There are lots of styles of schooling that have labels and names and rules and quite frankly I have no idea which one of them we ‘do’
I actually believe if we took the rules out of education more families would see that they too have the power and the choice to choose the best fit for their family.
What we do daily is ‘wing it’ and allow whatever unfolds to unfold letting the kids take the lead.
A lot of the time I’m working and the kids are beside me or near me free playing.
They could be creating, reading, drawing, writing, cooking, discovering or learning the art of negotiation by fighting
Other times we are unpacking a resource ready made for us like kiwi co STEM learning boxes, HIPPY programs and workbooks the kids have found in shops they thought they might like. There’s no designated time to do these. It’s if they ask.
Each night we are reading, doing audio books or guided meditations. Sometimes they’d rather write or colour or draw or puzzle to wind down. That’s cool too.
We sing, dance, play with instruments just for fun. I trust if they ever wanted to learn music they will ask for more instruction. Kids I find are phenomenal at asking to try new things that interest them if the answer is usually yes.
Rarely they play on apps like reading eggs, mathematics, minecraft and Artventure simply because they are still so little and their minds are better served in imagination and exploring that instant hits of gratification. But believe me given the choice they’d play on them all day. Apps are reward time for us. A privilege not a right and I don’t believe they’ll be behind in the tech age because of it. They are super savvy at figuring things and playing apps is not actually an IT skill set. When we create PowerPoints and photo books and Canva birthday invites and wish lists that’s upskilling.
We attend catch ups with other families exploring new places each time.
The girls attend some lessons at the local school- the hands on stuff and have some lunch times there to play with their friends.
They come into appointments, mail, shopping and help me when we have things to order online. They watch on me on phone calls, zoom calls, making videos and monkey see monkey do.
They get to see all my emotions because I’m not a rock. I can’t do all day long emotionless and I think that’s ridiculously unhealthy to role model anyway.
We take more holidays than most.
For us our schooling is just life.
Choice, freedom, winging it and allowing the kids to have a say about what’s actually important to them.
There’s no rules about what they MUST learn.
Just a trust that they will learn what they want and need to because they are taking the lead.
But don’t be fooled by my confidence on here.
I absolutely doubt myself constantly.
Bucking trends is hard.
Even when there’s a deep innate knowing that my kids are thriving like this.
That Cobi learnt to read self taught at her time.
That Mila just decided today that she was going to hang around for a maths lesson because she actually really enjoyed the company of her peers today – something we have allowed her the space and gentle encouragement to work out on her own. (She was wearing In Tune today….. coincidence? Maybe)
It’s this winging it schooling lifestyle that has me saying yes as often as I can and getting to witness how awe inspiring it is how children just naturally learn.
It doesn’t take a special kind of person to try a new method of education for your child.
It just takes a willingness to trust that they actually know how to learn when given the freedom to do so.
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