Home ed. with younger siblings

A few people have recently asked for tips about how to get things started, and how to occupy younger siblings.  

Here's some encouragement and tips from my experiences so far:

Tot Trays  .... for the little ones, keen to do their own 'school work', there are a lot of good ideas in the pages of this site which I adapted to our needs. Unit studies, lap books, sharing lots of books and fun maths also worked well.  


My youngest child was keen to 'play schools', which helped immensely when I wanted to transition the kids back to a routine with more structure after a year of mostly unschooling. Jasi's enthusiasm pulled in her big brother, who by 5 was ready for a break from 'work' and wanted to play non stop! I did question all of my assumptions and expectations, and gave him abundant free time. I chose less structured teaching methods to build his basic skills during that phase. Elijah's bouts of negativity dissolved as there was no pressure, and whilst it wasn't always easy to see 'progress' at the time, now we're entering a new phase again, and seeing the fruit of the learning which did occur.


We now have a timetable and routine as a guide, which helps, but is INCREDIBLY flexible. I won't share it here as there's never a day or week when we actually do what it says!
Here are some of the things we do:


... As a fun way to draw the kids in and grab their attention and set a positive tone, we gather for a quick introduction, interesting and full of tasty, quick bites. For example, we pray (briefly, having usually prayed in bed earlier) and read a Bible story or scripture verse, use the whiteboard for things such as date, sentence about the day or other idea, sometimes weather, number patterns, brainteasers, interesting words, quick phonics reviews, sometimes a scripture, or a list of some kind (the kids have turns helping write). In my board writing I use words they can read as well as extend and challenge them in a fun and supportive context. 


... Some days we skip the intro. Other days that is ALL we do formally, and the rest is through shared reading, experiences, spontaneous opportunities and rabbit trails.  Natural learning defines so much of what young children are inclined to do, given free time, resources and a willing audience to share their discoveries with. Children are ever changing and amazing!


... With 5-6 yr olds, our sit-down bookwork has usually been only 1/2 to 1 hour a day, low pressure and more about basic skills, habits and attitude. Sometimes I will say what's to be done and why. Other times I will present two options and let the children choose, or the children may suggest a book they'd prefer to do.  If the children ask to do extra, I let them. They sometimes like to read to us or do writing before bed.


... Often "life" changes the routine. We take many opportunities for excursions, play dates, sports and family visits. No worries, as children are always learning, I've learned to see the balance and not worry about missed 'lessons'. Illness gets in the way more often than I'd like. I don't try to force sick kids or myself to work, it's usually a case of one down, all down, and we fall back on natural learning, educational DVDs and read alouds.  


... Lots of hands on activities, shared books, games, variety of resources handy for the kids to select from, or I will choose something to do together.  


... We use the computer as a tool for providing opportunities for 1-1 learning, with the kids free to choose between about 5 options (eg. at times this has included typing in Word, Reading Eggs, Targeting Maths CD-roms, Smart Kiddies, Tux Paint, Mathletics or Skwirk). In theory I can set one child up on the Mac, then spend time with the other. In reality, this is sometimes perfect, sometimes painful, when the one on the computer needs help and whilst I do that, the other gets sidetracked.  

That's part of what it looks like here, with 2 children who are 12 months and 10 days apart. I try to keep it positive, understand each child, and go with the flow.
 
Someone on AussieHomeschool wrote "Sometimes it is very hard to get them to settle down, especially when there is more important stuff happening (nice weather, racing bikes in the yard, scrounging in the garden for slugs etc) and I have been fairly gentle on this, because of their ages and stages (that is also how they learn.)"


My response to this is, I totally understand, especially about ants in pants. We're still there! I try to understand and respect what's important to the children, and work with them rather than fight the tide. I love seeing the children take charge of their own learning, and watch great things unfold when they decide to 'give speeches' or role play occupations. Sure, it's not always so tidy, as they also choose to be cooks with garden litter, wash the floor with a tea towel, or hijack all the chairs and cushions for a bus ... but that's part of childhood.  


