It was announced last week by a close HE friend that this should now be my Baby Holiday -- where we slow down, not expect quite so much from our days. At 34 weeks gestation there is a cruel and mean beast on my right shoulder saying No it is Too Early: you Must keep Pushing and Striving to keep the Strict and Serious business of home education turning Forwards, you can not stop yet!!
Heavens, there's some inner-saboteur soundtrack for you!
It will not surprise you to read that all remains well in the Weststar home - despite the ridiculous on-going chatter of my doubts and stresses (accompanied by the white-knuckle ride of pregnancy hormones and emotions!!) and the quite natural bicker and growth of 3 children and 2 parents navigating their way around a new home and getting ready to welcome our newcomer in April.
There's a book called Idle Parenting -- I may not ever get to actually read it, but I love the title. Its a reminder that we can let our children grow and learn without steering them, butting in every five minutes. So that even if at choice times in life's journey we are less involved, it may consequently be Perfect growth time for the children!! How easy it is to get in their way!!
Blackberry is submerged in learning about herbs to grow and as medicines. She has designed and built with her dad a 'Magic Garden' - a wheel consisting of 6 sections in which we will be growing our herbs. She is due to spend the afternoon with our good friend and herbalist on Tuesday too, to go through her dispensary and help stock-take. Fab.
Elderflower continues to bloom forwards, inspired by a friend and parent at our Barefoot Learners group last Monday to write a song about sharks and turtles, she got her violin out to have a go at a tune for it yesterday. She is enamoured by the story of Winter the dolphin (DVD A Dolphin's Tale - true story, nicely done) and continues to have in-depth, left-field questions about just about everything we encounter and more.
If your children would like to visit their blogs, they are:
Blackberry: http://cheeky7.blogspot.co.uk/
Elderflower: http://elderflowersblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Please leave a comment and share your blog address too :)
Sunburst loves his dad especially at the moment. A lot of cuddles, reassurance, wrestling and boisterousness. Walks in the woods with Blackberry, setting up animal tea parties for Elderflower, high quality lego vehicles and Sunday chocolates.
Yep, our baby holiday will be no dip in the learning curve, just a new rhythm, a freer style and some priceless life skills as we develop patience with each other, the art of going-with-the-flow and easing through yet another transitional time.
Home ed, keeping the heart of family life at our hearth, growing together.
Oz and I are working hard at drowning out that inner saboteur also. I think home ed is so much about relationships - nurturing the relationships of parent/child, sibling/sibling and person/learning. Those are the key to lifelong confidence and happiness and opportunity for success and passion for learning and growth, I think - not test scores, doing Latin at six or getting gcses at twelve or doing every group and activity going. Ps we have grow your own drugs and the kids book of herbs if you want to borrow them - M loves them for his "herb doctor" stuff. Glad you are being gentle with your lovely self x
ReplyDeleteYes couldn't agree more about the key to lifelong confidence and opportunity for success etc -- its like some days I can actually feel the solidity of their base framework laying down and securing itself so that really through all of this we are helping them be ready for wherever their life paths take them, truly and wholly :) Be great to borrow those books when we next see you thank you x hope your week is a gentle one :) x
DeleteEnjoy the change of pace - and may you have the best of births.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lily :) x
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