It's hard to explain to people what exactly our school day looks like. My homeschooling mama friends and I talk about this all the time, how unless you are in it and living it, it can be a foreign idea to everyone else that only knows public education. The other day, I had a friend say that she can't imagine homeschooling because she doesn't have the skills to make her child sit and work all day long. What I tried to simply convery was that we don't do anything like that, instead our schooling looks nothing like public education. I don't have little desks that my kids sit at for 6 hours. I don't give them tests and grades. I don't have time slots designated for each subject. Simply put, homeschooling looks nothing like the school system. Sure, a workbook might come out every once in awhile or my teacher-habits make an appearance sometimes, but for the most part we just live our life. I've said it before and I believe it more and more, that the education of my children has four components- living life, conversation, rich literature, and play. That's about it.
Living life- We do all the things we did before "school age". We bake, we create, we play, we read, we snuggle, we go on adventures, we visit friends. We are always up to something. We like art and zoo class. We pick out any and all types of media at the library. We go to the doctor and the dentist. We shop at the grocery store and share food with others. We cook and clean. We go on mini family trips. We play outside and visit the nature center. We paint, draw, and cut. We get dressed and make beds. We visit with family and have playdates with friends. Living life doesn't stop just because Isla turned 5.
Conversation- I would argue that most of our education comes through conversation. We talk about what we are reading and how it applies to our life or what we might think about it. We talk about our highs and lows of the day. We discuss upcoming events and things that have already happened. We comment on the weather, the neighbor's new toy, the car driving by. We discuss the praying mantis on our window and the corn being harvested down the road. We tell stories about our lives, our day, other people's perspectives. Our communication is open and strong. Talking about the things on our mind and in our life is rich and engaging. And definitely a main form of learning.
Rich Literature- Books are really the doorway to the world. Books can open us up to things we would never come across in our every day life- sports, cultures, religion, languages, animals, the ocean, famous people, cooking, architecture, outer space, fairytales, history. The list is endless. Picture books, nonfiction resource books, poetry, chapter books, audiobooks. We read them all. It's not just the language development, fluency, comprehension skills, and that kind of stuff that books are good for. It's also the exploration of so many topics. Nothing compares to what books can do for education.
So do we sit down for an hour and "do math"? No. We count the tiles on the bathroom floor and find different ways to get to 10. We cut a recipe in half and realize fractions are a part of every day life. We subconciously measure the distance from the bed to the beanbag as we jump with all our might from the top bunk.
Do we sit in a circle and learn about the colors and letters? No. We see those things in books, in the rainbow after a storm, in the changing leaves on the trees, on the road signs we drive past. In life.
Do we take tests on the things we are reading or time the speed at which we can regurgitate math facts? No. We have open conversations that show us just how far we've come and just how much we've learned in life. We memorize things because they are interesting to us or applicable to our life. We don't compare ourselves to others, to schools, to standards... because we have no reason to. I don't need my children to memorize things and spit it back to me just to prove some kind of learning. I see it in their skills, their relationships, their stories, their play.
We have just begun our education journey and already I feel like we've hit the jackpot. It is rich. It is rewarding. And it is so, so fun. I think our homeschooling will change year to year, month to month. Will my kids need to learn how to write a research paper or a haiku? Probably. Will they need to know how to do long division or measure parallelograms? Maybe. Will they need to memorize the Declaration of Independance or the periodic table? I don't know. Our early homeschooling years will most definitely look different than our later years and that's a good thing. Who knows... maybe my kids will want to go to school or there will come a time that we've reached our limits in homeschooling. But I do know that even if we find ourselves doing the examples mentioned above, it will still look so different than how education in a classroom looks. And if I'm being really honest... I can't say I think my children NEED to do any of those things mentioned above in our ever-changing world. But let's save that argument for another day.
Here is a snapshot of one day in our family's education:
Soon after breakfast, the kids always start playing.Today, Isla and Ewan did a puzzle together. That encouraged team work, collaboration, fine motor skills, visual discrimination, and communication. After that, Isla used the art table to make some pictures for her friends and Ewan played with the little people figurines. Both forms of play were artistic, imaginative, and creative.
On the way to co-op Ewan reminded me to watch out for deer. This lead to an entire conversation/debate about eating meat that stemmed from a conversation about deer. Isla said she feels sad for the animals that are killed by humans. I asked her if she felt the same way about animals that were killed for the purpose of meat. We had an honest discussion about this. She suggested we consider only eating animals that are domesticated for the purpose of meat and leave the wild ones alone. I asked her what determines an animal is domesticated or not. We went back and forth with some really good discussion. She concluded that animals that are treated fairly and have reached the end of their life could be used to feed us if we honor them (unless they are a mother, then she said they should not be killed at all) and the animals that are in the wild should be left alone to remain wild. We were able to talk about veganism, choices people make and why, humane animal treatment, other people's perspectives, farmers and consumers, etc. One drive to our co-op consisted of an entire lesson on economics, environmental science, culture, and debate. I could enroll Isla in a debate class or a biology class, but one drive somewhere taught the same thing.
