Tricky one.
It's hard to say why, in one simple sentence, but there is every possibility we will be trying to get the girls into a tiny christian school, despite some reservations, and the very real chance that there will not be places available.
To be honest, I wonder myself how it has come to this, but I think it breaks down like this:
- Friends, associates, normal life - we just don't have them. The girls are normal, outgoing, friendly children, they WANT to be around other people. We on the other hand have tended to be a bit isolationist. I now regret that, and feel socially challenged at every turn. I don't want that for them (mind you, bear in mind that I went to school.) Homeschoolers repeatedly tell me that family comes first (but they have ten children, I have two) that as long as they have one good friend (they don't) and other children at church (zero) they'll be fine. That they don't need lots of friends. (No. But one would be nice.) Maybe in America, where christians and homeschoolers abound. But in this country? Where christians are in short supply and two home educators who think alike are even rarer? (see below)
- The passage of time ... we had this house on an agreed low rent while we 'did it up' for two years. To our horror, the rent review has just come around and the rent has gone up massively. Two years have gone. But that's OK, since we now have a fabulously made over house to live in, right? Wrong. We have decorated one room, and the kitchen is currently being redone. But what else happened? Like most home educators, we had to put education first and put life on hold. I don't regret that, but I'll turn fifty this year. I don't have forever.
- Kind of related - God's call on our life is clear(ish) to us - it has to do with living on the land, farming in a small way, bringing people out into creation and teaching and sharing skills,what most of you would call homesteading. We always believed that homeschooling was inextricably linked with that. Now it seems like it may be curtailing it?
- The hormone wars. The journeys into and out of the childbearing years of womanhood are tumultuous ones - at the moment, we have one of each going on, and one in the wings. It can be scary.
- Burn out. I feel all home edded out. I wonder if it's the year I've spent doing Ambleside? I never felt like this before. This is the one side road we have not yet fully explored - the one where we don't go to school, but we also don't do homeschool the way we have been doing.
- Disappointment. I have to say, and this is harsh, but true - home educators, both christian and not, have disappointed me beyond belief. The cliqueishness, the rudeness, the lack of consideration - I have stood there red faced while a particular mother talks over my daughter's head to invite another child to her precious drama group, saying 'oh do come, we would so like you to come' - leaving my poor daughter wondering what she has done wrong to be so totally, totally excluded. I have watched embarrassed as other mothers are invited to things, and I have eventually had to say 'er .. what's this about then?' only to be told grudgingly what's going on. We went yesterday to an event where one group of home edded children were positively herded by their parents to keep them away from our 'unknown' children. I am sick to my stomach with home educators. The worst offenders are 'christians'
- Disappointment #2. The Badman Report has brought out the worst in us. The bickering and mudslinging are offensive to me, and a poor example to my children.
However, whether there actually is a way out, is another matter.
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Never really bought into the whole 'ebook' idea.
However, we are thinking really hard right now about trying to come up with home businesses we can run alongside homeschooling. We already have small, farm based enterprises. We sell eggs, and half lambs for the freezer now and again. We hope to revive our vegetable box scheme, but it's a long time in the reviving, for various reasons.
All these things, I truly believe, benefit and enrich our homeschool experience. The girls talk confidently about the difference between the kind of tomato a supermarket wants to sell (tough skinned, very uniform, ripening en masse at the same time, oh and if possible, maybe tasting slightly of tomato) as opposed to the kind of tomato we want to eat, and to provide for our customers (soft skinned, who cares about uniformity, ripening over a long season, but first and foremost, tasting wonderful) - and they understand all about the market forces at work in seed production, EU legislation on seed registration .... all of which does not come into your standard school class, but is useful, and practical, and makes them better informed people.
What it doesn't do, is add much to our income! The little it does add, is gratefully received, but it's not making the hole any less deep!
As part of our research, I opted for a two for one special over at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine where I bought 'Homework' (sorry guys, the two for one offer is over!)
What a fabulous book! And so easy to read, laptop on lap! No shipping, instant delivery, and full, full, FULL of inspiring stories, and vital information that made me go 'Oh. Good Point...'
Then, this weekend, I also got a free e-book over at Econobusters - this one was on menu planning. Once again, delighted! I don't know about you, but getting meals on the table seems to take way too much time, when there's so much else to do, homeschooling, and (ideally!) earning a living alongside.