Next year my plan includes "The Australian Book Traveller" by Michelle Morrow (her website is www.downunderlit.com), "The Wonderland of Nature", by Nuri Mass (also from Michelle), additional eclectic science, LEM phonics, eclectic Maths (using what I have on hand) and lots of other fun!  

Reading - our style

I don't think there's any single, best way to help children become readers.  I think Love, patience, time and fun are the keys to encouraging a child's natural interest in stories, and their desire and ability to read will flow from there.  


We haven't followed a specific learn-to-read program.  I've borrowed ideas from all kinds of approaches, including phonics (LEM), sight words (eg. Dolch) ... and our home is a playground for whole language!  Step by step programs have worked for some of my friends, combined with the other essential ingredients I mentioned above.  


Here's our story so far, from 0 to 6 years:


From the early days of babyhood the seeds of reading were planted.  We played with words, read aloud ten zillion books, bought books, visited the library often and the kids chose books to borrow on their own cards.  When friends and family would visit, the kids would toddle up and hand them a book to read out.  


Elijah loved books from day one (well, day 8 when he came home from hospital).  I thought Jasmine was going to be different.  She would wriggle and squirm away ... but by 9 months she was just as hooked on books as her big brother!


Here are some snapshots of the fun we've had with reading in the pre-school years ...

This was Jasmine on her 2nd birthday (Elijah was just 3).  

Pete was a home Dad ... each he day wrote a sentence or two on the chalkboard, and the kids would 'read' it to find out what exciting plans he had ... words like icecream, park and swim were very popular!

We now use a whiteboard, but this habit has stayed with us, and now the children help write the days of the week, sentences or activity lists.

With toddlers, Superdad also made up flashcards with words the children were interested in, and they would play games to win cards by being the first to read them.

We played games and more games ....

We made up rhyming word lists (some with nonsense words) then phonogram-based word lists (based loosely on LEM phonics).  The kids initially read these to earn pez lollies!   

We have a range of flip-books (bought cheaply), free, photocopied or printed and laminated games, word rings, word and letter puzzles ... these are not regarded as greater or less than any of our other resources and toys.  It wasn't so much 'school' at age 3-5, just something fun we did together.  

It hasn't changed all that much.

We also go through phases of using flashcards for 'sight words', blends and phonograms.

I sometimes make up a game, like this 'ar jar' for the phonogram ar ("ah, or, the car had a war") we made 2 years ago.  We thought up the words together, I wrote them on cut up Christmas cards.  4-6 cards are placed face up at a time, I say a clue (eg. it can start a fire) and the kids find the word which says the answer (spark).  They may work as a team or compete for the most cards.

Word wheels don't get much use here ... they look good and are a bit of fun, but aren't as good as reading in context.

Both kids do ABC Reading Eggs, whenever they want (if the computer is available), which averages out to 1-3 one-hour sessions per week.  When they were younger the kids also liked the free lessons and they still like the printable books at www.starfall.com

Jasi and Elijah pretend to read to each other (making up stories about the pictures) ... role playing librarians, teachers, mums and dads.  Likewise, they use story books as pretend music books, from which they sing (making up songs as they go).

We have many 'traditional' reading tools too, around the house including many posters.  I holepunch posters in the top corners, thread 5-6 posters onto 2 curtain rings, then hang the set on hooks I've set up around the house, such as on the back of the toilet door.  They're easy to flip, or swap for a different set.

We've ended up with an eclectic range of 'early readers' at little expense, bits and pieces of many series, from school throw-aways, book stalls, home made books, free printable books (eg. from www.starfall.com) and Bible story early readers.  

We borrowed Fitzroy Readers from a school Mum worked at last year, and the kids hated them!    

Elijah now reads Dr Seuss to us, along with various library books and others from his shelves.

Magnetic word kits, sentence makers and phonics work books 

 are often done just for fun, usually whenever the kids want ... such as bed time!

