Homeschooling

Happy NOT back to school day!

Today was an awesome day.

We got up early. Not because we had to, but because we wanted to.

The girls did lots of bike riding. They’re practically obsessed with riding – horse riding as a first choice, but when there are no horses around the bikes will do just fine, thank you.

We visited the library.

We spent time in our garden, soaking in the warmth of the sun.

We read.

We studied. A little 😉

We followed our own interests.

Oh, and there was plenty of fun thrown in for good measure!

Yes, it was a great day. And the best part is that we can do it all again tomorrow. Lord, I am so grateful that you opened our hearts to homeschooling. I am so grateful that you have given me the privilege of being with our children all day, every day. And I am so thankful to be able to learn and grow right alongside them.

Homeschooling and depression.

by Kelly 4 Comments

Not an easy topic to address. But necessary. Perhaps you are a homeschooling Mum who suffers depression. Perhaps you know someone in this position. Or maybe you are a Mum considering homeschooling but think that you can’t because you suffer depression. Read on.

My own experience with depression is not something I usually talk about openly, but I have suffered depression on and off since adolescence. In recent years I have improved a great deal.

There are many reasons for my improvement, but perhaps that is a story best left to another day, as today I want to focus specifically on depression in relation to homeschooling.

I contacted the well known homeschooling, and in particular, natural learning advocate Beverly Paine. Beverly has home educated her children through to adulthood while dealing with depression. She was very gracious and honest in answering my questions.

***************************************************************************** Before you began homeschooling your children were you concerned that your depression would be a problem?

“It didn’t occur to me at the time that it would, although I do remember being concerned before my youngest was born if I’d manage parenting another child – but by then I’d already committed to home educating all of them! I think I’d already integrated parenting and education as being one seamless activity. Our baby was due a few weeks before we ‘officially’ began home educating our eldest. I’d been suffering undiagnosed ante-natal depression for almost six years by then. My husband was actively co-parenting in a hands-on way, offering considerable practical support throughout each day.”

What were your main concerns (if any?)

“On my ‘bad’ days I felt immobilized, lacking motivation and felt ‘lost’: on those days I mostly sat and played with the children or did very simple art and craft activities. I couldn’t plan or organise or even supervise, simply ‘being’ with the children seemed to work best. As it turned out, this was the perfect thing to do and not only helped me to build close relationships with the children but helped me ‘parent’ myself.

There were other significant stress factors at play in our lives at the time: we were owner-builders and the house in which we lived still required considerable work to finish it; I had inadequately managed chronic asthma and sinus infections; we were living on an incredibly low income, and I wasn’t getting on at all well with my parents or my in-laws!

As a home educating mum in these early years I doubted my ability to teach the children what I thought they were supposed to learn: little by little my children demonstrated that even with considerable ‘down time’ from their teacher-mum they progressed through the curriculum anyway. Simply playing and living, doing the chores, taking part in everyday family life looking after our needs, proved to be an okay educational approach.

I worried quite a bit about what other people thought, and frequently wondered if I had the right to perform this social, developmental and educational experiment on my children. Back then few families were home educating – we began in 1985. Time has shown that it wasn’t really an experiment: school is actually the experiment! “

Through your homeschooling journey, did you find that these initial concerns were well founded or not an issue?

“My concerns arose from ignorance: reflecting on the children’s learning experiences and ours as a family allayed them, along with my continuing self-education through reading magazines and books about home education. I also started what I believe was South Australia’s first home education support group and newsletter. Sharing doubts and reassuring each other, as well as celebrating our homeschooling journeys together, helped considerably.

Once we decided to home educate the children we never seriously considered it as an option. Our children were free to go to school if they wished, but being very involved with their education in a hands-on way was always going to be a part of our lives. It was not negotiable, not even when my mental health deteriorated to the point that I had a breakdown. My children were an important and active aspect of the healing process, the journey toward mental wellness.”

Looking back, do you think your depression disadvantaged your children in any way?

“I am sure it did but it also advantaged them too. I saw this also with my nephew (my sister suffered from depression as well, and she also had other chronic health issues). These young people are caring and sensitive adults with a heightened sense of self-knowledge and empathy towards others. They practice assertive conflict management strategies and approach life as learners: open to learning new ways, embracing change as a natural part of life. They are sensitive to their own and other people’s moods and are aware of their personal boundaries.”

What coping mechanisms did you use for the harder days?

