So - if i was looking at this blog - i would kinda like be like - "um - wow - you are really doing the bare minimum here lady..."
And - that is just the point. See - I thought that homeschool needed to be validated by going so so SO far above and beyond - I spent my whole early years of motherhood attending classes and workshops - even going so far as getting certified as a Montessori teachers aide - just so I could be confident that no one could question my choice to homeschool. And - years and thousands of dollars and a complete Waldorf renovation of my home later - it was so stressful and inconsistent and never felt like enough.
Then I realized i was motivated by the very most wrongest thing of all. The approval of random other peoples. Parents, friends, family, co workers, elected officials - even the cashier at the grocery store.
I wasn't even thinking about the people who matter most in this equation. Me and my kids.
I just typed "me" first.
On purpose.
Cuz - I am the one who has to plan and execute this whole thing.
I have to be able to make this work. And to do that - i have to love it and it has to be manageable.
NEXT - is the kids. They have to love it. And when they don't love it - it needs to be tolerable and simple enough to complete.
So - after doing it the way I loved to LOOK at most of all ~ Anthoposophical super strict purist of Stieners vision of Waldorf at home~ aaaaaaaaaaand failing. On every level ( have you ever spent six hours on a chalk board drawing - only to have to erase it after a week .... and the CRAZY AMOUNT OF CHALK DUST YOU HAVE TO CLEAN UP?????) Waldorf failed us - or we failed at Waldorf. And as pretty as that chalk board is - by the third month - I do NOT love it anymore.
I resent it.
I dread it.
I will do anything and come up with any excuse to avoid it -"Oh dear - i guess we have to go to the post office and the DMV and maybe do some taxes - no school today - oh darn"
But when I saw simplistic - more mainstream homeschool stuff - it just didn't appeal to me - I am just not a Popsicle stick and glue gun kinda gal :/ . I wasn't driven.
Just as I was on the verge of enrolling my kids in any kind of school - I met this amazing mama of Ten. She introduced to me One Room School House. She linked me to Queens - a Curriculum that is all I ever wanted Waldorf to be - plus Charlotte Mason and 100% all in one - if your kid can read - then there is NO work for you!!!
And it is simple.
It is gentle.
It is joyful.
But - we were still living in town. In a house we hated. With neighbors screaming at all hours - sirens, dogs barking - and here I am - a mama on the spectrum - with a dyslexic girl and a normal hyper and easily distracted boy. Oh yeah - and had this baby along the way too. So - we moved to the country. And our school room is now 19 acres. Our house is so tiny - but so much more mellow. Its easy to clean up breakfast and pull the lessons off the shelf. Oh... aaand i switched to white board. Maybe not the most extravagant and ambient of home decor. But - its about doable.
Then - starting school this year.
The boy needs to get his reading on. Just turned 5. Waldorf confused our reading efforts with our oldest - so I am going to be so careful to make sure this boy has the best chance to get this down before the state starts mandatory standardize testing ALL THE CHILDRENS! So - that's the focus. You might notice - we aren't doing math. We will - but I feel like reading needs strict focus now. We are throwing some nature science in there. Making sure to do a walk through the forest to see the changing world around us. We're making some cake with vinegar and baking soda. Touching on the science. Keeping it cool. Because - i have always been so stressed from the get go - school just was not fun.
We are only three days in - but this is FUN!!!
And Stiener or Montessori or Ghandi or Cher once said - "our job is not to teach. Our job is to foster a childs love of learning". Bam. There you have it.
So - i am gonna keep posting all these poorly taken unedited pictures of these ridiculously simple homeschool days. because - in three years - maybe someone will be just starting out or starting over - and they will stumble on this blog and see just how far we got by starting over again - so simple.
And then we have Hugo's work - just turned five - Kindi.
Line drawing.
The story of C ~ I made up a story about a Cat who needed a birthday Cake. ~
And on the left we have a spider ~ who he declared is also having a birthday - and it's Penny Pot Pies birthday today - so birthdays are a thing ~
And then the ever talented miss Tildepan. This is just the board work - she had more cursive and reading she completed today.
