As I mentioned the other day, this week being half-term has eased the pressure on my subconscious mind that still thinks I need to be 'educating' the children Monday - Friday during term-time. Other than that, there has been very little evident difference to our usual weekdays (not that we really have a 'usual' at the moment). There has been a lot of socialising - but sometimes we also have very social weeks during 'term-time', just that socialising is often with other Home Edders, whereas during school holidays it's a great opportunity to catch up with the boys' other friends who go to school. Even when Daddy was home (he is the single biggest factor in making a day feel like a holiday), the boys still liked to get on the computer, and/ or watch certain TV programmes (Deadly 60, Kid Detectives, Our Planet, Numtums, Alphablocks, Rhyme Rocket etc etc... as well as the inevitable Spongebob... who knows, maybe they're learning something useful from Mr Squarepants too...?!) I am seeing that lack of difference more clearly this week - and since the attack of the 'should's last week, I feel like I've come through a decision point without realising it. I had been aware of the probable need to deschool, but hadn't fully committed to it. I now realise that since last week I actually have made a clear decision. We are deschooling.
Acknowledging that decision has taken such a lot of pressure off. Like I said yesterday - I'll still be looking out for ways to encourage the boys' learning, but from now until probably September, it's going to look a lot like unschooling around here. We have MathsWhizz, Reading Eggs and Grid Club when the boys want to go on them; we have endless opportunities to do science experiments, bake cakes, make arty things; we have lot of fantastic quality programmes on TV - educational as well as pure entertainment. If the boys ask to do something learning-wise (or not), it is my hope and intention to say 'yes' to as much as possible. BUT (and it is a big 'but') I AM NOT GOING TO STRESS ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE OR ARE NOT LEARNING. I will be watching, (otherwise I may not have much to write in this blog), but just not stressing about it. I will doubtless be thinking and evaluating - but the decision to deschool is really just recognising what we have effectively already been doing. This is why their weekends & holidays look so similar to their weekdays. And that is OK. I don't have to make a decision yet about how we are hoing to do Home Ed. I had been feeling like if we did nothing that it would mean I had chosen to unschool - and I haven't (although I haven't actively chosen against it either). In deciding to deschool I have actually chosen not to make a decision yet. And that is SUCH A RELIEF! I don't feel experienced enough to make that decision yet - and now I accept that I don't have to - I have nothing to prove.
Actually if I want proof or reassurance that we're doing OK, I don't usually have to wait long... for example, DS1 has a friend sleeping over at the moment (well, sleeping for a small amount of the night anyway - by day they spend a fair amount of time wandering around in dressing gowns and wielding lightsabers). While watching a cartoon based underwater, this friend asked me, "what's so great about a coral reef?" Well I didn't need to even try to answer - DS1 launched into a nicely detailed explanation of why most of the life in the ocean depends on the coral reef. Encouraging HE Mummy moment right there :)
Oh, and by the way, I must say that this relief-inducing decision of mine is in no small way thanks to the support and encouragement of some lovely people who I have met online. If there are any other new Home Edders reading this, I cannot recommend strongly enough that you get online and join a Home Ed group or two (Facebook and Yahoo are great places to start looking) - the support is absolutely invaluable.
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Deschooling - and then...?
I think I have successfully fought the 'should's off - for now, at least. I still have questions, but just not that horrible feeling of being driven to achieve some invisible and impossible goal - or worse, having to try to make my children achieve an invisible and impossible goal (talk about the blind leading the blind). I still have questions about how we make Home Ed work - but just want to be careful to allow the deschooling process to run its course. I think my biggest question right now about deschooling is, "how do you know when you've finished?", or the more hysterical version of, "when is it safe to progress without doing irreparable damage to my children's ability to learn?" Yep, that's me - still trying not to be impatient! The main way I keep myself focused is by keeping the real issue in front of me, which I tend to do by reading a lot around the subject. Today I found this absolutely lovely article on Deschooling Gently, which I really recommend. Deschooling 'cold-turkey' style really is pretty extreme, albeit mostly for the parent (not many children object to being given months off doing schoolwork) - and for me, I think I have been most helped by my version of nicotine patches - MathsWhizz and Reading Eggs. The boys think they're playing, I think they're learning. Win-win.
