Advocating Pokemon Passions

Earlier this summer, Hawkeye discovered Pokemon, and it has been the ongoing theme of our summer. He  saved his allowance and got a new (used) stack of Pokemon cards, and was just beside himself!

 This has proved to be a real learning experience for me. I look down on  Pokemon, as having little value and as just a pop culture phenom, but I raise up things like astronomy and ornithology (two of Hawkeye's other obsessions) as having real academic worth. It occurred to me that this approach of mine was not in alignment with the homeschooling values I created, during an online workshop with Sarah Mckenzie, from Read-Aloud Revival.  I want to advocate my children's passions. And I was not.

Despite collecting Pokemon cards for a month or two, Hawkeye has yet to use the cards in a battle or play Pokemon Go. Instead he sorts or organizes them, by type, by number and by evolution stage (he is not a particularly organized kid).

He practices reading the names and strengths (he's a reluctant reader).

We have discussed evolution, health and strength, and the differences between the elemental groups (electric vs water vs magnetic vs Plant).

Add in the memorization! He has memorized a HUGE number of facts about his Pokemon cards.

Now he's moved on to dictating his own Pokemon fan fiction and poetry, designing Pokemon models and creating his new cards.

Which is all good stuff; great stuff, even. It is a good reminder that sometimes learning doesn't look like book learning!

What have your children been learning this summer? What are their passions?!

And am I the only one who finds discussing Pokemon for hours, well, a little tedious?!

Leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you! 

 

A Year of (Homeschool) Planners

Here's the thing; I am not a big homeschool planner, I'll just say that right up front. I find rigid schedules a source of stress (what will I do when we inevitably fall behind? what if something that I've meticulously planned for does not go at the pace I've anticipated?) but I do like to have a rhythm to lean on, a spine to return to whenever we are able.

My plan though is fluid, flexible and I know up front, that the plan I make at the beginning of the year will not be the same as the plans I am making towards the end of the school year. And that is a-okay by me!

I start out by creating an overview of our year; on this I include birthdays, festivals and holidays, and some basic items that we want to look at each quarter, such as Artist Study, Composer Study and Shakespeare. (I use a basic composition book as my homeschool planner each year, which gives me so much freedom! I can create just the right planner for our needs, and can change it as and when our needs change. Perfect!)

I then create a monthly calendar, with the weeks numbered; this makes it easier for me to see, at a glance, how our curricula aligns with the month. Along the right hand edge I have a separate column for notes; here I include the basics we'll be covering, one off items and more sporadic items I want to make sure we get to.

Next is a two page spread for each week. I typically fill in the details for this each weekend for the week to come; on the left hand page I include our daily reading and items to cover, weekly reading items, and then specific chapters or lessons to do. And on the right hand page I make note of all the books we read. And yes! - I really do mean all the books. I often find myself returning to my old homeschool planners to look up books that we particularly enjoyed, to read again for a particular season or for my two younger children, Buttercup and Seal Pup.

And finally, I have a daily rhythm. This one aspect could be my biggest take away from the Waldorf method; to have a daily rhythm to lean on, rather than a schedule. My children find it very reassuring to know what is coming up next; to have a rhythm of our days. We don't follow this religiously, but like my other schedules, it is something for us to lean on.



I try to alternate busy periods with times of rest or unstructured time. We go for a walk most days, and have plenty of time for outings and fieldtrips. Also, we try really hard to finish off all our homeschool work by lunch time, to give ourselves the afternoons 'off' (although we all know that learning happens just as much, if not more, in those afternoons 'off' as it does during official homeschool time!)

And now you are probably wondering what we fill those days with! And how we fit it all in?! But enough for today; I'll share those details in another post or two!

Do you homeschool? What does your planner look like? 
Leave a comment and let me know; I'd love to hear from you 
Or leave a link back to your own blog post!

 

Coming Home

{I think, hope, that you will excuse this somewhat stream of conscious style post. 

I decided that raw and honest is the way to go here, rather than polished and reserved.

 I'll fill in the gaps on upcoming posts, pinky promise!} 

It is always interesting to me to see the wax and wane of my writing this blog; the times when I feel drawn to sharing what is happening in my life, and when I do not.

It occurred to me this past few weeks that the periods when I am not writing, sharing and posting are usually because I am not living simply. My days have felt rushed, stress filled, and to be frank, I would not feel authentic posting about living Simply, in the 'Burbs!

This past year has been one of those times. Although there has been so much good (deep, soul nourishing good!) there has also been some dark days, times of anxiety and chaos, both emotionally and within our schedule.

This is not to say that all is now perfect (news flash! Life is not and never will be, I believe, perfect), but I am certainly feeling that I am returning to a place of authenticity, to joy and a stillness that I haven't known for at least a year. It has, in short, felt like coming home.

Ironically, this shift was in large part nudged by a shift in our home education curriculum chooses. After a year or two of a more rigorous, albeit still unschooling-ish, approach, I recognized that my three young children would be best served by a somewhat dreamier, slower paced rhythm. and so, after a three year hiatus, we returned to a more Waldorf based curriculum. It has allowed me to reshape my children's days, and be more honest about what they need, and to let go a little of my own expectations.

That, alongside my own inner work (therapy! yoga! prayer! but more on that another day!) and the courage to be true to my own needs and my authentic self, have been massive game changers this year.

It feels so good to be back. Living our days with a slower pace, with more of an eye to my needs, and those of my family.

So good!