Monday 27 February 2012

Our Days

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Sometimes people ask me what we do all day - how does educating our children ourselves affect our days. It's an odd question; we don't compartmentalise our lives into segments, we just live, together, in everything that we do, as a family. Our days together includes lots of ...


:: Mess, yes there is, I won't lie. Does it drive me batsh*t crazy?? You bet. But I rather like having a house that feels lived in and comfortable rather than a show home that no one feels relaxed in.

:: Enlongated Jimmy Jam mornings in front of the fire. Yep. Guilty as charged. Somedays we don't get out of our PJs til waaaay past 9am. And if it's one of those days, sometimes way past that too. Am I bothered? Not especially. Some days bonding with siblings and inventive play are more important than time-keeping, don't you think?

:: Sit down work. We do that too. I cannot be called a radical unschooler. We split the time into concentrated instruction and free investigation. It's a balance. They follow their interests and are encouraged to do so, but I would be helping no one if they didn't learn to read, write and add up...

:: Lego and construction. Oh yes. We. Have. Le. Go. And the machines they invent - oh my. Watching their imaginations soar is one of the few privileges of being a mother - one of the amazing things about being together as a family. In so many ways our children teach us so much.

:: Tea Breaks. Mini-escape routes in loud, hectic days. Often accompanied by copious amounts of knitting. And chocolate.

:: Inventing - constant inventing, making, designing. Our 'invention' box is full to the brim with egg boxes, cardboard tubes, tin foil and weird odds and ends and bolts and string. And what the mini-man can make with them is nobody's business. Telescopes, guns, computers - things that don't have a name, haven't been invented yet or perhaps are waiting a use... if it can be cut, stuck together with duct tape or hammered into position, they make it.

:: Photography & Art - lots of picture taking in this house. We are bloggers you know!

:: Role Play - astronauts, soldiers, kings, doctors, chefs and everything in-between. It is not unusual to find a leopard-skinned soldier in top hat and fur stole in this house. Sometimes fabric dens are needed. Sometimes my cushions are commandeered for HQ building. Without doubt there are a plethora of gadgets and inventions (see above) included in this play. Again, it's these moments that make the drudgery of mothering all worthwhile.

:: Books. Books, oh the books - everywhere and on every subject under the sun. From astrophysics to gardening, dinosaurs to evolution and everything in between. Scattered over every surface, filling every shelf. We rival only the British Library in our collection, I am quite sure...

:: Warmth and Love, Fights and Forgiveness. Yes. There's lots of that too.


Our days together. Just ordinary, beauiful moments that make up a lifetime of living as a family. Not so different from yours, yes?



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8 comments:

  1. Such beautiful days... May Allah reward you for sharing and encouraging with this wonderful post,

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  2. I love what you are doing and the timelessness of it. I also love the look of bright plastic building blocks against vintage sheets, I was getting out Annie's blocks yesterday and just had to put a quilt down for her to play on to make it look pretty :)

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  3. If you've gotta have bright plastic then at least put them on vintage sheets to even it out ;)

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  4. My eldest is 4 and goes to school and the youngest is 2 and will go to preschool once he is 3. So we are not a home schooling family but your post is so inspiring. I like the way you combine free learning with directed learning, that makes so much sense to me. You inspire me to see myself as my childrens teacher as well as their school.

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  5. I see part of my job as just giving them opportunities, they do the rest, and whether we homeschool or not all parents can can open up whole new worlds to their children every day.... Saying that I've just come back from thrifting so feeling very mellow and all loving. Give me an hour and I'll be wanting to shove them in school too ;)

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  6. ummyaikandlittley2 March 2012 at 14:20

    subhanallah...reading this does make me feel better !
    Jazakallah

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