My other questions are still about how HE will work best for each of us... For me, I have a fond picture in my head of the boys sat happily round a table, working on projects or workbooks, while I calmly move between the three, helping out where needed... hmmmm, guess who still needs to deschool! I do like structure - that's my personality - but part of it is also the need to be able to track what the boys are learning. I just don't know if I'll ever be able to put that down enough to 'unschool'. It's OK though - I'm not feeling driven to decide yet, I'm just intrigued in a fairly objective way about the process going on in my head.
For DS1, I think he would conform to my daydream, but that's because he's still deschooling too, in the sense of getting school-systems out of his thinking! Actually, he seems to want lots of time to experiment with things, and if he could watch wildlife programmes all day every day, he wouldn't complain at all! My concern with him is to work on his writing. He enjoys reading, so I have no worries there, and he seems happy 'playing' on MathsWhizz regularly - the only thing he isn't practicing much is his writing. I refuse to stress about it, but neat writing is important I think, so I just needs to work out some gentle tactics - he likes writing short stories, poems, and facts that he has found out - so maybe that would work. If he doesn't go for it now, I'll back off again... after all, deschooling is still at the front of my mind.
DS2 is my little enigma. He still resents any attempt AT ALL to make him work, so it's hard for me to find his areas of interest... but he is very happy playing on Reading Eggs and/ or MathsWhizz, so I'm OK with that for now. Deschooling for DS2 is more about regaining his confidence as a learner, and allowing him to rediscover his desire to learn (please tell me he will get it back...). He definitely has a creative side though, so lots of arty, 'making' projects go down well. He likes wildlife programmes too, although some of that may be emulating his big brother, but any interest is not to be sniffed at! I will want to work on his writing too, and sadly you can't really do that on a PC. He's only six though, so I think I can safely leave it for a while until he reasserts the desire to learn 'cursive' (which was a big deal for him at one point until he went off learning altogether).
Home education is so much easier with DS3, who had very little experience of schooling (just two terms of preschool), so he isn't really a deschooling candidate as far as I can see. He is helping me to focus on what I would like our version of HE to look like - eg he has discovered some old flash cards, and really enjoys counting the number of items on the 'Maths' cards, which is easy for him. He is also quite enthusiastic at trying out the beginning sounds of the word cards: it has to be when he wants to do it - there's absolutely no point in me trying to persuade him - but I'm really enjoying watching (and helping) him learn at his own pace! Lovely :)
Anyway, I've taken the pressure of myself to make any decisions... there are only another six weeks left of 'school term', and DS1 & 2 are still within the suggested period of deschooling (one month for every year that they were at school) - so I figure it's fine for me to still not decide anything until we're getting closer to September. Of course, I'll be experimenting all the time, we'll be playing those lovely learning games, getting out and exploring, watching educational TV - and anything else that the boys show an interest in... that's my version of gentle deschooling!
My other questions are still about how HE will work best for each of us... For me, I have a fond picture in my head of the boys sat happily round a table, working on projects or workbooks, while I calmly move between the three, helping out where needed... hmmmm, guess who still needs to deschool! I do like structure - that's my personality - but part of it is also the need to be able to track what the boys are learning. I just don't know if I'll ever be able to put that down enough to 'unschool'. It's OK though - I'm not feeling driven to decide yet, I'm just intrigued in a fairly objective way about the process going on in my head.
For DS1, I think he would conform to my daydream, but that's because he's still deschooling too, in the sense of getting school-systems out of his thinking! Actually, he seems to want lots of time to experiment with things, and if he could watch wildlife programmes all day every day, he wouldn't complain at all! My concern with him is to work on his writing. He enjoys reading, so I have no worries there, and he seems happy 'playing' on MathsWhizz regularly - the only thing he isn't practicing much is his writing. I refuse to stress about it, but neat writing is important I think, so I just needs to work out some gentle tactics - he likes writing short stories, poems, and facts that he has found out - so maybe that would work. If he doesn't go for it now, I'll back off again... after all, deschooling is still at the front of my mind.
