On Our Homeschooling Style
I’ve been doing a lot of mental organization–lining things up, taking stock of my vision for our homeschooling this year. Drew has been helping a lot, and both of us have been reading and researching. Thank goodness for the internet! While Drew ordered this book and is really enjoying it, I found this website and am finding MANY free publications on topics that I wanted to explore.

While it will take several weeks at least to figure out the rhythm that will best suit us, I am putting the actual routine off until the last of our Summer excursions is over. So, the first week of September we should get the ball rolling.

But, the feeling of overwhelm-tion is subsiding. I feel like I have a grasp on our curriculum and the many resources we have there, but I also am excited about constantly finding more. We have a great Charlotte Mason group we convene with every other week and the support from that group of ladies is fantastic. I really think Charlotte Mason and Rudolf Steiner were kindred spirits, and between the two of them, tossing around a little Montessori, well…I think we’ve got some good places to find inspiration.

one gratuitous baby shot. lucky sisters.

So we are getting excited. I think even Naomi is getting a sense of excitement. She is almost 7, and the physical and spiritual changes that make life with a kid in their seventh year (as described by Steiner) trying seem to be fading. Her ability to listen and understand is somewhat intimidating! She wants to know everything, and she’s becoming more and more willing to take the instruction Drew and I have to offer! The decision to homeschool is less and less questionable as the best alternative for our family–it is what we need to do, and what a privilege it is to participate in all the parts of these new people understanding the world around them! And, by teaching them ourselves we regularly get to remind them that everything we learn about is a gift meant just for us. Something about my own education seemed like a deliberate effort to distract from that fact…

I wanted to share this quote:

“For the human soul is like an inexhaustible spring that can pour out its treasures unceasingly as soon as the first impulse has been called forth. But often people are so indolent that they will not make the initial effort to bring forth what is in their souls.”
–Rudolf Steiner
Isn’t that nice? Seems relevant to just about everything, but it’s in reference to telling stories–a skill I hope to work on. I sometimes retell stories to the girls without books and they respond so differently than they do to books. 

2 Comments

  • MamaWestWind Posted August 24, 2011 11:40 pm

    Storytelling is one I hope to work on this year as well. It's not something that comes naturally to me so it's a goal for the year. I'm spending some time making story props to help motivate me. Enjoy your year! I'm excited to start ours.

    Becca

  • Nicola Posted September 11, 2011 6:06 am

    Wonderful post!

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