changing rhythms: homeschool 2020 - 2021

 

This spring and summer have been different (replace with your own adjective here). Even for those of us who have been fortunate enough to avoid COVD-19, even for homeschoolers, life has been twisted on its axis. All activities, travel, social opportunities, and more have been changed or canceled. Exacerbated by the pandemic, our country has had to face a forever-existing racial divide. This year has taught many of us to expect change, be flexible, new ways to relate to and understand each other, and to truly value all we are privileged to have.

And here we are, mid-August, the coming school year looming (that is what it feels like to me this year) upon us. In past years, I have had breaks from my kids (and they from me) in the summer, time to think, clean, organize, plan. I've started the year ready and enchanted. I haven't had that this year and here we are, with (home)school (year 9!) starting tomorrow. (It's Sunday afternoon as I write this.)

Why tomorrow if I am not ready?

We homeschool through a public charter school. Actually, this year, we are homeschooling through 2 charter schools, which is part of the reason I am feeling unprepared. Our son's (K-8) charter technically began last week, but I know the school and patterns well, felt informed, and was able to start preparing early. Our daughter got into a charter school for her high school school experience this year and I didn't have much information until a week or so ago. The bottom line is that, as of tomorrow, both charters have begun and Lala Bug has her first math class.

Our kids are learning all the time. I am accepting that, while I hold Waldorf Education in my heart and mind, our homeschool is more of an us-school experience now. I know, with that in mind, that we can dive in tomorrow and adjust to our new groove, our new rhythm, more slowly.

This year I have a 7th grader and 10th grader! Both my kiddos have learning differences and one is additionally differently wired. In addition to the school year starting, we will begin a more thorough evaluation for one kiddo and resume occupational therapy for the other.

We will start our days with Together Time, during which I read a shared book, we might watch CNN10, read poetry, have important conversations, or do other shared activities.

Our 7th grader will be taking several classes online with our charter. This is not how I want to approach schooling for either of my kids, but this is an atypical school year, we know the school and teachers well, they have been thoughtful about what will work for the kids, and since this is our main homeschool community, he will be with friends, even if not in person.

Brown Mouse will be starting the year slowly, adding up to math, a writing group, Constitution class, crpytography, Spanish (he expressed enthusiastic excitement about this one), and a Shakespeare book group (Julius Caesar). This is plenty, so science will be nature study and playful experimenting to start. Language Arts, for him, is a set selection of materials to address his learning differences.

Our 10th grader, based on how distance learning did and did not work for her in the spring, will take 2 classes online, with the live online portion being only an hour for each class; Geometry and American Government. For English, we will be reading texts of my choosing and pairing it with writing materials to help her build and feel more confident with her writing. Science is Chemistry. Her charter teacher approved our covering chemistry through fiber arts, with the support of texts, some kits, and her grandparents (a chemist and a former fiber artist). She is excited about that. I suspect much of the rest of her time will be spent dancing (although not in person!) and working on various fiber projects. She has switched from knitting to sewing with the warmth of late summer, but is prolific with both, as well as other crafts. She's got some goals in this area.

And me? I am working to not forget myself in the mix. I am trying to remember to lean into my strengths, not sacrifice myself (and my energy) for everyone else, and that, for me, means ongoing work around expectations, limits, and boundaries. What better to model for my growing kids this year?!

Wishing you well as we collectively launch into a strange new, current normal.

June 2018, a nature filled update

We have had so many beautiful moments that I have caught on camera lately and I have shared bits and pieces of our doings on Instagram (request to follow me @nicolacreativelightless ), but I wanted to share more here, and quite honestly, had forgotten that I posted a decent summary of our highlights in early May. All of that still holds true, with the exception of my health status. Knock on wood, I am on the mend. After a glorious backpacking trip (see below), we began an anti-inflammatory diet. Really, it is for me, because my inflammation markers were through the roof on a recent blood test, but M decided to join me. He says he isn't feeling that different, but my skin (horrible eczema) is clearing and my brain fog is lifting. I am still tired, but am taking much better care of myself, my family is supporting me, and I don't feel like hiding quite so much.