DS2 is my little enigma. He still resents any attempt AT ALL to make him work, so it's hard for me to find his areas of interest... but he is very happy playing on Reading Eggs and/ or MathsWhizz, so I'm OK with that for now. Deschooling for DS2 is more about regaining his confidence as a learner, and allowing him to rediscover his desire to learn (please tell me he will get it back...). He definitely has a creative side though, so lots of arty, 'making' projects go down well. He likes wildlife programmes too, although some of that may be emulating his big brother, but any interest is not to be sniffed at! I will want to work on his writing too, and sadly you can't really do that on a PC. He's only six though, so I think I can safely leave it for a while until he reasserts the desire to learn 'cursive' (which was a big deal for him at one point until he went off learning altogether).
Home education is so much easier with DS3, who had very little experience of schooling (just two terms of preschool), so he isn't really a deschooling candidate as far as I can see. He is helping me to focus on what I would like our version of HE to look like - eg he has discovered some old flash cards, and really enjoys counting the number of items on the 'Maths' cards, which is easy for him. He is also quite enthusiastic at trying out the beginning sounds of the word cards: it has to be when he wants to do it - there's absolutely no point in me trying to persuade him - but I'm really enjoying watching (and helping) him learn at his own pace! Lovely :)
Anyway, I've taken the pressure of myself to make any decisions... there are only another six weeks left of 'school term', and DS1 & 2 are still within the suggested period of deschooling (one month for every year that they were at school) - so I figure it's fine for me to still not decide anything until we're getting closer to September. Of course, I'll be experimenting all the time, we'll be playing those lovely learning games, getting out and exploring, watching educational TV - and anything else that the boys show an interest in... that's my version of gentle deschooling!
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
time to celebrate
OK so having posted yesterday about DS3 hitting a wall on Reading Eggs, it would appear that he has managed to pass the test at the end of level one - according to the email I have received telling me so! Much as I would love to celebrate his early reading skills, I can't help but admit that part of me is suspicious... did one of his brothers help? or did he actually pass by himself? He had almost passed before, but just guessed the last few questions (they are multiple choice) - maybe he guessed right...? Hmmm, am a bit unsettled about it - but there's no way he's going to repeat those lessons now! Ah well, we'll just have to see how well he does on the second level...
Anyway, I've had no time to look into that since yesterday, as today has been all about the street party! There were two things that I really appreciated about the street party: one was the great experience it provided for the boys. New experiences are always good for stimulating learning - and street parties are particularly great for learning the value of community amongst other things. Of course, it was also a great opportunity to chat to the boys about the Queen, the jubilee, coronation etc etc, we've not done too much talking about it today - but in the run up to the weekend we did, and they are still interested, so I expect conversations to be ongoing over the next few days. Anyway, they have now experienced two street parties - the other one being last year's Royal Wedding celebration (technically DS1 has been to three, but he was a tiny baby who slept through the first one for the golden jubilee, so it doesn't really count).
The second thing that I enjoyed about the street party was the observations I made on a social level... we have only been Home Edding for a couple of months, and regular readers will know that socialising has been on my mind a bit - but already I am noticing an increase in confidence in my boys, in their ability to quickly mix with new people, of all ages. It was just lovely to see - and I am consequently finding myself relaxing about it, rather than watching them like a hawk to see if they are coping. They are more-than-coping - they are flourishing. Happy boys = happy Mummy!
Anyway, I've had no time to look into that since yesterday, as today has been all about the street party! There were two things that I really appreciated about the street party: one was the great experience it provided for the boys. New experiences are always good for stimulating learning - and street parties are particularly great for learning the value of community amongst other things. Of course, it was also a great opportunity to chat to the boys about the Queen, the jubilee, coronation etc etc, we've not done too much talking about it today - but in the run up to the weekend we did, and they are still interested, so I expect conversations to be ongoing over the next few days. Anyway, they have now experienced two street parties - the other one being last year's Royal Wedding celebration (technically DS1 has been to three, but he was a tiny baby who slept through the first one for the golden jubilee, so it doesn't really count).
The second thing that I enjoyed about the street party was the observations I made on a social level... we have only been Home Edding for a couple of months, and regular readers will know that socialising has been on my mind a bit - but already I am noticing an increase in confidence in my boys, in their ability to quickly mix with new people, of all ages. It was just lovely to see - and I am consequently finding myself relaxing about it, rather than watching them like a hawk to see if they are coping. They are more-than-coping - they are flourishing. Happy boys = happy Mummy!
