Saturday, October 18, 2008

Saturday thoughts...

Today I spent the better part of the day organizing the 'school closet'. It's the large closet off the living room where we store all the books/school stuff/art supplies, etc. While I was cleaning out all the items we have accumulated over the years and now don't use or need, I started thinking about where we are in this journey. This school year, after having toured the local Waldorf School over the summer...I knew we'd found the style that we'd been searching for the last 4 years. Each year, I would try to fit into some kind of mold...I knew we didn't fit into classical/traditional learning, but I didn't think that we would ever find a style to fit us...until that tour. There were aspects of Waldorf that Nick and I didn't agree with, but the overall philosophy...the teaching style, the learning style...it clicked!

Obviously, we let go of our spots that were pulled in the lottery to get into the school, since we are still homeschooling....

We decided to use Oak Meadow and are in love.

The line between 'learning' and just 'enjoying living life' is starting to disappear...and I LOVE THAT! The kids love reading, which is a huge accomplishment for Corbin...the focus on art is something that I value and Olivia is thriving in. I decided to take a few pictures of the things that I enjoy seeing during school time. The focus on natural materials in play, creative play, using nature to learn and teach, even down to the beeswax crayons...I'd seen them before and thought...why on EARTH would I pay 14.00 for 8 crayons?? Seeing the kids use them, the simple act of using a couple of colors to create something brilliant...no 'bubble gum pink', no 'yikes yellow', no 'gimme-a-break green'...just natural, pure colors... it's simple, but it fits in SO well with the whole learning process we are going through right now.

Homeschooling can be tough, for sure...but this is the first time I have felt like I have it all together...Since Kindergarten, all the way until now, oldest in 3rd grade...each year I have felt like there's that "one thing" missing. Not this year. This year I have felt like "We found it".

If you read this, thanks for bearing with me ;)

Just something I wanted to share today.

1 comment:

Melisa & Erik Nielsen said...

What a beautiful post! Enjoy your journey.

Blessings.

Melisa Nielsen
www.alittlegardenflower.com