We slid out of the school year. What I mean by that is that I simply chose a day to end the school year, but we had already started fizzling out and while I truly believe in a rest period (I might be the one who needs it most), rhythm is good for all of us and there are certain pieces to our days that we don't want to let go of (nature play and study!) or I feel like need a little special focus. We did finish up some unfinished projects, which felt good.

With my brain fluff clearing a little, and in combination with Waldorf-Inspired Learning's Plan it Out program, I am thinking a bit about what worked, what didn't, and what I would like to plan for next year. We won't likely make decisions about high school for some months yet, but I am planning as though this is our last year homeschooling with all of us together. A lot of emotions for me. Really, kiddos do grow up so quickly.

So now we enter summer. Long days of light have meant a loss of morning alone time for me, because Lala Bug is waking super early and can't fall back to sleep. (Yes, there are black out shades in the bedroom.) She is a highly sensitive kid. We used to do a summer manifesto, but now, I am simply holding the words "summer slow down" in my mind.

What will summer look like for you?

home and homeschool - a May update

I haven't intended to become such an irregular blogger. I deeply miss the writing and sharing here in this space, but a few things have happened that have slowed down (paused!) my blogging here.

Journey North Mystery Class and also math-in-the-garden nature journaling.

My joy in blogging has always been two-fold. One is my love of photography. I love capturing what I see and sharing it here. My desire to share hasn't mixed well with my time to upload, look over, delete, and url stamp my photos lately. In addition, I have had to take and choose photos with a different 'lens.' I have been very careful when choosing photos that include my kids or their work because they are becoming more private, probably in part because of age, but also, following my lead and conversations we have had, they are more cautious. And, of course, I admit to having finally joined the world of Instagram last autumn. It is so easy just to share a photo there, without url stamping and with easy editing. It has made me lazy with photo blogging. (You can request to follow me there @nicolacreativelightless )

The second has been the writing piece. As for the writing component of sharing here...well...my thoughts and feelings have run so deep and so muddled, that I have struggled to make sense of them. Writing has always helped, but for me to be comfortable sharing here, the re-writing and editing would take too long. I have struggled with some health challenges which have left me drained at the end of the day. The time after the kids go to bed has always been my quiet writing time, but lately, I have lacked all desire to be on the computer before bed. In fact, right now, it is mid-afternoon, we are all out on the deck and the photo below is my view of the kids as I write. We just visited the library and need nothing more than a good book, a snack, and sunshine to undo some of the tension built from testing the last couple of weeks.

Lala Bug made a thunder cake on her own after reading Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco

So much has happened the past couple of months, since I last truly blogged about homeschooling. Nothing hugely significant, but just many little, ordinary, extraordinary, beautiful (and stressful...let's be honest) moments, cobbled together to make a meaningful family life and education. One of our strongest anchors has been nature study this year. It hasn't been what I imagined it would be, but it has been healing and soul-filling. Read-aloud time and hands-on explorations connected with those readings have also been strong roots, along with our charter community and activities.

We have had crazy spring weather. Dime-sized hail!

Family nature journaling

Since my post about worrying about the path ahead, I have attended some homeschool high school discussions, had lots of conversations with other parents, I have listened to a number of homeschool podcasts, 'attended' a couple of online summits (including one for twice exceptional (2e) children...children who are both gifted and have special needs/challenges), visited a couple of alternative middle and high schools, journaled, discussed with M, and thought a lot.  We still don't know what we will be doing when the time for 'high school' comes, but my exploration has opened conversations with Lala Bug, has begun warming all of us to the idea that transitions are coming, and I feel significantly less anxious. (For now.)

   Knitting pattern writing and drawing

 

 Fibonacci explorations

So, today, I am enjoying the sunshine of spring, sitting here with my computer and my notebook, and dumping ideas down for what is worrying me and what I want most to tackle in our home and homeschool in the coming months. It gives me a place to begin a conversation with the kids and M about what they most want to guide and learn and do. What does your home look like this spring?

homeschooling - the path ahead

This past autumn, and all through winter break, I have been thinking a lot about homeschooling and the path ahead. As any good Waldorf-inspired parent, I have thought a lot about the children in front of me, where they are now, what they need, and lately, meditating a lot on where they are going.