Monday, 4 June 2012
Rambles and Reading Eggs
We managed to get out this morning for a woodland ramble... we were a bit later getting out than we had hoped, so we changed plans, saving the trip further afield for next weekend, and instread we went for an explore in the woods a bit closer to home. One of the lovely things about living in Hertfordshire is that we are thoroughly spoilt for walks outdoors, so we only had to drive a few minutes up the road, and there we were in Mummy's beloved woodland, identifying birds, plants and insects, learning techniques for climbing up and down steep banks, working out where we were by identifying landmarks etc - and just generally enjoying the fresh air & exercise.
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Once home again, it was lunchtime while we watched Deadly 60 - we do love our nature/ wildlife! And then it was back to computer games while hubby and I got on with chores we needed to do (getting ready for tomorrow's street party, amongst other things). DS3 has been getting on so well with Reading Eggs, but he has hit a bit of a wall... since he finished the first level he has been stuck, because he isn't allowed to progress to the next level until he passes the end of level test. He failed the test initially, which I wasn't surprised at - he is only three, after all, and although I'm really impressed at what he has learned already, I know that quite a bit of his 'progress' on Reading Eggs has been because he just worked out how to use the technology, not necessarily because he has mastered the reading skills being presented. They do recommend that children do the 'lessons' more than once, which I think is the major flaw in the programme: even allowing for the fact that DS3 wants to collect as many eggs as he can to spend on games, he is not in the slightest bit interested in repeating the earlier 'game levels' - so he is spending quite a lot of time either spending eggs on playing games (he amassed a lot of eggs) or repeating the test, vaguely hoping that this time it will magically let him on to the next level. On the one hand, I'm glad it doesn't let him progress until he's mastered the current level skills, but I can understand his discouragement - I can see I will need to get a lot more involved to help him pass this hurdle. That's not a problem in itself, but I had been enjoying the fact that when one or two of them are on the computer, it releases me to either have one-on-one with another child, or I get some housework done. Hey ho, never mind - helping them learn is what I'm here for. Hopefully next week we'll get back into the Reading Eggs groove. Teaching a child to read is one of my favourite things, so I really can't complain - it's going to be great!
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Once home again, it was lunchtime while we watched Deadly 60 - we do love our nature/ wildlife! And then it was back to computer games while hubby and I got on with chores we needed to do (getting ready for tomorrow's street party, amongst other things). DS3 has been getting on so well with Reading Eggs, but he has hit a bit of a wall... since he finished the first level he has been stuck, because he isn't allowed to progress to the next level until he passes the end of level test. He failed the test initially, which I wasn't surprised at - he is only three, after all, and although I'm really impressed at what he has learned already, I know that quite a bit of his 'progress' on Reading Eggs has been because he just worked out how to use the technology, not necessarily because he has mastered the reading skills being presented. They do recommend that children do the 'lessons' more than once, which I think is the major flaw in the programme: even allowing for the fact that DS3 wants to collect as many eggs as he can to spend on games, he is not in the slightest bit interested in repeating the earlier 'game levels' - so he is spending quite a lot of time either spending eggs on playing games (he amassed a lot of eggs) or repeating the test, vaguely hoping that this time it will magically let him on to the next level. On the one hand, I'm glad it doesn't let him progress until he's mastered the current level skills, but I can understand his discouragement - I can see I will need to get a lot more involved to help him pass this hurdle. That's not a problem in itself, but I had been enjoying the fact that when one or two of them are on the computer, it releases me to either have one-on-one with another child, or I get some housework done. Hey ho, never mind - helping them learn is what I'm here for. Hopefully next week we'll get back into the Reading Eggs groove. Teaching a child to read is one of my favourite things, so I really can't complain - it's going to be great!
Sunday, 3 June 2012
weekends and holidays
The wet weather is back again! I'm not complaining: moaning about the weather is one of our nation's less attractive traits, I reckon - and we do need the rain. I have to admit though, it has kind of brought a stop to any excursions we were thinking of undertaking today. At least the boys are happy to have Daddy at home to play with, and I've been making the most of some time to catch up with sorting my photos - or at least make a start on them!