“Some days I could do very little and felt incredibly frustrated that these days were ‘wasted’ crying or raging. I felt very out of control. In hindsight I needed professional help and regret that no one felt strong enough to help me seek it. My husband met the children’s needs on those days. We are still dealing with the toll my depression took on his health and our relationship. I worked much harder to repair any damage I did to my relationship with our children than I did with him. I would definitely do things differently if I had my time over!

I did whatever I could do on the harder days. I created ‘lists’ of the things I needed or wanted to do and eventually accepted that it was okay if I managed to tick only one thing off that list: in fact, one task done was cause for celebration, it became a goal for the tough days. I learned that tomorrow was another day and that quite likely the ‘mood’ will have passed and it was okay to tackle today’s chores tomorrow. I learned that it was okay for others to do those chores instead of me, especially if they were willing, happy to offer. I gave myself permission to sit and write. I read books about self-development. I learned about the different things that triggered my mood swings and bouts of depression. I began to avoid those triggers. I avoided social over-stimulation. I learned it was important for me to be in bed by 11pm at the latest. Most of all I gave myself permission to focus on being an attentive parent, enjoying simply playing with the children and exploring enjoyable past-times with them.”

***************************************************************************

Thank you so much for your valuable insights Beverly. Beverly’s natural learning website, The Educating Parent, can be found here. She also has a permaculture website that you can visit here.

So, can you homeschool your children if you suffer depression?

Yes, absolutely! With the right systems in place. Here are my tips:

*Know your triggers.

*Don’t allow yourself to get overtired.

*Avoid unnecessary stress.

* You time. Make time to do things that nourish you.

*Let go of unrealistic expectations and accept that this is part of you.

I hope this has helped you in some way, please feel free to continue the discussion in the comments.

Opportunity

by Kelly 4 Comments

I saw a video the other day that gladdened my heart. When I see homeschool graduates becoming successful (and by success I mean following their dreams and passions) I feel happy and at peace with what we’re doing with our kids.

In the video, Jon talks about being able to take advantage of opportunities in a way that wouldn’t have been possible if he had been sitting in a school room. Homeschooling freed him to be able to follow his passion. I love that.

I’ve realised, particularly recently how blessed our children are to have such a unique opportunity. So many people think that homeschooled kids are missing out and that is so far from the truth.

Our almost 14 year old son loves photography (among his many other interests). There are very few photo opportunities where we live, so I am committed to travelling to picturesque places to boost his inspiration. Yesterday we went to these beautiful botanical gardens (during school hours of course) in freezing cold and drizzly weather. We had the whole place to ourselves.

He got to try out things he has been learning about, like how to photograph moving water.

While the girls played forest pixies inside a massive redwood.

He is also currently doing cooking classes with Jamie’s Ministry of Food – once again, during school hours. This is indulging and encouraging his interest in cooking.

There is so much to learn, love and do in this wonderful life we’ve been given!

Here is the link to the video:

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Post by Moms’ Night Out.

But that’s not learning!

by Kelly 1 Comment

February has been a good month for us. My husband has been on leave from work and we have travelled interstate twice to favourite beach locations to stay.

We made a conscious decision to change our way of homeschooling this year, for many reasons but mostly because leaning strongly towards an unschooling approach felt right. One of the major concerns people have about unschooling is how on earth children are going to learn if they are not immersed in daily. formal lessons. I haven’t quite figured that out yet either, but I do know one thing – the children are learning. Constantly, in so many ways. Lets have a look at some of the learning opportunities they have had over the last month.

When we were on our beach holidays they observed the tides daily, saw a goanna dragging a shark head up the beach and into the bush (now that was cool!), learned more about petrol and mileage in our extensive car travels, witnessed the arranging and paying of accommodation, noted gardens and the different varieties of plants that grow in coastal regions, went fishing and walking. A visit to a local library presented us with storybooks by aboriginals and gave us more insight into their culture. Our oldest son was able to navigate one of the towns on his own – something he is never able to do here in suburbia due to safety issues. All these experiences instigated much discussion and dialogue.

At home, one daughter was painting a lion on a large piece of paper using the easel. She called me over to show that she had been mixing colours on the palette. I marvelled that she had made such a beautiful bright purple without the use of blue. This led to a discussion about colour theory.

Another daughter spends hours a day reading, writing stories and drawing – these are her passions. She can write for hours on her own, calling out occasionally to check the spelling or meaning of a word.

We have a new puppy! This has inspired lots of internet searching and video watching on animal care, handling and training.

