices to the backing tracks. When they sang grace unaccompanied they were amazing.

Neat to see my Artist in the thick of conversation with the older girls - trying to find out who was coming to stay that night. Learning and listening. We could see the conversation from the back of the room. The boys worked out that my son was ticklish .. and well.. he may never let on to that again. Fun, joy and praise. Polite kids. Polished, poised and hopeful.

It was good, challenging leaving me with much to think about as we go about our lives - could we simplify.

Here's their website they are well worth seeing and supporting. Valda

I didn't see that coming

Change hit our home-school this week. I didn't realize we were heading for change... or that we needed it. Or even that it is real. I've been settled with my weekly blocks of learning. Having just one or two things to think about and plan made life easy and comfortable.

Last weekend I looked over the subject list and while they were all good things to study none felt right for this week. Nothing made sense in terms of what we were studying although by Monday morning I had a plan of sorts.

Across the week hiccup after hiccup disrupted the plan. Along the way a new plan evolved. Firstly a recognition that nature study was important. Then a realization that those subjects that incorporate beauty (poetry, music and art works) were missing.

Slowly its began to dawn that interspersing out days with reading and discussion doesn't need to be stressful. We can simply keep a pile of books and read the portions that we need to do throughout the day. With weekly writing projects we don't need written narrations, crafts or experiments on every subject. Where we do we can slot them in as required without having a big block for afternoon studies. I didn't have to be tied to a schedule. If we lose a day to skiing, the pools, sickness or just needed to get on top of life it was OK. My biggest challenge in homeschooling has always been dealing with the challenge of having an afternoon disrupted and wondering what to do about it. Many weeks have been lost simply on the realization that by Tuesday we weren't going to be able to finish the plan - and then what did I do.

The realization that we could use our existing program CM style without taking on board the whole plan of Ambleside is appealing. For some reason I've always felt I had to do all of Ambleside using all their selections. When we got to the stage of having alternative preferences it came apart.

Now I'm feeling content with our curriculum choices but seeing the option for a stress free implementation. No detailed plans. No schedules that we have to meet, no deadlines. No more subjects than we are happy learning from. It sounds refreshing and good, the kids are keen... and so we head forward.

I wonder where this journey leads.

Atmosphere

For the last week I've been once again pondering how we develop an atmosphere of learning. As I have done so I have pondered the inherent disciplines and characteristics that certain studies give to our days.

Latin and Greek to me seem to be very calming, focused activities that build order and routine into our days. I'm not sure I'm expressing that right but they seem to give us a peace from having to focus so carefully on our work.

Nature study not only opens our eyes to what is happening around us, but leads to a questioning and appreciative spirit. What is that? Isn't that amazing! Isn't that cool! There is an excitement at the never ending change that occurs around us as each season brings its own special surprises.

I love our in-depth bible times and the study that we do about people in other times and places. The growing understanding of why the world is like it is and how it is that way. These topics also bring an element of working together and thinking through. Talking and taking our questions just a little bit further. We never quite know where we are going to end up in our discussions. Whether we will learn about the topic in hand or a rabbit trail of to one side.

The thoughts that this have had me wondering if it was time to change direction and move from my weekly blocks to a more flexible mixed up week. My old decision of a Veritas style Omnibus or Ambleside type multi-book lessons. Umm.

I think that we will stick with what we're doing and simply make the add one, poetry, artist, composer and nature study.

At the heart to go either way is not a big deal. It is purely a question of flexibility rather than content or what we truly do with each day.

A Simple Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window,
Lots of blossom buds just a day or two from opening

I am listening to...
The heater fan whirring, quiet pencil noises, peace.

I am thankful for...
A calm Friday, in the midst of ballet exam nerves and in-laws visiting

From the learning rooms...
Poetry and growth. I think that we took a huge step forward this week in terms of the kids settling into school work and the growing realization that its 100% about attitude and atmosphere.

From the kitchen...
Umm..taking the plunge and making a real carrot cake for the kids, comfort food or sfish pie, homemade hamburgers, and fun....

I am wearing...
Jeans and a soft cream jersey. finally finding an old pair of jeans that fit - how did i manage to buy two pairs of jeans last season that were simply a size to big...ugg!

I am reading...
Notes on Exodus... when I can my reading has fallen victum to trying to keep up with my kids Latin and Greek...slowly slowly

I am praying for...
Peace in this family, and our wider family, peace at my husbands work...

On of my favourite things...
Sitting with a cup of tea looking out over the garden and just enjoying the moment. (Why don't I do that more often. )

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Ballet exams, and soccer, a slower week, making use of the pool pass before it expires, and afternoons in... exodus or geology still praying still deciding, maybe we should finish of swimming creatures instead.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

In the tradition of the Simple Womans Daybook

Homeschool Classical Education in a box

Over the weekend my favorite email group looked like having a renaissance. The idea excites me.

Many of the original group members are of the generation when Classical education was first being brought to light. The old text books had been reprinted but that was all they had. How often they wished for a boxed classical education.

Now as my kids approach the NZ college age (US High School) I find myself with a wealth of options - Classical homeschool in a box is a reality. OK I have to put it together from a couple of suppliers but its all there.

Along with it is a slowly dawning reality that Classical Education is not a one size fits all. Its not a simple case of taking a of living text books, a progym based writing program, grammar reinforced with Latin study, solid maths and logic texts and putting them together.

Classical Education, the trivium and the whole idea of mastery learning is something very different. At some point the aim is not just ticking the box and completing the exercise hoping that somewhere sometime it will all click together. It is a means of raising of a person to worship God, recognize what is truly good, true, and beautiful. To see God's footprints not just on a heart level but a full person. To honour God with our self control, ability to think, ability to hear and our growing knowledge about and of Him who we serve.

These beautiful new curriculum choices help heaps they really do. I have much more guidance than was available before, especially for my very unsteady writing skills. Sometimes though they leave me feeling unnecessarily stressed.

I am increasingly aware of how much I need to work through the issues of how to teach my trio, their strengths and weaknesses, their characters. I still need to nut through making the available resources fit us. I need to know when to use a text and when to write my own. Maybe I need to juggle three or four texts because some confuse us more than help us.

I hope the discussions, that I peeked at when my kids were small, that inspired me to walk down the classical path, can be revisited for a new generation of Mums. I also hope to enjoy the journey myself.