This month, I will be attending a number of information sessions for high school. While I only have a 7th grader at this point, I feel as though the light of high school started gleaming brighter at the end of a much shorter tunnel when this school year began.  As someone who tends toward anxiety and can overthink things, I am trying to proactively explore the options for Lala Bug while simultaneously seeking out support that we may need to help us along the way.

As homelearners, we have taken a year by year approach and I never expected to be homeschooling this long. It has been good for the highly sensitive child of mine, so while we will explore the high school options locally, I will also be learning about the options for homeschooling high school in our area.

Another homeschool mama friend and I were sharing our current homeschooling anxieties and  I realized something really important in a new way.

There are many, many paths to becoming an educated individual.

The typical route that I took, and that M took, and that many (most) other kids take through schools and into college is just one way. There are others. As I consider these other paths, such as homeschooling high school, I fret about things like science labs. As a biologist, lab was important for my path. But it suddenly occurred to me that science labs aren't Lala Bug's 'thing' anyway. If I had let go of what I "should" be doing, would science have been the path I really chose? I don't know. I do know that I want to give our children a chance and input (with guidance, of course!) on where they see themselves going and how they think they are going to get there.

Going to college is just one option after high school. For many people, it isn't an option at all. It is a privilege. College isn't the only route to becoming a self-sustaining, successful adult. As I thought about these things, it really dawned on me...my children may not want to go to college! Can M and I be okay with that? He and I both saw college as a necessity to a successful career.

These are just thoughts and realizations as I puzzle through how to help support my still-child navigate what is coming ahead (when she still doesn't see it coming), but they were important steps for me in letting go a little more. When I meditate on my children, when I focus on Lala Bug and how her life might be when she is grown, I only see a successful adult. That girl has focus, determination, hard work, and skills...when she is passionate about what she is doing and learning.

I am holding onto that image as we explore the possibilities.

2017-2018: nearly mid-year

As I wrote the post title 'nearly mid-year,' I gave myself a mini panic attack. The truth is, I have been struggling with anxiety for awhile now, but this fall, it has been significantly worse. The roots run deep and are varied, but one small piece is that I am homeschooling growing children, time doesn't stand still, and I have been mentally thinking forward toward what is coming next and behind at what we haven't done. The transition between elementary teaching and high school planning has felt, well...short.


We had a full and productive fall, our home learning has been beautiful, and smoother, especially as I embrace our version of Waldorf-inspired at home. You won't see tons of main lesson drawings here, or consistent form drawing, but you will see lots of stories, art and creativity, singing, and movement. Our Us-schooling makes for a happier, motley mix of activities, using a motley mix of resources.

I wish I had carved out more time to blog learning period-by-learning period again this year, as I did last year. (Our homeschool charter uses learning periods that cover 2 months at a time, and last year I blogged about what we had done each of those learning periods before moving into the next period.) We have done so much! I didn't capture it that way, though. So...here are some things we have done since my last post update.

We spent a lot of time on math and science during late autumn. The kids wanted to participate in our homeschool group's math and science fair and quickly chose to work together on a project about fire. Fire has been fresh in their minds and relevant to them as their Grannie was evacuated from the intense and destructive fires in Northern California. We also explored Mystery Science activities and Lala Bug's weekly math class meant that we were all playing with math very consistently.

One of our consistent anchors has been a weekly nature study or exploration. We have one spot we visit regularly, but we happily take detours when something seasonally magical comes our way, like over-wintering ladybugs or a super (Wolf) moon and spring tides with an  >8 foot change between high and low tides. When not pulled by unique events, we explored fungus, lichen, moss, winter solstice, and more.

The holidays flew by. We took a break from our main lessons during part of December. It was much needed, but the grounding feeling of rhythm has been missed, and so we made a slow re-entry last week and dive back into year-long and into new activities this week. I am taking some deep breaths as transitions are always a little hard....