I’ve been suffering with back pain more than usual, requiring a lot of rest time. For the children this has meant more input into running the house and helping.

We have also been preparing for Lent which starts tomorrow. Lent themed colouring sheets and activities as well as discussions and plans for all of us have been common.

2 of the children have been seized with garden fever, and with no help or input from adults, they have potted seeds and marked out small plots in our garden for themselves for experimentation.

I could easily go on and on about what the children do each day but really there is too much to document and every thing they do teaches them something. Learning opportunities are endless when your life is not filled up with unnecessary stuff – time and freedom are on your side and there is so, so many possibilities!

Apple choc cake recipe

by Kelly 2 Comments

This is my 8 year old daughter’s first recipe and she wanted to share it with you all. It is a seriously delicious and moist cake!

1 cup of SR flour, sifted

120 grams butter, melted

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup whole milk

2 eggs, whisked

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons desiccated coconut

1/4 cup choc dots (white or brown)

1/2 apple, diced

Pre heat oven to 170 degrees (C). Place flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl. Add milk, eggs and vanilla, whisk until smooth. Place rest of ingredients in the same bowl and stir. Place in a greased cake tin (use baking paper on the bottom to prevent sticking). Put in oven for about 40 minutes, check the middle with a skewer for doneness.

Gem says you can eat it either iced or un-iced, we have had it both ways and it’s great with or without! Enjoy!

Seamstress in the making..

by Kelly 4 Comments

Gem (my 8 year old) made her first skirt! I call it the awesome skirt, can you see why? 🙂

This girls is a big maker (gosh, where did she get that from?) and constantly has something on the go, usually a little wool felt stitchery project of her own design. But she hasn’t made herself any clothing before.

We drafted a pattern together based on the Crafty Mamas hoody skirt. She chose to have a stretchy knit skirt rather than a woven (like Mum wears). So, we started with a white Stella base.

She did most of the sewing on the machine herself, with my guidance. Except the waistband, that’s the tricky part, so I did that for her. The waistband is also made of Stella, so it’s one of those gorgeously comfortable skirts – no elastic.

Next, she had her first experience with dyes. After some discussion and planning, I showed her how to mark and tie the skirt, then apply the colours to get the effect she wanted. She was amazed to see the colours run into each other and mix, creating new colours. I don’t think she understood much of the dye process before, you need to actually do it and see it in action.

After curing overnight (what a painful wait for a young lady!) we cut the ties and rinsed. Then the awesomeness of the colours and patterns was revealed. The look on her face when she realised what she had created was priceless.

Here is another recent project she came up with as a surprise for me. It’s the best little pincushion I’ve ever used! She embroidered “Ma” at the top and used a polymer clay button I made ages ago.

There is only one downside to all this. I think I’m going to have to hide my fabric stash 🙂

The joy of learning!

by Kelly 2 Comments

Learning is fun! And if learning isn’t fun for you or your children, then it should be! Think back to your school days (I know, it hurts!) Think of what you most enjoyed learning. Then think of what you least enjoyed learning. When I do this I come up with: favourite – Art. Least favourite- Mathematics.

When I think of Maths at school I think of monotone men in dorky shirts and ties. I think of a class I could easily sleep through if allowed. I think of how little attention I payed. It was mind numbingly boring and I understood very little of it.

Move over to Art. I think of a teacher who was a bit of an outsider and a little unstable. Who sometimes did “art theory” with us when the inspiration overtook or when he felt guilty – about once a year. And the rest of the time? He was, well, not there for most of the class. This was the great part! I could grab a camera and go take photos for 2 hours. Or I could spend that time in the dark room, which I frequently did. Sometime I stayed at the long table and worked on drawing murals with other students. Sometimes I painted.

Can you see the difference? One was formal instruction in a completely non passionate format. The other was free reign, and ultimately, bliss for a creative person.

So what is it I’m saying? Children, young adults, and adults alike need time to figure stuff out for themselves. They need time to follow passions and interests, even if they don’t seem to lead anywhere. And if someone is not learning effectively, then the format may need to change.

Let me give an example. My 8 year old finds lessons from a writing or English textbook decidedly dull. But, left to her own devices, she is an avid story writer. One of her favourite past times currently is writing to pen friends. In essence, she can write for hours each day without opening a single textbook.

This is where the wonder of learning at home comes in. A child is not restricted by grades or timetables. If one of the children is immersed in an activity they love and they’re learning from it, why on earth would I stop them right in the middle of it and tell them they need to do something more important, more academic.

