It was a bit of a flobberly day today (I think I just made that word up, but never mind - I like it). I'm feeling dissatisfied now, probably because I got sucked into spending too much time on the computer today (editing the zillions of photos that I've taken over this past month) and not enough time with my boys. I was keeping an eye on them, but it wasn't exactly quality time! Time to renew my resolve not to turn the laptop on until after lunchtime - at least then we'll have the mornings to get some jobs done and have some time together with less distractions...
I was chatting to a friend today about the benefits of a change of pace. The boys and I had a lovely first term of Home Ed, but as regular readers will know, by the end of it I was experiencing a sort of malaise/ exhaustion - and whereas I had seen no need until that point to do anything other than just carrying on the unstructured 'deschooling' through the 'school holidays', I really felt like I hit a wall and needed a break. Enter a lovely holiday (booked last-minute), visiting friends and a mad camping weekend in the rain. Those factors combined certainly provided the change of pace we all needed - and now I'm feeling ready to get into a nice steady routine again :)
So I've been thinking about what this next term is going to look like (I know, we don't have to stick to school terms, but this summer's experience has taught me that there is a real benefit to going with seasonal ebbs & flows). I haven't talked to the boys about it yet - partly because I want to pick my timing (time it wrong and it could turn into a 'big deal' discussion about learning, which could put them off), and partly because we've been a bit busy having holidays, visitors, and mad camping weekends ;) I have a couple of things that I'd like to see: a return to the regular(ish) online curricula of MathsWhizz and Reading Eggs, with a little bit of an emphasis on handwriting too. And as mentioned in a previous post, I do want to focus on training the boys in sharing jobs around the house as well. All of this in a very gentle way though - I don't want to impose a heavy regime, I want the boys to be free to follow their own interests - these are just thoughts I've had. It'll be interesting to see what the boys' thoughts are before we make any decisions... and of course, all decisions will be held very loosely anyway. It is still of paramount importance that they enjoy their learning experiences!
So basically, I'm glad that flobberly day is over - fresh day tomorrow, and fresh term approaching as soon as we decide we're ready. What with being refreshed by our holidays, that's all-round freshness! ;)
I love "flobberly"! Planning on using that one lots :D
ReplyDeleteI'm only 9 weeks into our own home ed journey and I already know how you feel. My instinct is to continue with letting them find their own way but I also feel the need for some kind of structure or routine to help me feel more anchored in some way. I'm looking forward to seeing how your plans develop.
thanks Tequilamonky :) feeling anchored is a great way of putting it. Getting an outline of a morning routine for myself really anchors me and helps me to focus on getting the boys off to a good start :)
DeleteI am glad we are all feeling the same. We have been out since April and we didn't have any real structure before the holidays, but the summer has felt chaotic for us. I look forward to getting some routine into our days again. Good luck xxx
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam, chaos is right! I was getting bored of the tiny routine we sort of had before summer, but after a few weeks of chaos I'm positively relishing the thought of a bit of stability ;)
DeleteThe whole "back to school" thing feels very different for us this year, as I have one child going back and one not, but I've been really enjoying this slower, more laid back way of life! I've also been thinking about what we should be doing over the coming term - a little bit of structure is needed for english and maths but as for the rest, the unstructured approach seems to suit the both of us. Although J has been out since April, it does feel like now is the real start of the adventure!
ReplyDeletesame for us Rachel, feeling like the start of the adventure - as we've been officially (to me anyway) deschooling up until now. I'm not sure HE will look much different for us than it did while deschooling though - but that's fine, it was fun :)
Delete