When I was first worried obsessing planning thinking about homeschooling I stumbled upon an author who spoke so beautifully and intelligently about her experience. I devoured everything she ever wrote and decided she was the coolest woman in the world. (She will be sweetly embarrassed when she reads that!)
Her name is Melissa Wiley, the published author of wonderful children's books, and she writes a wonderful blog called Here in the Bonny Glen. Over time I have come to consider her a friend. Isn't the Internet wonderful? When I sheepishly asked if I could feature her work here at Homeschool Hacks, she graciously agreed. (I told you she was lovely!)
This is the first of many of her insights I will be featuring here at Homeschool Hacks. I am sure you will learn from and enjoy her perspective as much as I have.
"People often ask me what kind of homeschoolers we are: Classical? Charlotte Mason? Eclectic? Delight-Directed? Unschoolers? How, they want to know, does learning happen in our home? Am I in charge, or do I let the kids lead the way? And what about math?…
…I call us "Tidal Learners" because the ways in which we approach education here change with the tide. Now, this doesn't mean that we're flighty or inconsistent, changing direction haphazardly. We aren't Fiddler Crab Homeschoolers. What I mean is that there is a rhythm to the way learning happens here; there are upbeats and downbeats; there is an ebb and flow.
We have high tide times when I charter a boat and we set sail with purpose and direction, deliberately casting our net for a particular type of fish. On these excursions I am the captain; I have charted the course. But the children are eager crew members because they know I value their contributions. And also I provide generous rations. No stale or moldy bread on this ship: no dull textbooks, no dry workbooks. My sailors sink their teeth into fresh, hearty bread slathered with rich butter and tart-sweet jam. Well fed and proud of their work, my little crew exhilarates in the voyage. Every journey is an adventure.
And we have low tide times when we amble along the shore, peering into tide pools and digging in the sand, or just relaxing under beach umbrella. The children wander off in directions of their own choosing; they dig and poke and ponder. One of them may crouch over a rock pool and stay there for days, studying, watching. Another will run headlong into the waves, thrilling to the pull on her legs, splashing, leaping, diving under and emerging triumphantly farther out. Or a child might prefer to stay close by my side, drawing stick pictures in the sand or building a castle. All of these things may be happening at once. Sometimes it looks as though nothing is happening: there's just an array of bodies on beach towels. But oh, the nourishment there is in a time of quiet reflection while the soul soaks up the sunlight!…"
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wow
i've been researching homeschooling and looking at all the paths to wonder down, but the way it is described here is how i would like it to be. thanks for putting it so well into perspective.
thanks for the reply. happy to say i have found homeschoolhacks forum and i am a member!! i'm having great fun chatting:)