The nice things about weekends is that because we - or I - still tend to subconsciously think in terms of learning happening during certain hours from Monday to Friday, the rest of the time (weekends, holidays and some evenings) feels free from obligation. Of course, we're not at school any more, but that old habit of weekend relaxation is a welcome relief from the 'should's that were hounding me last week! The boys' way of thinking is obviously changing though - they are getting used to having space to play and explore whenever they want to - and so that is what they have been doing today - for them it doesn't just switch off on a Friday afternoon! We've had more 'Deadly 60', discussing animals that kill animals for food; we've had computer games with Daddy (I'm still aware of DS1's desire for weekends to feel special - not that it seems to have bothered him so much this weekend); we've drawn pictures; we've watched some of the Flotilla down the Thames, and have talked about history, music, culture - and made boats and bridges with lego.
So really, from a point of view of opportunities to learn, today could have been any other day. Whereas when the boys were in school there was a sharp difference between weekdays (all work) and weekends (all play), now they get to play most of the time - with me around to provide them with ideas for play that stimulate learning. The old-style 'weekend play' relied heavily on the Wii and TV to almost switch off their brains... I'm really pleased that's no longer the case - their play now is generally more investigative and creative rather than passive. Similarly with this week coming, which is the local schools' half-term holiday: in terms of time on or off, it doesn't really make any difference to us any more - they can play and explore as much as they like!
However, it probably will feel different: the first two days are bank holidays, so we will still have Daddy home - and from Wednesday to Friday, although I would happily see it as any normal 'Home Ed' time (whatever normal in Home Ed is), the boys have a great opportunity to catch up with their old friends who are still in school, so there will probably be more socialising than anything else this week. I'm actually looking forward to that - in the old school days I had to make sure they had enough time to relax, amongst all the socialising. Nowadays we can fill up the week with seeing friends, and they can rest again the week after and go back to the more relaxed pace that comes with learning at home. :)
It's still quite possible that we'll end up being a bit more structured during the week, and therefore might have more of a distinction between days on and off - but I still believe that we're in the deschooling period, and so during this time we will continue to make the boys' learning an autonomous experience (with a very light guiding hand where necessary), with no big difference between weekday, weekends and holidays, other than the opportunity for family time (weather and non-exhausted parents allowing), and for catching up with friends still in school. The more I think about it, the more I can feel my equilibrium returning.
The nice things about weekends is that because we - or I - still tend to subconsciously think in terms of learning happening during certain hours from Monday to Friday, the rest of the time (weekends, holidays and some evenings) feels free from obligation. Of course, we're not at school any more, but that old habit of weekend relaxation is a welcome relief from the 'should's that were hounding me last week! The boys' way of thinking is obviously changing though - they are getting used to having space to play and explore whenever they want to - and so that is what they have been doing today - for them it doesn't just switch off on a Friday afternoon! We've had more 'Deadly 60', discussing animals that kill animals for food; we've had computer games with Daddy (I'm still aware of DS1's desire for weekends to feel special - not that it seems to have bothered him so much this weekend); we've drawn pictures; we've watched some of the Flotilla down the Thames, and have talked about history, music, culture - and made boats and bridges with lego.
So really, from a point of view of opportunities to learn, today could have been any other day. Whereas when the boys were in school there was a sharp difference between weekdays (all work) and weekends (all play), now they get to play most of the time - with me around to provide them with ideas for play that stimulate learning. The old-style 'weekend play' relied heavily on the Wii and TV to almost switch off their brains... I'm really pleased that's no longer the case - their play now is generally more investigative and creative rather than passive. Similarly with this week coming, which is the local schools' half-term holiday: in terms of time on or off, it doesn't really make any difference to us any more - they can play and explore as much as they like!