It is so important to me to not fall into the trap of holding “school at home”. Yes, I think it’s important that the children learn certain things but in the quest for knowledge we must never crush the joy of learning.

A typical homeschool morning…

by Kelly Leave a Comment

People who are interested in homeschooling often wonder what to expect and wonder “what is a typical homeschool day?” Yesterday as we were going about our morning activities it struck me that is was a very typical morning for us.

The younger girls are playing card and board games. This can go on for a long time. If the weather is fine, they are usually in the garden playing with their animals and other games. Later, if it suits everyone, they will spend some time at the table doing some book work (phonics, maths, religious education etc).

The older two are at the table, working fairly independently on work I have planned for the previous night. Sometimes they need my active participation, other times they just work at it themselves with me as “consultant”.

And you will often find me in the kitchen preparing for later. I’ll be making bread, planning for lunch or dinner, baking, cleaning. It’s a good place for me to be because of the open plan of our home I am readily accessible to all the children.

We only ever do book work until lunch time and often enough we don’t do any at all. Sometimes we would rather go out, sometimes games are just too much fun to be interrupted and sometimes the weather is just too nice to sit at a table and study.

Our afternoons are spent however we want to spend them. There is always plenty of art making and crafts. Gardening, reading, games, story writing, bike riding, baking – there are so many ways to spend an afternoon!

I know homeschoolers who put in a regular school day with regular school books and regular school rules. They have tests and formality. It’s not for me. It’s not for us. We have such a unique and wonderful opportunity to pursue interests and passions and really live life and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Shaving cream marbling on paper

by Kelly 1 Comment

This has to be one of the easiest (and messiest!) ways for children to produce a unique art piece.

All you need is paper (160gsm is good), poster paints and shaving cream (the cheapest brand works fine).

Make a layer of shaving cream on a tray. Make dots or lines of paint. Swirl with a chopstick or similar. The more you swirl, the more intricate patterns you will get, however if you overdo it you might muddy your colours.

When you have a pattern you like, carefully place your paper on top and lightly press all over (lightly!) Peel the paper off and use a paint scraper of similar to scrape the excess shaving cream and paint off to re-use. Put you paper somewhere to dry.

Keep re-using the shaving cream, reapplying the paint if desired, until it’s too coloured to use. Then have some messy fun with the leftovers! (Good for making hand or foot prints on paper too).

This is messy. The easiest wash up for hands is to stick them in a bucket of water outside (the hands, not the children). The trays and tools wash up in warm water.

Here are some of our masterpieces.

They can be framed and hung.

Or used as wrapping paper or even for the basis of another project (collage, background for a picture etc).

From teacher to student

by Kelly 1 Comment

Image credit

“Oh, so you were a teacher before you became a Mum?”

“You must have a teaching degree, right?”

“Which university did you go to?”

If you’re a home educating Mum you’ve probably heard these statements or almost identical ones at least a hundred times – I know I have.

The questioner’s face falls into a sort of bewildered disappointment as I reply in the negative. I’m “just a Mum” after all, so my choice to educate my children at home does not seem legitimate to the average person.

Is a university education always all it cracked up to be? If an individual spends 4 years and thousands of dollars at university in order to become a teacher, does that mean they are a great teacher? Does it mean they know everything and are capable of passing that knowledge on to each child who walks through their classroom door? Certainly, in my experience (all 13 years of it in state schools) that has been far from true.

I don’t consider myself to be smart. I have a lot of skills and a few God given talents, but have always been just average when it comes to academics. I’m pretty poor at maths. I’m OK in English. Science is not my forte. And history, well I just find it really hard to retain all that information.

I went to university to do a Bachelor of Early Childhood. I left after 8 months. I hated it. It was boring, confusing, annoying – like a slightly older version of high school and I had had enough of that. I couldn’t stand being taught to care for a child that was only viewed as a child, with predictable thought patterns and behaviour, completely ignoring the beautifully created individuality of each child as a person.

Why I am I telling you all this? Because my IQ or ability to perform academically have nothing to do with my aptitude for home educating my children. I don’t consider myself a teacher. I do consider myself a student. I learn alongside my children, we share knowledge, we pool our skills and most of all, we enjoy each other’s company, living this wonderful life together!

So you see, an institutional qualification is not necessary to home educate successfully. Much more important is a strong faith, a big heart and a huge smile!