Happy learning and living to you all!

after the first weeks

I have such admiration for the homeschooling parents who are also working in other capacities. If you ask me, I will say that writing and photography are among the dozen things that really fuel me (along with sleep, exercise, journaling, etc.), yet I truly struggle to carve out regular time to do them in a meaningful way. I used to. Several years ago, my former blog was reasonably well read and perhaps I could have turned my blogging into a money earning venture as a number of my friends have done. I felt like I was writing more about the life I thought I was living than actually living it, so I let the door close on opportunities I had at the time. While I don't regret the choices I made then, I admire those who are able to combine this work, live, and teach lifestyle into a sustainable experience.

That is a babbly introduction to say I haven't even managed to get photos and a post together to share the adventures of our recent weeks, especially since I posted about our rough start to the lesson year!

Since that post, life has brought unexpected detours. Here in Northern California, we experienced some of the most devastating wildfires due to drought that the state has seen. My mother in law was affected by the fires, which had her evacuated in the early morning hours from the apartment she had recently moved into. She is safe and well, but it has made the last several weeks much different than we expected. There is so much to learn everyday, whether or not you set out to learn it.

 We are slowly getting back into a rhythm and mixed in with the overwhelming extras have been some amazing and anticipated experiences.

Our American Girl Kid Club has continued to meet regularly and we all find it enjoyable and grounding in different ways. We are learning and doing a lot (hands on) with history as a result of the group and I was able to tie it into local history we were doing through our charter school, which culminated in an overnight living history experience that I also got to participate in. Brown Mouse also took a mythology class, dovetailing nicely with myths we have been reading here at home and Lala Bug got to take a class learning more about and experience community.

Math is happening very consistently (although also somewhat resistantly) as a result of a weekly math class for Lala Bug, and for Brown Mouse, we are using Beast Academy (he likes) and the Key To workbooks (he dislikes). We still also play math quite a lot through games, picture books, and Math Geek Mama resources.

Science has been in the form of weekly nature study, which has been such a positive balm and bond for us. We have our weekly favorite spot, but we have deviated a few times, to explore other things of interest, like a seasonal pond study and a blooming Corpse flower.

Writing and language arts comes out of all of the above, although I am thinking to focus more specifically on spelling with both kiddos and have both doing copy work passages, as well.

While we have slipped from our weekly art lessons, we know they are there waiting for us to pick back up, which I have faith we will do as it gets colder out and when our weekends are freed from soccer games and the needs of getting Grannie resettled.

This seemed like a good time to catch up on autumn season of learning, because whoosh! just like that, the winter holidays are coming! Learn well!

52: 43

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of October 22, 2017

Alaskan hunters and a Russian artisan in 1812, living history enrichment program.

the first weeks

In the event many of you are reading loads of wonderful back-to-school or back-to-not-school (homeschool) posts (wherever you happen to read them), let this be the post that lets you know you aren't alone if all has not gone smoothly. Oy.

The first 3(?) weeks here have been rough. I planned, I (thought I) was relaxed, I was excited for the new school year, the first day started well, and then sliiidddde, crash. Rhythm hasn't come easily, we have had significant kiddo struggles, main lesson hasn't gone smoothly, there have been more sibling squabbles than usual, the kids have not been listening well, it has been extremely difficult to transition them out of play and especially out of books they are engaged in, etc. And my block plan? Forget it. I didn't even make it out of the gate.

The final straw came last week when I slammed my finger in a door. Oh my goodness. I haven't had something hurt so much in a very long time (despite having consistent back pain the last 6+ months from an old injury). The injury took down the day, because it meant a doctor visit instead of activity day with our charter, it meant lots of tears from me, and the pain put me in a grumpy mood. While it doesn't seem to be broken (and blood is circulating), it is my dominant hand and it has continued to hurt enormously.

The next day, I descended a little further into gloom just from witnessing others having success. In our charter resource center for math class (where we were after more anger and frustration from my child over completing the homework), I watched one mom engage her 6th grader with joyful, loving praise. Another dad chatted to me about how much he loves homeschooling because he can watch his middle school daughter create and do things she loves and he has found she is so helpful around the home without even being asked. Had I found the same?

No. This week left me feeling like a failure. I had seriously off-track children, no joy, I felt lack of authority in my home(school), my kids didn't step up to help when I injured my finger, my kids were unhappy ("Can't we have any fun?!") and I felt insulted by it all. Whew.