Living in a book-lovers paradise, with so many tools at our disposal and some deliberate instruction through conversation, games and 'playing schools' ... 
Have my children become amazing readers at an incredibly early age?


No and yes.  It hasn't all been plain sailing, but on the whole, it's been positive.  The children have been at times far ahead of their age-expected levels, then other times they cruise, forget sounds and sight words and fall behind to a more 'average' level for their age.  They have vocab and comprehension beyond their years.  Most important to me, they are interested, self-motivated and enjoy their experiences with words and books.


Our shared reading time is still plentiful and precious, and includes picture books, chapter books, science, maths, geography and history references.  We 'do' the Premier's Reading Challenge, just because we read the books anyway, so may as well get a certificate to show for it. 


I photographed our bookshelves ... but there are enough photos here!  Just imagine bookshelves, baskets and stacks all over the house, add up to 90 library books at a time, and that sums it up.


If it's mixed with cuddles, it's all good!  

Homeschool Wordle

I created this at www.wordle.net, to print and use in our homeschool journal after seeing the idea here and here .  If you click on the Wordle it will open in the Wordle gallery to view at a more readable size!

It was easy and a LOT of fun!

I just typed lots of words in a basic text editor (Stickies) then pasted my list into Wordle, played with the style and saved it in the public gallery.  Voila!

I am hoping it will print well ... when I tried to resize it for this page, the text became too foggy.

Have a go, and add a link to your Wordle in my comments!


P.S.  If you use Mac OS X as I do, refer to FAQs for information about how to print your Wordle.

What Unschooling and Natural Learning mean to me ... Part Two

I really enjoy reading and talking about how other people 'do' home education.  We're all curious about how others live their lives without school.  Visiting homes, chatting at the park and seeing pictures on blogs is a lot of fun (speaking of which I should post more photos).  We share thoughts and ideas about resources, arrangement of spaces and ways of organising things, and help each other learn and solve problems.  I've met about 100 home ed. families, visited countless websites and subscribe to about 20 blogs.  All are fantastic sources of inspiration.  I love the culture of acceptance, generosity and encouragement which I've experienced online and in our local home ed. network.  So ... THANKS!!!!

Just to clarify, I'm only writing here about what we're doing, which works for us at the moment.  Each family is different and that's the beauty of having our children at home.  I admire everyone doing their best, in their own way.

If any of this sounds organised, it's because I'm trying hard to find the consistent points in our very flexible, whimsical, busy life.  And even though these posts are long, I bet I'll leave out some really special and important details.  So expect a few p.s.'s from me.  I'm not claiming to have any particularly original thoughts ... this synthesis is the result of a couple of years reading and talking and living.  I'll get on with it then!

OUR VERSION OF ECLECTIC, TIDAL HOME EDUCATION ...

-  we blend various aspects of Unschooling, Natural Learning, Interest-based, Child-led learning, Unit Studies, Literature and Thematic studies, Traditional school and probably other methods.
-  the glue sticking it all together is our faith, relationships and zest for learning and living!

-  learning happens all the time, everywhere, in conventional and playful ways.

-  lessons learned by experiencing are often the most memorable.

-  child-initiated learning and intrinsic motivation are powerful tools to be encouraged and valued.

-  we are not limited to a particular curriculum, textbook, grade level or educational approach.

-  we unashamedly borrow ideas from diverse education methods, philosophies and theories, to develop a unique blend that pleases and nourishes OUR children.

-  there are many valid ways to explore subjects, share ideas and demonstrate skills.

-  in our daily journey we share the joy of setting directions and modes of transport.

-  the Lord, my husband and myself have God-given roles which aren't open to compromise.

-  I'm a facilitator ... doors can be opened by the resources I provide and the experiences I plan.
-  kind of like the Doctor's creed, I try to 'first do no harm' (I think it goes something like that).

A FEW MORE POINTS ...

