We've been homeschooling for almost a year. One of the things that, in my more tremulous moments, scared me most was the whole issue of 'going it alone'. Funny, how that very aspect has turned out to be one of the most rewarding.
It occurs to me that school is a bit like those fairy cake mixes you can buy in the supermarket. Someone else has worked out the recipe, all you have to do is add an egg and stir, then you pop it in the oven, and when it's cooked you stick a little rice paper Disney picture on the top, and, 'voila!' a batch of pretty cakes. Thing is, you know when you read the packet, that all sorts of spooky ingredients have gone into your not so homemade creation.
When you make your own cake, you have to find your own recipe. You fumble around assembling the ingredients, make mistakes,sometimes you phone an expert friend for some advice or look it up online. Over time, you find you have a well stocked larder and a growing confidence in what works. You depend less on the help of recipe books and expert friends, your are becoming your own expert. You can add a 'pinch' of this and a 'dash' of that without risking calamity.
This Christmas has been the first without school. No plays, no costumes to provide, no lines to learn, no gifts to wrap for the classroom 'secret santa'. How would we manage?
This year, we made our own 'cake'. We started on the first day of Advent. Every evening we hung a very homemade, cardboard painted ornament on our Jesse tree. We sang "O come O come Emmanuel' together, with the 16 year old on guitar, and we did a short, rather shambolic bible study.
London is frosty and foggy now, which lends it a picturesque air ( to my eye at least) and whilst we did occasionally venture out into the spectral mist , our homeschool days were spent mostly at home. We played carols and read Christmas stories. Gabriel and Colmcille sat at the table chopping up dried fruit with scissors for the Christmas puddings we will be giving to our family. We made orange and clove pomanders.
I have discovered that embroidery is a wonderful activity for a jumpy 8 year old. I doubt that even the Mona Lisa could have been so poised and still, for such long periods, as was Gabriel, tongue sticking out and cross legged, embroidering a cushion for his brothers and humming along with Handels Messiah.
We did have a Christmas play. Gabriel goes to a little bible club on Tuesday afternoons. It is a rather quaint affair, run by four ladies, ex missionaries, all of the sort of generation that still refer to 'motor cars' and ' zipper fasteners'. The venue was a sitting room, the audience, seated on sofas with small children on the floor waited for the play to begin. The actors shuffled in. Some shy, some bold. Some, so carried away by the moment, forgot their parts. Doreen was on hand to give them their line. Head dresses were falling off, the Baby Jesus doll occasionally dangled by his ankle, small siblings in the audience added their impromptu offerings. At the end we all stood to sing ' Away in a manger' and ' O little town of Bethlehem'.
It was all so unslick and so sweet, and so fitting. My friend Wendy remarked that it was such a refreshing change to have the story of the nativity presented so simply. Each year in school there seems to be a new twist to the old story, from 'Rock Around The Manger' to ' The Whoopsadaisy Angel'.
Sometimes, the simple things are the best. And that is what I have learnt this year.
Happy Christmas!
Comments
Dec. 23, 2006 - CHRISTmas Greetings from Across the Pond...
Posted by Buckeyeblog
That was SO lovely and lovingly said. I could picture everything as I read and it nearly brought tears to my eyes.
I'm afraid that if I were in foggy London this Christmas-time I might be tempted to don Dickens style dress and muff. Idealic American that I am.
:-)
You so captured the heart of homeschooling! You do realize that this time next year YOU will be the "expert" that many will be calling for advice! Just make a copy of this post and give it them. It's all they'll ever need to know.
Merry Christmas and Blessings from Ohio, USA,
Kim Wolf<><
Dec. 28, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by callmekate
What a good analogy. Homeschooling is about as far away from a premade mix as one can get, I imagine. No wonder so much school is done in the kitchen! So glad you had a simple, lovely Christmas. I revel in staying home during the holidays - don't care for crowds anyway! And I miss Advent when it's over. Like your son, my son accompanied us (on piano) during our songs - I just loved it! Thanks for your thoughtful comments on my blog. I wish you a most wonderful New Year!
Kate
Dec. 31, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by jayfromcleveland
Clare, that "home cookin'" analogy is great. In that respect, the American public schools would provide the nutritional equivalent of a McBurger and fries as compared to a fabulous Christmas dinner at home. We live in a culture of "expertise" and everyone must have some fancy credentials to establish their worthiness, especially educators. But what would one rather have -- some machine-processed assembly line packaged food product supervised by some master chef with a degree in culinary arts, or a good, solid, enjoyable home-cooked meal made by a loving domestic matron? The same could be said for a well-trained student.
Dec. 31, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by ReneeM
it sounds lovely... we too stayed home a LOT this year!! It was the most relaxed Christmas season I have ever had since being in the big bad modern world (as opposed to where I grew up in Papua New Guinea... and had Christmas sweating in the jungle! :) )
Dec. 31, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by ReneeM
it sounds lovely... we too stayed home a LOT this year!! It was the most relaxed Christmas season I have ever had since being in the big bad modern world (as opposed to where I grew up in Papua New Guinea... and had Christmas sweating in the jungle! :) )
Jan. 1, 2007 - Happy New Year!
Posted by mamasmurf
Sounds like you had a lovely Christmas.
With all best wishes for a Happy New Year!
Chrissy
Jan. 15, 2007 - Love the analogy.
Posted by AmaniS
As a person who has had to learn how to make all her favorite food from scratch, maybe this is why I want to homeschool.
Jan. 24, 2007 - Wow!
Posted by dtandfambly
That was very beautifully said. Thanks for sharing.