Learning at Home: Are We All Homeschoolers?

Welcome to the September Carnival of Natural Parenting: We’re all home schoolers

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how their children learn at home as a natural part of their day. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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Up until recently, I really knew very little about homeschooling.  Other than knowing a few folks in college that had been homeschooled (or kids who had gone on "homeschooling sabbaticals" abroad here and there with their families), my experience really consisted of one student I had my first year of teaching.  This student had been homeschooled for preschool and kindergarten — and I think had older siblings who also were. Because some aspects of our school and classroom were not working for them, they phased into a half-day thing in my classroom, which worked okay, but not great.  I liked them, though didn’t really understand where they were coming from much of the time.  Thinking back, I probably have a lot more in common with them now,  but yeesh, as a young first-year teacher with no homeschooling background, it was a kind of strange situation to work with!  

Examining a caterpillarFast forward to now, when it seems like everywhere I turn (in real life and online), I discover or meet new or prospective homeschoolers. Interesting, fun, passionate type folks — people I love being around!  I am now starting to see the allure of doing things "our way" in whatever way works best for specific kids and families.  I love seeing what folks are doing and where they are going, because so much of it is applicable to my life too!  

I’ve always considered homeschooling a "fall back" thing that I could do, if all other options were not working, but not something I (at this point) plan on doing otherwise.  I had great experiences in public and private schools as a kid, and my grad school (a masters in early childhood/elementary ed) and previous teaching experience also influence my perspective, I’m sure.  I love being a stay-at-home mom, but I look forward to a time when I have time to follow my own interests, career-wise (sooner, rather than later).  And I’m admittedly also excited to eventually have a break from being the main go-to caregiver for my kids all day, every (week)day!  Perhaps this will change when I see them actually head off into the unknown wide world outside our home full time, especially if we encounter bumps along the way. Time will tell!  

Counting and sorting pastaMore and more, though, I am realizing how much I do have in common with many homeschoolers right now (and perhaps well into the future).  Many of my favorite blogs are written by homeschoolers — and they are brimming with fun ideas for projects and ways to organize your spaces and days in a child-friendly way.  Now that we are out of the "baby" phase, my goals for creating meaningful routines, work and play for my kids are very much what I see homeschooling to be about.  When I think about what I expect from a structured school experience, I still firmly believe that the foundation of what my girls will learn will happen during the hours they are home, or out and about in the world with me and our family. 

 In that vein, here are some of the ways that my girls and I approach learning here at home:

Creating an intentional daily plan:  This is a goal for me, very much in-process right now, and not always happening yet.  I had this ah-ha moment many months ago when I realized that the (albeit dreaded) lesson planning of my teaching days could translate into a more smooth, meaningful day for me and my girls.  Some parts of this, built up gradually over the past few years, have stuck — especially around our daily routines.  I will totally admit that other pieces, including the more intentional learning and teaching I’d love to be doing (projects and activities structured and guided by me) are still up in the air many days.  Ah well, work in progress!  They are still so little!    

What are those little swimmers?

Following "sparks of interest" and "teachable moments":  I feel like this is one of the keys to encouraging curiosity and a lifelong love of learning — and one of the coolest aspects of being a parent.  I love seeing my girls get excited about something, and try my hardest to encourage and expand on their interests and questions when I can.  One example of this is Emma’s word wall, something we had up for quite awhile but is currently down (I’ve been meaning to resurrect it, however!).  Another was our butterfly project, where we raised butterflies from larvae to painted lady butterflies, ready to release.  In the spring, we planted seeds and watched their roots and stems grow each day.  Today, it was exploring the hundreds of teeny tiny swimmers (I am assuming bug larvae?  Fruit flies?  What else could it be?)  that I found darting around in the water of our "living basil" plants on the windowsill.  Emma ran to get the magnifying glass and Delia insisted on one as well.   A neat little science lesson, for sure!   

Activity bags ready for actionActivity Bag Fun:  I love activity bags, and know many homeschoolers do to!  Check out this page (near the bottom) for a list of my activity bag posts.  Basically, they are self-contained activities, play and exploration based for toddlers and preschoolers, perhaps more structured math, reading, science-based games or activities as they get older.  Mine currently are geared for the little ones, but I keep meaning to pull out some more challenging things for Emma, both from my old teaching supplies and created from supplies and items I have around the house (phonics or letter games, counting, geometry or basic addition/subtraction activities, all depending on her interest, of course).

Going out in the world to explore:  I love taking the girls on outings, and there are so many incredible places to learn from in our city (and beyond!).  Museums, parks, art or gym classes, neighborhood walks, hikes, playgroups and friendly gatherings, the list goes on and on.  It take
s a fair bit of of effort sometimes to figure out what to do and get us all ready to go, but boy is it worth it when I see my girls eyes (and horizons) widening as they see and try new things, asking questions and taking it all in…  

Emma starts at her beloved preschool again this Friday, and we are all very excited about the new year beginning!  But we still have two years before she will be going to school "full time" (1st grade), and 4 years until Elsie and Delia reach that stage.  That’s quite awhile!   On rough days I will admit I am overwhelmed by that fact, but for the most part, I like the gradual pace that they will be introduced to the school environment and I am really excited about all the time we still have together, and all the projects, activities and outings we can try.   