-  as a home educator I DO refer to curriculums (many, from all over the world) for ideas and suggestions of what the children might be interested in or need to know.  Then I set most of it aside and just let learning happen.  I sometimes respect and sometimes ridicule the outcomes and principles of our State and National curriculum.  It's more important to me that my children keep their curiosity, have a chance to stretch their minds, and learn diligence and persistence.

-  we DO use numerous 'schoolish' resources and ideas, as one of many tools, but I can't think of a program I have used in it's entirety ... I always feel the need to extract, tweak and condense.  We skip liberally around grade levels to suit our children's needs and interests.  Responses may be written, discussed, dictated or demonstrated in practical ways.   

-  if I think my children would benefit from improving a particular skill, I find (sometimes fun) ways to steer them in that direction and help them see why it's worth putting in some time and effort.  Contrary to the bulk of unschooling theory, I DO at times use coersion, bribery and extrinsic motivators to assist with this.  I expect my children to respect my judgement when differences arise, and balance this by aiming to respect my children's readiness, opinions, interests and learning styles.

-  our family culture is an invisible but integral part of the learning experience our kids enjoy ... so I guess I'd describe our crew as faithful, playful, caring, energetic, affectionate, talkative, generous, creative, intellectual, busy but relaxed, peaceful but not quiet, sensible but often silly.  Pete and I can both be a bit more bossy and authoritative than what I'd like at times.  I sometimes get carried away on tangents of being industrious, introspective, distracted and multi-tasking.  And I'm usually trying to do a zillion things at once.

-  there are many reasons why Pete and I do things the way we do, and Scriptures which guide us when we have to chose between divergent paths.  That doesn't mean I think we have all the answers, and I know every choice made has an opportunity cost and there'd be potentially different outcomes if we'd gone the other way.  I have to accept the consequences of our choices, keep learning and seek the silver lining in the clouds which sometimes appear.

These are my honest reflections ... obviously a work in progress.  So although I think I've written way too much and I don't know if it makes any sense, I'll send it out into cyberspace.  

---------------------------------

Part Three, about the specifics of what we actually do, might take longer to compose.  Sorry I'm taking so long to get to the practical bits!  

What Unschooling and Natural Learning mean to me ... Part One

I've noticed these are terms which elicit strong emotions.  Many people haven't heard of either, but ask for a brief explanation (which I am NOT good at providing) or discuss it over a period of time.  Depending on their personal understanding, experience and the people they've met, reactions vary widely and I've seen family, friends and strangers dismayed, awestruck, horrified, intrigued, quick to judge, interested, worried, skeptical, undecided, curious, relieved ... 

One possible reason for people's strong opinions is that (in my short experience) there IS no absolute definition of Unschooling or Natural Learning.  There is much written about these philosophies, and excellent books and websites with support, tips and terminology.  But the extent to which it is applied varies a lot.  Even the principles behind it are elusive, and by their very nature these methods are open to interpretation and individualised implementation.  And THAT is what I have found so confusing, yet also comforting.

I could call us eclectic tidal lifelong learners, but eclectic home schoolers is easier.  I'm not a Natural Learning or Unschooling purist, but it is an important part of the big picture of learning for us.  Here are some WONDERFUL articles about N.L. and U.S. on blogs I read regularly and find inspiring:

FreePlayLife 
Eclectic Homeschooling
An Unschooling Life
LibraryofBookLinksAndMore
Almost Unschoolers

(NOTE:  I have other favourite blogs too, so forgive me if I've left you out!!  I'm sure some of you have related posts and I spent ages sifting, but ran out of time before I found them.  If you've written an article about what Unschooling and Natural Learning mean to YOU please put a link to it in the comments!)

