In Which We find School

My little half pint is a homeschooler.


It's true.

Ohhh... that is a big word.

Homeschooling. 

That one struck fear in my heart for quite a time. I must admit (rather sheepishly) that I came to this only after a fair amount of inner kicking and screaming.

Why? Oh, I don't know... I believed she deserved more...

I did not believe I was able to provide the type of rich environment that the teachers at our local Waldorf nursery school could...

Secretly I believed they held some sort of magic fairy dust that they sprinkled on all the kiddos to instill joy and creativity and baking bread wonders.

After all, it worked beautifully for my big fella. We have had a dreamy trip down the Waldorf path, and it is a path we continue for him with absolute delight and conviction.

But then there is my little one. Their magic fairy dust did nothing for this girl. She needs something different. At least for now.

So after letting go of all resistance, we set off this fall on our homeschooling adventure.



And lo and behold  my world broke open.

My girl and me. We are a happy learning duo.



Steeped as I am in Waldorf ways, no doubt this method will be the biggest influence of her home learning. I am a believer in the pedegogy that surrounds this education. She is five, with a summer birthday, which means her Kindergarten year will actually begin in the coming fall. (Yes she will be six at the beginning of kindergarten.) I am OVERJOYED for the added time.  (Can I say it louder, please?) OVERJOYED!!! 

It is not often in this modern world that we are we offered more time. Usually we are all disappointed with any idea of a delay. Culturally we are so eager to rush off to teach as much as possible as quickly as possible... precocious has become a word people use with fondness. A parent often shines with pride when their child has memorized facts by age 3 & 4. (Dinosaur names and rivers in Africa that shelter an endangered species of crocodile, and how to spell Australia, perhaps.) I know I stand outside of some modern thinking-- but precociousness, I am grateful to say, we faithfully have guarded against with both our children. 



Back in September beginning our outdoor adventures



So we have the rest of this year AND another full school year before traditional academics begin. (And by traditional, I am speaking of Waldorf-style classical type academics, which unfortunately is not traditional at all.)

So, as I was unexpectedly faced with homeschooling this past September. I knew one thing. We had time.

Lots of daily time, and more than a year of homeschooling lay before us. What on earth would we do?

I began with walks. Long walks into the woods every single day. A person I greatly respect once told me that walking outdoors on uneven ground was the healthiest thing to do with a child. So that was my beginning. Outdoors, sunshine, fresh air and walking long distances.

No academics, worksheets, or phonics for us... we are going to treasure these fleeting days of childhood.



Discovering the East Pole



Hiking to high places

         We have made discoveries, we sing, we look closely and are joyfully full of gratitude for time, and our surroundings, the dogs, and most importantly, for each other.


The day we skinny dipped





Baking




Building snow forts 



Somewhere along the way my confidence began to grow. I recognized the gift

I had been given in this opportunity to be her mom and her teacher.
What do I want to teach her? 

skating on the frozen pond



To be comfortable in her own skin...

to be friends with the birds in the backyard...

to know her neighbors and how to greet them...

to know our woods and learn its secrets...

that when you sing, joy rushes in...

that when you lose your temper it is not easy to find again...

to love our town and know its landmarks...

to stop each day to pray...

that moving your body feels good...

that painting and cooking and housekeeping are arts...

to go slowly or you'll miss the good stuff...

that I will always go to the ends of the earth for her...

Winter has come, and with it mounds of deep snow. It has limited our many houred long walks in the woods. But we have skating and sledding and snow forts and places to romp. And indoors we have time for baking and storytelling and building forts and of course books...glorious gorgeous books.



Who knew...the magic fairy dust that my little half pint needed was on my fingertips after all!

Our favorite books:

 

A gem-- pure childhood gold!











Any of the Old Mother West Wind Stories are pure treasures-- almost up there with Pooh... 

Just finished with these... 



 







Just beginning these now.

All  time  most beloved stories... children's literature most high...