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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants: 

• A is for Apple {But right now it’s more fun to pick apples!} — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment has a four-year-old who wisely knows she must forgo the worksheets for now and do things with her mother if she’s going to learn.
• Baby Talks — Amy at Anktangle talks, talks, talks all day long to her preverbal baby, about simple things and complexities. (@anktangle)
• Baby University: Little Man, My Teacher — The ArtsyMama shares how her relaxed and patient "teaching" at home resulted in a confident little one when she returned to work.
• Creating a Sensory Garden — A sensory garden has given Marita at Stuff With Thing and her girls practice in math, science, budgeting, fine motor skills, and more. (@leechbabe)
• Despite the Big Yellow Bus — Seonaid at The Practical Dilettante has surprised many friends by sending her kids off to mainstream schooling — but their learning doesn’t stop there. (@seonaid_lee)
• Down on the Farm — Megan at Purple Dancing Dhalias describes the multitude of skills her children learn by homeschooling on a farm.
• Early Childhood Education — First Do No Harm — Laura at Laura’s Blog provides an incredible list of tips to facilitate learning at home.
• Education Starts At Home — Luschka at Diary of a First Child was happy to realize that learning at home isn’t limited to older children. (@lvano)
• Every Day Is A School Day — Summer at Finding Summer lists the ways her family learns in this poem of a post. (@summerminor)
• hands on — the grumbles at grumbles and grunts read her little one Sherlock Holmes in utero. She’ll continue to make learning fun now that he’s on this side of the womb. (@thegrumbles)
• Have a Happy Heart — Erica at ChildOrganics has days of poop on the couch and oatmeal down the pants when sending her children to school seems like the perfect solution — until she regains her perspective. (@childorganics)
• Home Sweet Home Schooling — Check out CurlyMonkey’s Blog for a photo montage of how her kids are learning anatomy, architecture, and more — all at home. (@curlymonkey_)
• Homeschooling — My Needs? — Do you homeschool for the kids, or do you do it for you? Read some thoughts from Home Grown Families. (@momtosprouts)
• Homeschooling: A Way of Life — Kimberly at Homeschooling in Nova Scotia has children who meet learning with enthusiasm and are becoming self-sufficient at a young age. (@UsborneBooksCB)
• How We Homeschooled — Deb at Living Montessori Now details in retrospect how her two lifelong learners spent their homeschooling years. (@DebChitwood)
• Learning at Home With a Preschooler and Toddler — Need some inspiration? Michelle at The Parent Vortex shares her tips and resources for lifelong learning. (@TheParentVortex)
• Learning at Home: Are We All Homeschoolers? — Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings incorporates homeschool ideas even though she plans to send her kids to school. (@sunfrog)
• Learning From Life — Mamapoekie at Authentic Parenting doesn’t even have to think about how her daughter learns. She just does it. (@mamapoekie)
• Learning Through Play — What better way to learn at home than through play? Dionna at Code Name: Mama lists the many ways children learn through play, whether they know it or not. (@CodeNameMama)
• Learning With Savoury Pikelets — Deb at Science@Home breaks down how cooking facilitates learning. (@ScienceMum)
• Lessons Learned by Bowling (Yes, Bowling) — What life lessons can you learn from bowling? Ask Jessica from This is Worthwhile. (@tisworthwhile)
• Life is learning, learning is life. — Kristin, guest posting at Janet Fraser — Where birth and feminism intersect, defends the truth that children are hardwired to learn. (@JoyousLearning)
• life learning… — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children found that structured schooling is about teaching, whereas unschooling is about learning, and her family resonated with the latter.
• Live to Learn Together — RealMommy at True Confessions of a Real Mommy knows that children learn in all different styles, so only one-on-one attention can do the trick.
• Natural Parenting and the Working Mom — Jenny from Chronicles of a Nursing Mom shares how natural parenting in the Philippines — and learning at home — includes "yayas" (nannies). (@crazydigger)
• Not Back to School: How We Learn at Home — Denise at This Holistic Life has learned to describe what unschooling is, rather than what it isn’t.
• Our Learning Curve — Andrea of Ella-Bean & Co. has a special bookshelf set up where her daughter can explore the world on her own terms.
• School at Our House — Where is learning happening at Kellie at Our Mindful Life’s house? It is pouring all over the floor. It is digging down deep in the earth. It is everywhere!
• Schooling Three Little Piggies — Despite the mess and the chaos, Melissa at White Noise lets her children into the kitchen.
• SuperMom versus The Comic Books of Doom! — Mommy Soup at Cream of Mommy Soup realized that if "getting the kids to read" was the goal, it didn’t matter what the kids read. (@mommysoup)
• The joy of learning at home — Heather at Life, Gluten Free has a daughter who sees magic in the stars and understands the honeybees. (@lifeglutenfree)
• those who can’t teach — Do you need a superiority complex to homeschool? Stefanie at Very, Very Fine wonders.
• Too lazy to unschool? — If unschoolers aren’t lazy, Lauren at Hobo Mama wonders if she’s too lazy to live her dream of free-form education. (@Hobo_Mama)
• Unschooling the School of Me — Rachael at The Variegated Life considers what she’s teaching her son about work as a work-at-home mother — and the extreme work ethic she doesn’t want him to emulate. (@RachaelNevins)
• What We Do All Day — Alison at BluebirdMama discovered that it’s easier than she thought it would be to quantify how her child learns all day. (@childbearing)
• Who taught that kid ‘exoskeleton’? — Nervous about how you will facilitate learning at home? Don’t be – they will absorb things on their own! Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma shares her story. (@kitchenwitch)

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