These people have tried to explain what Unschooling and Natural Learning mean to them, and I've been encouraged by their example, seeing how they exercise their freedom of choice, to persist in finding my own way of home schooling, without pressure to use the labels in the same way as anyone else ... unless I want to :)  

In the past two years I kept trying, but feeling it was impossible and futile, to define my home education philosophy.  I'm not 'there' yet, but am glad to say I've learned a lot along the way and have gained a little more confidence.  Amongst the many lessons learned, I've realised:


*  Our homeschool will be whatever we need it to be, in order to reach the goals we (as a family and individuals) are working towards.  Flexibility is one of the reasons we home educate, and we're free to change our methods to adapt to emerging interests, embrace opportunities and go with the flow of our life.


*  Other people's opinions DO matter to me.  Not in a weak, submissive way, but as part of the way I relate to people and view society.  I'm capable of standing up for what I believe is right.  Being able to articulate WHAT we do, WHY and HOW, in a concise way, is something I will probably continue to strive for, whether it's possible or not.


*  I can't please everyone (and even if I wanted to it would be impossible), but I'm responsible for the choices I make on behalf of my children.  I believe I'm accountable to God, my family, the government and to some extent, fellow home educators.  I can explain why I reached this conclusion, but won't get into it now.  It's a big responsibility to raise children and influence their perception and place in the world.

-------------------------------------------

In Part Two, I'll share what Natural Learning and Unschooling mean TO ME, and how they fit into the big picture of my education philosophy.

I may even write Part Three, which would be an example of how it all pans out during a typical week.

Please leave a comment.  I'd love to hear people's thoughts about this!

Time for living

G'day.  I've been a silent blogger for a while ... only just finding time to read blogs.  For all the blogs you write, many of which I haven't left comments for recently ... thanks for writing them, I enjoy reading them immensely!

We're finally all better (after a minor but prolonged virus), hooray!  Our holiday in Coffs Harbour was brilliant, so good that I couldn't blog about it, because I wanted to stay there forever.  The weather was perfect and so deliciously warm, and in every direction there were adventures to have and places to explore ... but I feared to write that would make me sound ungrateful for our pretty terrific home life.  Which isn't the case, I really love my home and family and lifestyle.  Thankfully after a few days back at home I regained my contentment and got stuck into LIFE again.

My problem then was winter ... it always gets to me, and I end up wishing we could move somewhere warm for just a few months each year (and perhaps one day we will).  But after a week of grumbling about being so cold it hurt, I decided to embrace it.  Life's been easier since making that choice, with the help of some long cosy jumpers, fur lined boots, a hot water bottle and plans for our first trip to the snow.

So back to LIFE.  May and June have been (and will be) busy in a good way, with lots of excursions, kids competing with me for computer time, play dates, creative projects, FBI co-op, sports, coordinating childcare for our church's state conference (next weekend) and celebrating our children's birthdays (which are later this month but that hasn't stopped us getting in early!)

What's happening with school you may ask?  I asked myself that too.  It sometimes seems like the last item on the agenda, so I've returned a routine.  I've scheduled in our outside activities and TV times which are fairly predictable, plenty of free time and even meal times (mainly because Jasi gets remarkably tired and grumpy when her blood sugar drops).  I can already see it is helping.  All term the kids have been a bit unsettled, arguing and attention seeking, but today they asked to do 'schooling' and got stuck into their work and have played more happily together too.  That's not to say we'll keep to the routine ... a sunny day will always entice us outside!  Our recent home ed. recipe has been perhaps 50% natural learning, and 50% eclectic homeschool ... shared books, unit studies, posters, craft, games, excursions, workbooks, computer, conversation, TV, music, storytelling.  Having said that I'm not as hung up about what to call our method of education.  Learning is happening and life is good!

I hope to get back into more frequent writing in July.  I like a record of what's been happening, so I don't think back and wonder where all the days went.  Also it's nice to look back on the fun we've had, changes, triumphs, adventures, decisions, challenges etc.  Writing helps me make sense of things.

Well for a short post, this has ended up pretty long!!  It's fun to be back.  I might be a bit more random in the topics I write about when I get around to it, because whilst home schooling is a HUGE and wonderful part of my life and is often the easiest thing to share, I didn't intend for it to be the only thing I write about.  There'll probably be a few out of order snapshots to catch up on too.