However, it probably will feel different: the first two days are bank holidays, so we will still have Daddy home - and from Wednesday to Friday, although I would happily see it as any normal 'Home Ed' time (whatever normal in Home Ed is), the boys have a great opportunity to catch up with their old friends who are still in school, so there will probably be more socialising than anything else this week. I'm actually looking forward to that - in the old school days I had to make sure they had enough time to relax, amongst all the socialising. Nowadays we can fill up the week with seeing friends, and they can rest again the week after and go back to the more relaxed pace that comes with learning at home. :)
It's still quite possible that we'll end up being a bit more structured during the week, and therefore might have more of a distinction between days on and off - but I still believe that we're in the deschooling period, and so during this time we will continue to make the boys' learning an autonomous experience (with a very light guiding hand where necessary), with no big difference between weekday, weekends and holidays, other than the opportunity for family time (weather and non-exhausted parents allowing), and for catching up with friends still in school. The more I think about it, the more I can feel my equilibrium returning.
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Jubilee Resources
We've been gearing up for the jubilee celebrations this weekend - all the boys are excited (especially DS3, who every time he sees me getting something ready for the street party asks, "Is that for the King?" bless him - I think he's not quite clear on it all yet ;) )
Anyway, I thought I'd include some links here to some great Jubilee resource websites, and some great books too, for anyone who's interested (I'm sure there are more out there, but these are some that we liked)...
BBC (really good overview)
Activity Village (our favourite)
Instant Display
Scholastic (has great timeline)
Inkwell
tes (resource for members)
Also a couple of lovely books...
Queen Elizabeth II
HM Queen Elizabeth II
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee is a significant event in living history - I'm so glad we're Home Edding so that we can really make the most of it! Sadly, the thought of the crowds really does put me off going to London (although I reckon the flotilla down the Thames would be awesome to see), but I still hope the boys (especially the older ones) will remember this time with pleasure :)
Anyway, I thought I'd include some links here to some great Jubilee resource websites, and some great books too, for anyone who's interested (I'm sure there are more out there, but these are some that we liked)...
BBC (really good overview)
Activity Village (our favourite)
Instant Display
Scholastic (has great timeline)
Inkwell
tes (resource for members)
Also a couple of lovely books...
Queen Elizabeth II
HM Queen Elizabeth II
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee is a significant event in living history - I'm so glad we're Home Edding so that we can really make the most of it! Sadly, the thought of the crowds really does put me off going to London (although I reckon the flotilla down the Thames would be awesome to see), but I still hope the boys (especially the older ones) will remember this time with pleasure :)
Friday, 1 June 2012
No 'Should's Allowed
We've been having a very relaxed day today... I had another funeral to attend yesterday, so the boys had Daddy home to play with - and much fun was had by all! I'm still a bit worn out from all the driving and the emotional upheaval of it all though, so my aim was to set zero expectations for today.
Also, part of me is still resisting those darn 'should's (as in my post, Attack of the Killer Shoulds)... it's ridiculous really, because I can find myself swinging between "I should be making the boys do more work", and then "I shouldn't try to make them do anything", and back again - what a minefield! I'm not convinced either mindset is entirely right (they are both 'should's, after all!), so I decided the only way to deal with it today was to do nothing at all - I gave myself a day off, and just accepted that I've been feeling slightly dissatisfied with how it's gone this week. After all, that's largely because I'm deschooling myself... I'm used to being able to evaluate how much children are learning (or at least studying), and my head is having a hard time adapting at the moment! The things is, it's like my lovely supportive Mum said while we travelled together yesterday - just because a child is in school, making friends, doing the required work and behaving nicely, it doesn't mean they're actually learning! Her school reports from 'back-in-the-day' all say what a pleasant, hard-working child she was - but she freely admits that she wasn't that hard-working: she spent a lot of time bored and day-dreaming, but because she never caused trouble, nobody picked up on it.