Do you ever feel like the right voices come to you right when you need them most? I listened to a podcast from Hand in Hand Parenting that happened to address some of the very issues we struggle with. I needed the reminder that my kids are good. (They are so good!) I am good. We are all wanting to do the right thing and that it is healthy and necessary for me to offload my feelings to another adult so I don't do it on my kids, or, at the very least, I am lightened so I can engage with them the way I want to. Where had I gone off track? Then, I re-read a piece on temperament from Waldorf Essentials, with the thought it would help me consider my kids' temperaments in our homeschool. What it did, instead, was highlight for me that, even though I fundamentally know it comes down to me, I had gotten off track. I had become unbalanced. I am melancholic-sanguine, which is a hard combo to be. (We feel things deeply, want to do right by others, and have a difficult time with follow through.) I had definitely slipped into an exhausted, resentful melancholy. I find it hard to hold the space and limits consistently.

Sustaining all that is needed to homeschool a growing family of individuals, some of which have high needs, is, well...hard.

So that is where I am, fully aware and doing my best to quickly work my way back to balance, despite the crazy going on around me in my family and the world.

So...back to the school year. This realization made me stop and reconsider. Instead of feeling like everything is a flop, what IS working? There are individual successes! (I am letting the kids know I see these, too!) As a little tribe, our weekly nature walk using Exploring Nature with Children and John Muir Laws has been wonderful. Also, Waldorfish Weekly Art has been a success. I am letting these success lift me up, particularly as regular art and regular nature time were both difficult to establish previously! Also happening around here is a lot of reading. Honestly, so much that it has been difficult to transition kids' attention to anything else and I have been feeling, well, annoyed. But the last few days, several people in my homeschool world have serendipitously commented on the joy their kids are finding in books and in the library and I heard a voice in my head reminding me I would be distressed if they weren't reading. So...success!

This weekend,  we had a birthday celebration for Lala Bug. All the guests were homeschoolers or former homeschoolers, and listening to the kids talk about the differences they perceive was so validating! They feel supported, like their interests and needs matter, and they like spending time with friends of both (all!) genders and ages, who are kind. This is what we hope for as homeschooling parents!

When I need a reminder to focus on connection and happiness in the home, Julie Bogart always seems to say just the right thing. Permission from a veteran. I read this Simple Homeschool article about what to ask ourselves as we begin the year that I thought was good and simple. I also made note about a little daily list of questions that come from Melisa Wiley in this Brave Writer podcast, but were highlighted by my friend, Jess, when she incorporated them into a beautiful art piece for her wall.

Today, did we:
Play and use our imaginations?
Do meaningful work?
Read a good book?
Have an encounter with beauty?
Ponder or discuss an idea?
Attempt something challenging or new?
Express gratitude?

So, here is to refocusing and moving forward. What has been working well for you?

planning 2017-2018, part 3

I wrote about planning part 1, here, and planning part 2, here. Here is part 3!

 The neighbor's Little Free Library has been motivating for morning walks. We have wanted to open our own for a long time, but the neighbor's gets the kids moving to bring a book and take a book and take a walk!

I had intended to come back and post this a little sooner, but life has been busy. I took a little time to look through posts on my old blog, which I have privatized for safety reasons. I miss that blog. There is so much history and information there that I want to just link to or sort and copy over parts of, but the time...Time is whizzing by me and really ruffling my nostalgia and melancholy, so I have really been trying to wade through that. For example, my search through my old blog included a skim through Lala Bug's 4th grade year, since that is Brown Mouse's level now. The photos made it feel like yesterday. I can't believe the end-of-year images I was seeing were already 2 years old and I am keenly aware of how much my kiddos have physically grown lately. I worried so much about her being "in FOURTH grade!" This feeling only lends to my constant battle with the "we're behind" monster.

So, this is a surface level hint at the (over) thinking place I have been in. I would have liked to have waited a little longer to start the school year, but we began slowly this week, as our charter school actually started 2 weeks ago. The week was a bit bumpy because (ahem), we have not finished 4-H record books (due Monday), so we spent a lot of time on those. We will begin easing into our new and consistent rhythm and our first blocks this coming week.