See you round!

Slime school!

We have wonderful friends with older children, and when they clean out their kids cupboards they offer us all kinds of treasure.  Past gifts have included floor puzzles, road works figures and a TMNT (Ninja Turtle) castle, vehicle and turtles!

Last night they gave us a bag of goodies, including two pots of 'Mutating Ooze'.
SLIME!!!

The kids woke up talking about slime.  They wrote about slime in their diary / journals this morning (what they expected it to be like ... I said we'll glue in pictures afterwards).  Then we had fun thinking of real and nonsense words to rhyme with slime, mess and goop.

Then it was time for slime ...

I think they liked it!!

Diving into history

Mr 5 is really interested in Medieval Kings, Knights, Ancient Egypt ... basically Ancient and Middle Ages history, of which I have little knowledge.  I was assured at a conference by Diana Waring last year that it's fun to learn though, so I'm not afraid to dive in and read more about it all.  Although at times presenting the grisly details in a little-child-friendly way is a bit challenging.

I'm happy for my kids to learn history, and delighted that their interest is self-proclaimed, but I have wondered how it fits with my desire to have them 'dwell on good things' as the scriptures recommend.  However, there's plenty of violence in Bible history, so I obviously have a lot to learn about the whole subject!

We're not new to this ...  Mr 5 has been into Egyptology since he got a (rather advanced, but fascinating) book from his Pop, complete with Pharoah mask, games, etc.  He was about 3.5 I think, so I read it selectively.  Heavily censored snippets, for the benefit of little sister, who was, and still is, very impressionable and genuinely a bit scared of all the violence!


Today Miss 4 has joined in, and a lot of free play has centred around their dramatic telling of a Pharoah/ Kings/ Moses story hybrid.  There were many adventures earlier, such as this:

According to the children, lots of enemy kings were in our yard, with more still coming.  The kings were  going to wreck the swings, cubby house, chairs and slippery dip.  Then they were going to hurt the babies (dolls).  Something had to be done!  


Mr 5 declared "To stop the kings from wrecking the swings you have to give them lemonade with a bit of cocoa."  Miss 4's solution to the problem was much more violent, and Mr 5 suggested a compromise.  In the end though, they decided to wait for daddy to come home from work and play his part, as the victorious hero!  Whew!


Our books on the subject are limited to a page here and there.  So Mr 5 has asked me to find him library books so that he can learn "the names of all the Egyptian Kings, and what they look like".  I might be asking my friendly children's librarian for help on this one!  On the bright side, at least it's a change from mummies and embalming (and no, I didn't try the embalming-a-chicken experiment that was circulated last year).

Oh, and he says about the books I'm going to look for ... "Mummy don't forget the Medieval Knights, Princes, Kings and castles ... and the types of tools they used in war."

Hmmmm ....

Back to school tomorrow?

"Back to school" is a debatable issue here ... we haven't really 'done' school for months, yet the kids have still been learning plenty.  On the other hand, 'basic skills' seem to have slipped during this time.  I guess it would all balance out in the end, but perhaps they're due for a tune up, equally to reassure me and to give them a kick-start.  The tide is rising.

I've declared tomorrow the start of our new school year.  This distinction is mainly for the benefit of Miss 4, who is delighted to be 'starting Kindergarten' like some of her friends this year.  Mr 5 says he's feeling great about home school.  I hope we'll have a lot of fun learning.  I don't think much of it will look like school.  In fact I feel like I'm strapped into one of those skyward-facing theme park rides, waiting to be catapulted into space.  This year's going to be a fast ride!

As always, balance is the key.  Play based learning will be important to us this year, regardless of whether the subject matter is basic grammar or chemistry.  As the kids have played freely during their holidays, I've listened in wonder to the vocabulary used in games of hospitals, shops and travels ... I think the way we play 'schools' will satisfy me (and others) that we're 'doing enough' academically ...