So, that's it. I'm a convert. I love e-books. Bring 'em on!
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"If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another fight,
But if Candlemas Day be clouds and rain,
Winter is gone, and will not come again".
Now if you live where we do, the Candlemas saying about the weather is kind of important, and today was foul. So according to old weather lore, winter is all but done, and spring should be upon us any minute. We'll see!
Anyway, I'm inspired to at least take a fresh look at where we're going homeschool wise, and spent some of this evening making a start. I want to loosen up our approach and do more practical stuff, and more unit study type learning - with dashes of Charlotte Mason/Waldorf material. I've been saying this for years, mind you.
So far, we're working on a demonstration garden - food in a very small space, what could you grow in a tiny town garden?
I've now decided to do shelters - starting with the tents of the children of Israel - if I can fit it in with a weather project which involves those old pieces of weather lore - and keeping records to test them for the year - Henry VIII which we're already into, along with the beginnings of the Reformation - Cheesemaking (which we do on a small scale, but I want to do proper hard cheese) ... how am I going to tie all this together? Hmmmm .... I may have to go for some adjustments here.... and Norse myths with H.
Beowulf anyone?
Given that it's an important time in the garden, too ... nevertheless, these muddled thoughts, I hope, will form into some kind of cohesive plan. I really do want to get into a more active, fluid format this year. They have been filling in workbooks for too long.
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So I don't post over here very often! That has become clear!
I'm looking for some help and advice though, and this is the place to come for it, I reckon.
I am struggling to get school and farm life both done, and farm life is losing. I notice we are not tending the garden, not incubating eggs, not breeding poultry .... then we are doing science from a school book! that can't be right. But with a 10yo plodding through 4th Grade and an 8yo whizzing through 3rd, I am not happy for them to just keep on learning what happens when you plant a bean. Or that you can double a recipe.
So. What I am looking for is ideas, resources, unit studies maybe? Ways to access material which will enable me to build on what we do, to make it a science lesson, or whatever. I need some ideas for work around soil fertility and so on, as well as eggs, incubation etc .... that will fulfill the need for an ongoing programme of work at about the right grade level.
Does anyone else use this approach? Any tips or ideas?
We use CLE Curriculum, so farm life is very much the theme, but there is a lot of seat work, and I need to move away from this in some areas.
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... but busy all the same.
Our busy day today (full details on my homestead blog) ended sadly with Boo falling off her pony and hurting her arm. She has sat with ice on it all evening, taken Calpol, and Arnica tablets, and we have rubbed in the gel, but she is a sad little girl!
I shall be glad to get the horses over here. It's been a long slog, we are close now to getting them here, and then maybe we can get them sorted out.
Considering doing Parelli Level One as a school subject with H this year - has anyone done that? Treated something like the Parelli Homestudy Course as a school course? Any advice?
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Started school this morning (it being our last but one day for the year) and suddenly decided a field trip would be more fun, so we set out to the American Museum. We have a membership here, it is about a half an hour (plus traffic delays, grrr.) from home, and it is just the best - the girls love it, especially the quilt room - there is always something to see and do .
Today we looked at the new American Heritage exhibition (actually, that was the link above) which was interesting, and dressed up as Pilgrims and as Pioneers (well I contented myself with a bonnet or two!) and guess what, I forgot the camera. Again.
I took a thoughtful look at the herb garden, which I would like to recreate something similar at home - oops, wandered into homestead territory there! - and we had a second look at the Dollar Princesses exhibition, but I'm afraid that is rather over the girls' heads - they love the Conestoga Wagon, and the earlier rooms in the house, and best of all, they just adore the quilts.
H has been studying the founding of Pennsylvania in Social Studies, so she found lots of things to interest her, including the Shaker room, the simple lines and natural materials of which appeal to H no end.
So all in all it was a restful, semi educational afternoon for us all, and home for tea!
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And although we haven't finished this homeschool year yet, next year's is taking shape.
For financial reasons, we've shortened our cle order considerably, and are hoping to rely on some elements of the Old Fashioned Education curriculum - latin for H for example, and CIMT Math for both of them. This seemed a good idea at the time, but I'm now starting to worry about it.