Art and copy work this week were from our experience of the eclipse, which honestly, due to drifting clouds, was underwhelming.

This year, according to our charter (which we love, for the record), my kiddos are 4th and 7th grades. I am using grades loosely now, because neither child is at grade level for everything and I have one child who is developmentally younger than birth age (although both look at least 2 years older than they are! Oh, the height!).

Our little homeschool tribe will be schooling through our charter again this year and they are the most supportive group of education coordinators one can imagine. There are some changes in staffing this year, so there is some newness to explore. The community that blossoms out of the charter is wonderful too. The kids will be participating in classes and activities our charter offers, which is wonderful for them and for me. As these guys are growing, the classes become less supplementary and more supportive for me, the home teacher. (Unfortunately, our charter only goes through 8th grade, so I think some of my current anxiety stems from thinking ahead to high school.) Brown Mouse will likely be in a Mythology class and local living history class this fall. Lala Bug will be in a class that adventures around the community (encouraging and teaching independence and meeting and learning about different businesses) and also in the local living history class this fall. She will also be in a foundations math class the entire year and possibly a book/writing club, if it comes to fruition.

We will be participating in 4-H again, although much less intensely. Brown Mouse doesn't love it and I needed a break from leading. My personality couldn't seem to just let us take a year off and there are many things to love about 4-H. We will be active with our charter, as mentioned above, and both kids are on local rec soccer teams this fall, which have already had their first practices. (Success and bravery!) A favorite activity for all of us is our American Girl Boy club. We meet monthly for history, crafts, and appropriate food, through the American Girl doll historical characters. And we are part of a larger homeschool group, through which will participate in some of the group activities, like the math & science and history fairs.

Both kiddos are in therapies for different reasons and these take time and energy, so are part of our rhythm. (Although I have alluded to this before, I don't write much publicly about my kiddos higher needs. Perhaps I should. They have a huge impact on our home learning.)

Also part of our rhythm will be a weekly nature walk/journaling outing, weekly library visit, and weekly art.

For my 9 year old this year, I hope to cover the following blocks in this order: math, Norse myths, local history, math, a catch-up block (I know we will need it), math, local geography, and human and animal. These are Waldorf blocks, but we are definitely Us-schoolers, so I know we will get lead away by interests here and there along the away.

For my 12 year old this year, I hope to cover the following blocks in this order: Geometry, Business Math (setting up an Etsy shop), Writing, Rome, Middle Ages, Astronomy, Renaissance, Physics, Anatomy and Physiology. Again, these are Waldorf blocks (for a mix of grade 6 and 7), but we are definitely Us-schoolers, so I know we will get lead away by interests here and there along the away. In addition, I have so many blocks (too many) that I want to cover for Lala Bug, that I will likely drop a couple of the subjects out of block form and sprinkle them throughout the year. This works for us, since we have to turn in work samples to our charter for every subject, every month. If you noticed few math blocks, it is because I will be working it into the existing blocks, working with her on an Etsy shop, and also she will be in a class through our charter. Also, because I am blending some of the grade 6 and 7 history/story blocks, I am thinking to cover it as European history over time.

Back to school goodies were plentiful and joyfully and gratefully received this year. The basket is full of the art supplies we didn't already have but need this year for our family weekly art lessons. In the packages for each child were fountain pens, a book (The Dangerous Book for Boys for Brown Mouse and his Dada and The Alchemy of Herbs for Lala Bug and me), and a new spiral notebook for daily/weekly task lists. Lala Bug also received a parent made gift certificate for 'handmade by' labels for her handwork and Brown Mouse also received his own tin of soft colored pencils.

I had planned to share the resources I am thinking to use, but the list is incredibly long. This is not because I am actually going to use tons of books, but because my own understanding for each block is coming from lots of bits and pieces pulled together from many resources along the way. There are a number of excellent websites offering free background and resource information for Waldorf, Charlotte Mason, and more. I use a little of this and a little of that. I do want to mention a few of the materials I am using that I am really excited about. For our nature studies, I am using Exploring Nature with Children by Lynn Seddon and also resources from John Muir Laws. For weekly art (besides nature journaling), we are signed up for Waldorfish Weekly Art lessons. We are so excited about those, that when the kids opened the basket of art supplies on the "first day of home school," they were thrilled and asked if we could do the first art lesson right away. (It hasn't begun yet!) I keep a long list of resources right here on my blog (although I need to update it) and I will be using many of the resources I share there.