*  Let's pretend we're going on a holiday, and set an itinerary, make passports, write a travel journal.
*  Let's go to medical school and read some books about anatomy and health.
*  Let's make a bright red post-box.  And a mail sorting system, for all the envelopes filled recently!
*  Let's learn more about money, a very popular subject in play and reality.

Tomorrow we'll play word games with magnetic letters.  I'll wait and see which writing option matches the mood (texta tracing pages, handwriting books, mini-whiteboards, story writing books, phonics texts, letter/book/card writing).  I'll probably also set the kids up at the computer this week and let them type, as their handwriting doesn't seem likely to match their thinking any time soon :)

The kids have asked for help in reading.  I'm glad the motivation is coming from them again.  Mr 5 especially wants to be able to read his books about diggers and cranes etc.  He's a heart-reader ... by that I mean he knows words which mean something to him.  He's forgotten some sight words and phonics, but should pick it up again pretty quickly.  Miss 4 is so sweet in her enthusiasm to read books to me, her dolls, teddies, her brother etc.  I love how she switches from reading words to improvising, and back to reading again.  I think she'll find it easier to become fluent because she's less worried about getting each word right, but retains the meaning.

For our first maths lesson of the year, we'll do Matchbox Mathematics, which is a fun way of saying we'll gather all the toy cars of that size, group and graph them as the kids see fit, and talk about what we notice.  Money will be another favourite focus this week.

Both kids have been doing a lot of painting recently, so that might continue.  Or we have a papier mache project to finish, and some great cardboard boxes to build something with.  Add in swimming lessons, morning tea at a play cafe, and an afternoon at a friend's house.  It looks like being a fun week!

Now I'd better get some sleep so I can tackle it!

Motivation and balance

I've been pondering the importance of 'balance' in our lifelong learning process.  We're delighted to be keeping our kids out of school for the long haul, god willing, so I want to lay a foundation now that is sustainable for all of us.  I want my children to love learning AND develop the skills to pursue whatever goals they set.  I want to be there with the right resources at the right time, but also to know when to keep out of the way and let things unfold at their own pace.  Ideally there will be abundant curiosity, times of peace and times of excited activity, not too much conflict, plenty of love and acceptance, and freedom to pursue individual goals (including fossil collecting, drumming or designing fashion for dolls!)

I like to plant seeds of interest (mostly in science and HSIE) by borrowing a stack of books and some DVDs.  Mammals, for example, is a topic we recently explored together and greatly enjoyed (it sparked much interest about predators and prey).  We share a LOT of books, gather relevant games and toys, and sometimes the kids put together a lapbook to share what they've learned with others.  Often it spills over into art and music (they loved the Don Spencer songs like 'Dig like a wombat')  DD4 loves workbooks and often asks to do 'schoolwork'.  Then I include some textbook pages or writing in her box of possibilities.  DS5 is the opposite.  He usually hates activity books if they require his pencil to move (it's ok if I'm scribing for him), but he likes tracing and drawing when he's in the mood.  He does spelling by arranging letter tiles, or typing on the computer.  He loves books and flashcards, computer games and telling stories.  How lucky is he, when I compare his freedom to the regimentation and demands of a regular school!

I read somewhere that children know what they need and will ask for it, and I'm starting to trust that this is the case.  They ask me fascinating questions, and will learn  more than enough by pursuing these trains of inquiry.  I'm considering whether we are actually unschoolers (need to read more about it).  Not sure, but I can relate to what I've read about Natural Learning.  I don't choose to use any particular curriculum ... however I have read the scope and sequence/ curriculum frameworks of most states and some from overseas, and always feel reassured that my children are covering (and exceeding) the recommended areas for K/1 (even if they play with textbooks rather than finish them the way I'd usually expect of my students ... because the school expects me to expect that!)

Here's something I found about 'Intrinsic Motivation'.  I believe and hope it's what my children will develop as a result of being free to be kids, active in building their own education.  I found it on http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/intrinsic.htm   ...

