Monday, August 31, 2009

a new school year


Today, accidentally on Maria Montessori's birthday, we began our new home school year. I feel a little sheepish saying this because, the deeper I immerse myself in the homeschooling milieu, the more I see that the school year never ends. Life hands us opportunity after opportunity to learn. I suppose the reason I personally wanted to give the new school year a bit of a kick-off is that Joel and I are implementing (I suppose you could say imposing on Henry) a bit (just the merest bit) more of a daily routine. At nearly seven, Henry's up for it, though I want to do my best to listen to him with respect and adapt the schedule to his and our needs.

We're also experimenting with a curriculum, Five in a Row, which many homeschoolers may (or may not) be familiar with. It comes to us recommended by several homeschooling families and I like its gentle manner of approaching the disciplines of language arts, social studies, math, science and visual art through good children's literature. Not a person to be confined by too many guidelines :), I can already see us adapting the FIAR concepts to use with books our family wants to read. I'm also excited--yes, excited--to say we're going to give Miquon Math a try. After talking with another trusted homeschool parent, it sounds like Cuisenaire rods are the way for us to go. And, besides, I've read about them in more than one John Holt unschooling book.

I remember that last year I said I wanted to write a post on my/our family's homeschooling philosophy. I never did it but the why of it all is how I entertain my head every night as I'm falling asleep. Why, why, why when so many supports to help us educate Henry in the public school setting are already in place?

I realized today that, for me, it's about care of the soul--Henry's, mine, and hopefully Joel's and Anna's too. There's something so exclusive-sounding about that. My inner judge nags me, "Don't you care about the rest of the world? Do you only care about your own child?" How I would like to answer that voice today is that I long for the world to be a kinder place to the human soul, that uncorrupted part of us that never stops longing for beauty, love, adventure...wholeness.

I love the things I've read by Parker Palmer, including Let Your Life Speak. I haven't read To Know as We Are Known, but suspect I will enjoy it. I checked out another book of his lately, A Hidden Wholeness, that explores a Thomas Merton sentiment touched on here, here, and here. So, how do I see homeschooling as nurturing our hidden wholeness? It can allow children and their families to slow down, explore concepts and master skills over time. It can allow space for slow growth--even the kind of growth that can happen through down time with simultaneous PBS Kids (yes, we're a tv family) and Lego play. Homeschooling allows for discussion-based learning, for bedtime, table and anytime conversations that don't need to be curtailed because it is time to go to the next thing in the program. The subtitle of Parker Palmer's book has to do with cultivating an undivided life--a life where the outside is consistent with the inside--at work, at home, inside ourselves and in our relationships. I strive for this, and I think Parker Palmer expresses it much more eloquently than I have time to. Read his book!

Following are some more links to homeshooling posts I've found helpful from a soulful / spiritual point of view. Red Dirt Mother, Pleasant View Schoolhouse
and Harmony Valley Homeschool.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

personing

Oh, we love her brother so much, too, but we are sure enjoying watching this sweetheart "person." She's sitting up now and enjoying so many simple pleasures.
More photos to come. She and Henry enjoy each other. That surpasses my expectations. I thought they might lead parallel lives, which they do in many respects. But, oh!; they do play together. On Sunday we adults delighted in watching him give Anna leg-pull rides up and down Grandpa and Grandma's hallway and through the living room. She smiled all the while. Sounds a bit rough, I know. The tiny little rug burn on her back was a small price to pay for the pleasure it gave her :).

Monday, August 17, 2009

pretty dishes


Pretty dishes are one of my life's joys. I brought this pile in from the car (the platter on the bottom I need to return to Libby) and set them in the sink. Just like that. There they are...dirty and so pretty. Like the movie title, Dirty Pretty Things. Good movie; you all should see it.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

holding

These days I don't get to hold Henry as much as I used to, but he enjoys holding Anna. On Thursday he and Anna were apart for ten hours and it was sweet to see the grin of recognition on her face when I carried her in to meet her brother at Aunt Libby's. She knows him!

Annamania

At five months, she's beginning to sit and she's always reaching, reaching, reaching.
Henry was generous to share his chef hat with Anna.
She seems pleased to be wearing it.