Anyway, today I just don't have the energy to try to make sense of it all, especially after yesterday. I spent a good couple of hours this morning getting on top of housework (I always feel better if the house is more of a home than a dump) while DS2 & 3 played on Reading Eggs, and the Wii. DS1 also used my laptop to explore the ocean depths, thanks to this great BBC website. They watched some educational TV, had a great time on the trampoline, baked cupcakes, drew pictures and looked at some live webcams, thanks again to the BBC... this time on the Springwatch website. Incidentally, the Falcon chick that we have been watching on the NTU website has officially been named Storm, and is doing really well - he may well fledge soon! Webcams are a great way to get a close-up view of nature that you wouldn't normally be able to see (eg inside nests etc). The boys don't spend that long watching, but they have all seen what baby falcons (and now barn owls, nuthatches and bluetits) look like, they have seen the different nests, and have seen the parents feeding their chicks (and have seen some die, due to external factors like the weather). It all seems tiny compared to the length of an average school lesson, but it has been prompted by their interest (largely because they want to see what Mummy's looking at) and is therefore more likely to be remembered. They also checked in on the 'eggs in vinegar' experiment from the other day. The shell of the egg in white vinegar had actually fallen off (becaue we'd left it for 2 days - oops), but the one in brown vinegar had gone nicely squishy. It didn't bounce like the one on TV did, which was a bit disappointing, but all three boys were impressed by it turning "all rubbery".
So, considering I gave myself the day off, the boys have done just fine - more than fine in fact: they've covered English, Science (biology and chemistry), Maths, PE, Languages, and Art. Next time I get an attack of the 'should's I'll remind myself not to listen to them - and if that's what it takes for me to not listen, perhaps I'll give myself the day off again. After all, 'should's haven't helped the boys to learn, they just made me feel bad. Having taken the day off and casually observed what the boys actually did today with hardly any leading from me, I am really encouraged - home education actually does work, especially if there are no 'should's allowed!
Also, part of me is still resisting those darn 'should's (as in my post, Attack of the Killer Shoulds)... it's ridiculous really, because I can find myself swinging between "I should be making the boys do more work", and then "I shouldn't try to make them do anything", and back again - what a minefield! I'm not convinced either mindset is entirely right (they are both 'should's, after all!), so I decided the only way to deal with it today was to do nothing at all - I gave myself a day off, and just accepted that I've been feeling slightly dissatisfied with how it's gone this week. After all, that's largely because I'm deschooling myself... I'm used to being able to evaluate how much children are learning (or at least studying), and my head is having a hard time adapting at the moment! The things is, it's like my lovely supportive Mum said while we travelled together yesterday - just because a child is in school, making friends, doing the required work and behaving nicely, it doesn't mean they're actually learning! Her school reports from 'back-in-the-day' all say what a pleasant, hard-working child she was - but she freely admits that she wasn't that hard-working: she spent a lot of time bored and day-dreaming, but because she never caused trouble, nobody picked up on it.
Anyway, today I just don't have the energy to try to make sense of it all, especially after yesterday. I spent a good couple of hours this morning getting on top of housework (I always feel better if the house is more of a home than a dump) while DS2 & 3 played on Reading Eggs, and the Wii. DS1 also used my laptop to explore the ocean depths, thanks to this great BBC website. They watched some educational TV, had a great time on the trampoline, baked cupcakes, drew pictures and looked at some live webcams, thanks again to the BBC... this time on the Springwatch website. Incidentally, the Falcon chick that we have been watching on the NTU website has officially been named Storm, and is doing really well - he may well fledge soon! Webcams are a great way to get a close-up view of nature that you wouldn't normally be able to see (eg inside nests etc). The boys don't spend that long watching, but they have all seen what baby falcons (and now barn owls, nuthatches and bluetits) look like, they have seen the different nests, and have seen the parents feeding their chicks (and have seen some die, due to external factors like the weather). It all seems tiny compared to the length of an average school lesson, but it has been prompted by their interest (largely because they want to see what Mummy's looking at) and is therefore more likely to be remembered. They also checked in on the 'eggs in vinegar' experiment from the other day. The shell of the egg in white vinegar had actually fallen off (becaue we'd left it for 2 days - oops), but the one in brown vinegar had gone nicely squishy. It didn't bounce like the one on TV did, which was a bit disappointing, but all three boys were impressed by it turning "all rubbery".
So, considering I gave myself the day off, the boys have done just fine - more than fine in fact: they've covered English, Science (biology and chemistry), Maths, PE, Languages, and Art. Next time I get an attack of the 'should's I'll remind myself not to listen to them - and if that's what it takes for me to not listen, perhaps I'll give myself the day off again. After all, 'should's haven't helped the boys to learn, they just made me feel bad. Having taken the day off and casually observed what the boys actually did today with hardly any leading from me, I am really encouraged - home education actually does work, especially if there are no 'should's allowed!
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