When we got to co-op, we had a hired music teacher that put on a music class for our group. Kids ages 1-9 all partcipated in a music class with instruments, scarves, drums, dancing, and a teacher playing the ukelele. They learned about rhythm, beat, listening, and music theory. It was an expression of creativity and art. And they had a chance to interact with a new adult/teacher and their mixed-age peers. They were able to practice social skills like communication, sharing, collaboration, and listening.
On the way home, we discussed a social situation that happened while at co-op. We were able to process together how we can respond and act in similar situations and what we can do in certain situations. It was a full lesson on social-emotional and relational skills. A lesson on treating people kindly and respectfully is just as important as a math or reading lesson.
The kids had rest time when we got home. Ewan debriefed a little with some play in his room and then eventually found me and had a full on conversation with me about every topic under the sun. Isla listened to her audiobooks, which is the same thing as being read to (according to studies). She gains so much language development, reading comprehension, listening skills, fluency, imagination, and decoding. On top of that, she's really into the Magic Tree House series right now, which is about two kids that travel to different periods in history. She has learned about famous historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and King Arthur, as well as, big events in history like the sinking of the Titanic and the Revolutionary War. She knows more history than most 5 year olds (and her own mother).
After rest time, the kids went outside. They spent almost an hour dragging big wooden boards across the yard engaging all their muscles in some heavy lifting, gross motor skills. Then they worked together to build themselves a make-shift see-saw. The science, math, reasoning, and critical thinking that went into this activity was almost tangible. I could see their gears turning as they brainstormed ideas and collaborated on the best design.
When it was time to go inside, we noticed some ducks flying overhead. We were able to talk about cardinal directions, migration, and signs of spring. Isla determined that a duck has webbed feet because it must help them swim, like using a paddle.
During dinner, we talked about our highs and lows of the day. We always get to hear our children's perspectives on their day and discuss problems, solutions, emotions, and more. They also get to hear mom and dad's perspective of the day, as well. I can only imagine this encourages empathy and understanding of others.
The kids continued their play throughout the evening. Isla was interested in writing a story to share with a friend. So she had me dictate the spelling of words or put the words on the chalkboard for her to copy. She was doing "copywork" without any prompting or coercion from me. This helps her understand the flow of a sentence and story, letters and words being formed, puncutation, parts of a story, spelling, and so much more! I love that natural curiousity and learning lead her to this without any type of curriculum. There actually is an entire philosophy of education that primarily consists of copywork as a main form of teaching. It's a valuable way of learning.
At bedtime, the kids always get to pick out two books each. We all know the importance of reading (see my note above) and so I think this is a great way for them to end their days. We fill them with stories and send them to sleep. What's a better way to enter dreamland than with stories of brave knights and daring pirates?!
In the traditional school system, Isla would be finishing up her preschool year. We would have preschool graduation, end-of-school year festivities, gifts for teachers, cubbie cleanouts, etc. We would be dragging our way through May as we anticipate all the exciting things we get to do this summer. Three whole months to squeeze in all the fun and living we can do before sadly sending our sweet 5 year old off to kindergarten in the fall.
...Instead, we are just continuing to live our best lives. We just keep on doing all the fun things we normally do. I'm not stopping some kind of curriculum or finishing up some kind of agenda. We are living our lives every day with things like baking, cleaning, playing, crafting, gardening, eating. We go on mini adventures, continue to take fun field trips, read great books every day, get outside, and enjoy each other's company in the slow life we get to live together. The only real difference is that now ALL the kids are out of school so parks are busier and activities can take place during the day rather than after 4:00.
I was recently reflecting on every thing Isla has learned this last year as her technical "preschool year" and it's too much to put it all into a neat scrapbook. It's so much and so full. Sure, she knows her letters and has started reading. She can count and add. But she also knows about the Roman Empire, the appalling history of slavery, the Great Migration in Africa, the difference between a stalagmite and stalactite, the life cycle of a butterfly, the names of many constellations, the signs of seasonal changes. She can scramble an egg, identify herbs by their smell and taste, and measure ingredients using fractions. She can draw mini masterpieces, play Jingle Bells by ear on the piano, and identify instruments in a song. She can express her anger and deep feelings in words, apologize when she's wrong and forgive when she's been wronged, stand up for those with no voice, and share with her little brother. She is learning how to fully live life. She might not know the names of sport's teams or the latest t.v. show, but she has a more wholistic and full approach to how life works and what it takes to be in this world, living with others, than most 5 year olds I know. Homeschooling has given us that gift. I can't really write down everything she's learned and done in her preschool year because it's all-encompassing. Just like life. And we get to do it together.
Comments
Post a Comment