Definition: Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside rewards, such as money or grades.

The motivation comes from the pleasure one gets from the task itself or from the sense of satisfaction in completing or even working on a task.  An intrinsically motivated person will work on a solution to a problem because the challenge of finding a solution is provides a sense of pleasure. 

Intrinsic motivation does not mean, however, that a person will not seek rewards. It just means that such external rewards are not enough to keep a person motivated. An intrinsically motivated student, for example, may want to get a good grade on an assignment, but if the assignment does not interest that student, the possibility of a good grade is not enough to maintain that student's motivation to put any effort into the project.

Enough for today ... I still have plenty to learn about all of this.  I'm glad I started early (before we had kids) and as much as I want ALL the answers NOW, there's no rush.  We're happy and blessed with all we need for today.

Freestyle school

Mostly, people think they know what a school day involves.  When you tell someone you're home schooling your children, they want to know what you DO with your kids.  All day, every day?

At our place, we live, we laugh and we learn (thanks, Diana Waring, for this trio) pretty much all the time and anywhere.  We do 'school' for only a few hours a week.  We read voraciously, talk, sing and tell stories, draw, write and trace, we play a lot! 

We are eclectic homeschoolers, as I choose bits of many methods, and odd pages of this and that resource which suit us at the time.  I now like to say that we are Tidal Homeschoolers (thanks, Melissa Wiley for your website, and Kez for telling me about it), which explains the way we go with the flow of life and the seasons.  

At high tide, we have done unit studies on Rainbows, Mammals, The Five Senses ... we do lots of science and art, and make lapbooks, posters or books.  We play the trading game with Base 1o blocks, learn new phonograms in phonics (ar, ee, ir, er, ur, ear and wor this month) and listen to the kids read (often for chocolate).  We explore topics using library books, documentaries and cartoons (many a time has been when George the monkey or Charlie and Lola have been playing with the same topic as us!).  We clock up hours on computer programs like Mathletics, Starfall, Reading Eggs and Intrepica.  We read Bible stories, cook, do craft, painting, sewing, make music and dance.  Amongst this we go to homeschool excursions, play dates and fellowship.  These are fun-filled, busy days.  We buzz with energy and ideas, asking questions and looking for answers.  

At low tide, we sometimes stay in pyjamas until mid morning.  The kids unpack all the books from the shelves, then sing and read their way through a pile as tall as they are.  I read them another stack.  They play doctors, vets or shops, and put on ballet concerts for the teddies, dolls and mummy.  I clean to a serenade of drum solos, guitar jam sessions and keyboard chaos.  The kids swing, climb and scoot around the yard, watching ants and our resident blue-tongue lizard go about their business.  We thread beads, listen to CDs, surf the net and play with play dough.  The kids build new worlds with lego, train sets, blocks and boxes, or make blanket cubbies.  We play snakes and ladders, Uno, Mastermind and Monopoly.  A game of 'I went camping and in the boot I put ...' is full of crazy ideas and ends in giggles.  There are tender cuddles, dreams shared and hopes expressed.

We can't predict when the tide will be high or low, but it has a rhythm which is fun to ride.  We like the varied pace, being able to fly to infinity and beyond, then float gently back to earth.  

At present, it's low tide in regard to school work.  The workboxes have been neglected for a couple of weeks, as we've had visits with friends, excursions, swimming, gymnastics, started ballet (Miss 4) and set up a quarry in the backyard (Mr 5).  We've read a ton of library books about mammals, a steady stream of picture books, listened to Heidi and Blinky Bill on CD,  and generally enjoyed being outdoors on fragrant spring days.

Time to catch some zzz's ... it's tiring being this relaxed!

(PS. note the wry laughter in the background as I secretly recall the tantrums of over stimulated children, and the long list of spring cleaning still to be tackled ... we might go back to high tide school soon for a rest.  Does it work that way?)