And so another school year begins. Before we know it, I will be looking back, wondering where it went, so I am encouraging myself to be present and make caring for myself a priority. Have a wonderful day!

52: 34

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of August 20, 2017

planning 2017-2018, part 2

I started blogging about my planning for this coming year in part 1, linked here.

Shortly after I did so, we went up to the lake for a week. This was the perfect break from the draw of the computer for planning (which can lead to wonderful, positive connection and information, but also, for me, over-researching, self-doubt, questioning 'Do I have enough? Do I need that book too?').  Worry and overwhelm are tendencies I will always have to work hard to manage, so I just have to stop and be quiet sometimes, so as not to over-plan. Follow through can be hard for me, too, so not over-planning is important for many reasons. (I am melancholic-sanguine. Either that or highly sensitive with ADD! Probably all, actually.)

The week was the perfect chance to just be with my own thoughts, to watch and be with my family, to sink into some books, to journal, and to draw.

One of my take-aways from Jean Miller's Plan It Out class was how to make art more doable in our homeschool. Jean talks about the Lively Arts of Waldorf education. They are key to bringing the lessons alive to children, but I had lost some of them (or never had them well established) and I have a child for whom creating is extremely important and who has had very few requests. (Knitting together, learning to draw, and learning Italian.)

So I spent some time drawing. If I don't ever do it, I won't ever get better, right? And if I don't ever model it, it will be hard to encourage us along, right? Earlier in the year, I had said I planned to draw something, anything, daily, but I haven't stuck to that goal, so this felt satisfying.

 

And I spent some time reading. I can now highly recommend Spelling by Hand by Jeremy Hermann and Let's Play Math by Denise Gaskins.

Spelling by Hand is a short, quick read. I thought it 'read' a bit stilted, almost like a translation of Rudolf Steiner, although the author is a young American. It had some very simple, linear, clear ideas of how to teach spelling in short lessons that are active and build upon each other. While he discussed what to cover in each grade, he didn't dwell on grade, in the event children aren't at grade level. We have some special challenges here, so spelling is something that we need to actively work on now. (It was not a priority before, as we were dealing with higher needs.) I am looking forward to putting his ideas into action.

Let's Play Math is a book I am reading as part of an online homeschool group that discusses math. There has been much resistance to math in our home, leaving me frustrated, tentative, and worried. However, I shifted gears this past year, set expectations differently and brought math more playfully, and I notice an increase in skill and willingness to come along on the math trails with me. I am half way through this book and it is excellent. I love the way she discusses math as a series of questions to answer (curiosity!), not a formula to apply. She discusses playing with math, hands-on math, reading math, the history and culture of math. It has been an encouraging and inspiring read so far.

Home again, Lala Bug pulled out the magazines and started collaging. She asked us to join her. Why, yes, please! I used to create a 'Dream Garden' or 'Vision Board' each year or so, inspired completely by an online class I took from Erin Goodman of Exhale. Return to Center. (I don't think she is writing or doing this type of work anymore. She is amazing and works now as a Reverend.) My collage is made, roughly using a 3x3 grid (you can find this by searching 'vision board' on Google or Pinterest) and magazine cut-outs to create a personal visual of what I want for the year ahead.

I am also considering a paid online art course. I have felt that art is something we can learn if we just do it regularly, but perhaps a motivation and some tips would be valuable and the consistency could be good. So I tested out the sample lesson from Waldorfish, and am considering their package of lessons. I am still deciding because of cost, but I enjoyed the lesson and loved the comments the kids gave me about my results. I will have them try it out, too.

More planning to do, but I am on hold now as I wait for more information from our charter school, 4-H, and therapists, and as I consider what is essential for us right now. The kids have camp, so I am heading into a week of tasks from a long list I have made for myself...reading, errands, more decluttering, and some self-care/pampering.

I'll be back again with a post that shares a little more about what I plan to teach this year and resources I plan to use. Until then...