So - just sit back relax and foster that love of learning.
And - that is just the point. See - I thought that homeschool needed to be validated by going so so SO far above and beyond - I spent my whole early years of motherhood attending classes and workshops - even going so far as getting certified as a Montessori teachers aide - just so I could be confident that no one could question my choice to homeschool. And - years and thousands of dollars and a complete Waldorf renovation of my home later - it was so stressful and inconsistent and never felt like enough.
Then I realized i was motivated by the very most wrongest thing of all. The approval of random other peoples. Parents, friends, family, co workers, elected officials - even the cashier at the grocery store.
I wasn't even thinking about the people who matter most in this equation. Me and my kids.
I just typed "me" first.
On purpose.
Cuz - I am the one who has to plan and execute this whole thing.
I have to be able to make this work. And to do that - i have to love it and it has to be manageable.
NEXT - is the kids. They have to love it. And when they don't love it - it needs to be tolerable and simple enough to complete.
So - after doing it the way I loved to LOOK at most of all ~ Anthoposophical super strict purist of Stieners vision of Waldorf at home~ aaaaaaaaaaand failing. On every level ( have you ever spent six hours on a chalk board drawing - only to have to erase it after a week .... and the CRAZY AMOUNT OF CHALK DUST YOU HAVE TO CLEAN UP?????) Waldorf failed us - or we failed at Waldorf. And as pretty as that chalk board is - by the third month - I do NOT love it anymore.
I resent it.
I dread it.
I will do anything and come up with any excuse to avoid it -"Oh dear - i guess we have to go to the post office and the DMV and maybe do some taxes - no school today - oh darn"
But when I saw simplistic - more mainstream homeschool stuff - it just didn't appeal to me - I am just not a Popsicle stick and glue gun kinda gal :/ . I wasn't driven.
Just as I was on the verge of enrolling my kids in any kind of school - I met this amazing mama of Ten. She introduced to me One Room School House. She linked me to Queens - a Curriculum that is all I ever wanted Waldorf to be - plus Charlotte Mason and 100% all in one - if your kid can read - then there is NO work for you!!!
And it is simple.
It is gentle.
It is joyful.
But - we were still living in town. In a house we hated. With neighbors screaming at all hours - sirens, dogs barking - and here I am - a mama on the spectrum - with a dyslexic girl and a normal hyper and easily distracted boy. Oh yeah - and had this baby along the way too. So - we moved to the country. And our school room is now 19 acres. Our house is so tiny - but so much more mellow. Its easy to clean up breakfast and pull the lessons off the shelf. Oh... aaand i switched to white board. Maybe not the most extravagant and ambient of home decor. But - its about doable.
Then - starting school this year.
The boy needs to get his reading on. Just turned 5. Waldorf confused our reading efforts with our oldest - so I am going to be so careful to make sure this boy has the best chance to get this down before the state starts mandatory standardize testing ALL THE CHILDRENS! So - that's the focus. You might notice - we aren't doing math. We will - but I feel like reading needs strict focus now. We are throwing some nature science in there. Making sure to do a walk through the forest to see the changing world around us. We're making some cake with vinegar and baking soda. Touching on the science. Keeping it cool. Because - i have always been so stressed from the get go - school just was not fun.
We are only three days in - but this is FUN!!!
And Stiener or Montessori or Ghandi or Cher once said - "our job is not to teach. Our job is to foster a childs love of learning". Bam. There you have it.
So - i am gonna keep posting all these poorly taken unedited pictures of these ridiculously simple homeschool days. because - in three years - maybe someone will be just starting out or starting over - and they will stumble on this blog and see just how far we got by starting over again - so simple.
And then we have Hugo's work - just turned five - Kindi.
And then the ever talented miss Tildepan. This is just the board work - she had more cursive and reading she completed today.
So - just sit back relax and foster that love of learning.
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