For H especially, CLE has been a blessing. With her Aspie need to know what's going to happen next, she finds the predictability of the format soothing, and has been getting on so well, it's taken nearly four years to get her this far, and I'm terrified that a change will set her back. Still praying about it and may yet be frantically emailing halfmoon books to get me that math course at the last minute LOL.
Wednesday sees her first day as official 'help' to a young friend of ours from church who has a young baby. She is also the girls' piano teacher. H loves babies, and all things home, so she is really looking forward to being 'the girl' for half a day a week. Since the young mama in question also trained as a child nurse before marriage, I know my daughter will be getting a useful education, as well as helping out a friend.
To ease the pain of envy, I have offered to give Boo an extra riding lesson when H is 'on placement'.
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to keep up to date with this blog at the beginning of the school year?!
Well, here it is, nearly over, and I have made only a handful of entries.
Mitigating circumstances! -
We are moving house (you can see more about this here ) this has been a very emotional time for me, and we have spent some weeks really looking at out situation. There was a spell when school looked a real possibility.
Now that we are back on track, there remains a strong possibility that I will give up my box scheme business, in order to concentrate the better on homeschooling, and running the home - I've been spread too thinly, and no one is benefitting enough from my attempts to do everythinhg, and quickly.
Mentally, and emotionally, we have all been through the mill with this. Until we are moved, and back into school work, I can't be sure how badly it's affected us all. We continue to pray for God's peace in our lives.
So maybe, just maybe, as the school year draws to a close, I will gradually get into the habit of posting here now and again, and by September, when it's time for another set of homeschool new years resolutions, I will hit the ground running.
I hope so!
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I lost it. It was right there, in front of me, just around about the time of my last blog entry.
I looked away for a moment, lost concentration, and woof, it was gone. Middle of January, no kidding.
So if you have it, or have seen it, or know of its whereabouts, could you contact me? LOL
Just wanted to post here to say that school is really going quite smoothly, bearing in mind that the rest of life, as witness my other blog, is A Stormy Sea at the moment.
Keep meaning to get back here, and post the school stuff. I may make it a New Years Resolution, if I can begin my year in February ......
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Just I struggle with this format. I find my homestead blog much easier to access and update. I can't seem to figure how to add friends or anything on this one. Sad, I know.
Plus we just seem to be soooo busy. I can't think what to say about homeschool, other than we are getting it done!
We work from about 8am til about 12 noon, with a runaround break in the middle.
My main problem is I always seem to be multi tasking and busy when they are working. I am dealing with laundry or cooking or business calls or something - I almost never seem to get to just sit with them, work with them, which is my ideal.
I don't seem to have enough hours in the day.
I keep threatening to get really organised, do the whole home management thing - I think I'm just scared I'll find they don't do file dividers in a big enough range for all the things I need to fit in LOL.
OK. Back to multitasking .....
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Why is nothing ever simple?
I decided to start the school year on Wednesday, to give us a lead in to our first full week. It's been an unmitigated disaster! Lots of family and farm crises have left everyone tetchy and lacking in grace. My original plan to try to play catch up with last years leftovers has backfired and left the children dejected and unmotivated. My desire to work in a little more Steiner-Waldorf type stuff has gone awry. And I have overlooked that tomorrow is the village garden club show, so this morning is make and bake day, hence school is cancelled anyway.
Wisdom with hindsight, what a combination!
I know next week will be another new start - I just hope I make a better job of it!
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Welcome to my homeschool blog - my homestead blog, over on homestead blogger, has been quiet of late, and no doubt will stay that way as I begin the school year, and have more to say about school than the farm .... at least for a while!
We're involved in a big houseclean (I often hear Americans talk about 'Fall Cleaning' as a kind of counterpoint to Spring Cleaning, but never hear and Englishwoman speak of 'Autumn Cleaning.) and outdoor tidy up before we launch into our school year, probably tomorrow.
As usual I'm behind with all the prep for the girlguide year, too - next year it will get done in the first week of the summer break (!) - so the next few days may be rather manic.
Also, Boo has her first swimming lesson in a group on Wednesday evening, right in the middle of box deliveries (it was the only space left on the lessons!) and Chapel Youth Club starts Friday ...... oh my, I'd better get off this computer and get going! Hope you enjoy our (probably very occasional) notes on homeschool life in England.
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I chose this template because guess what, I have that typewriter! That exact same model, in my sitting room!
Well, I found that exciting, I must say!