What are you doing today?
Warning long rambling post!
So as autonomous educators we are often asked what we actually do. Our days are very free flowing and we don’t have set educational days or times, we believe that all of life is an education.
So what have we been doing over the last few days:
Friday Morning – I was working (as was Martin), girls ice-skating, Jonathan playing at a friends.
Friday Afternoon – J and I shopping for his shoe box and discussing the issues behind it – all a new experience for a 5 year old. Played his recorder (he had his first lesson on Wednesday and is very keen) and did lots of very complex playing with his cars – different categories and patterns etc. Bex at Twelfth Night casting with Learning Zone friends , Ruth at friends apparently doing role play with spaghetti!!!!
Friday Evening – All at Sausage Sizzler at a friends with lots of other Zoney friends. Sausages, sparklers and lots of fun. Then committee meeting, kids watching a video, eating popcorn, playing on trampoline in the dark, hair styling, chatting, playing trains and more (it was a long meeting and I yacked afterwards too!).
Saturday Morning – Ruth at Music, Bex and I discussing values in our lives while waiting for her, J looking at Where’s Wally and working on his dinosaur project. Failed shopping at Lidl-looking for a wooden recorder for J.
Saturday Afternoon – Bex gets bus to drama, Jonathan and Ruth watch Bob the builder (everyone is tired as we didn’t get back from the committee meeting until about 11.30). Ruth paints her pottery (in style of Moore) J plays his recorder and plays with his cars. Discussion about what a war is, what a world war is and which countries were involved in WW 2. Used the lovely new history book we have bought and also the globe. Then we collect Bex from drama.
Saturday Evening – Finally got a free pizza from Pizza Hut (see Martin’s blog for details) and came home to watch Top Gear together. We usually watch on a Sunday night but last Sunday we went to a church cafe night and we haven’t had any time we can all watch together – it’s our tradition to watch it, which I think is quite important as we don’t do much TV watching together or indeed have many regular traditions.
Sunday Morning – Family splits up as I go off to Gospel Choir
at a little Anglican church in Chale and rest of the family are off to COTR as usual. I should point out that before I went to church I’d cycled to Cowes and back, made a batch of scones and everyone a bacon sarnie – I feel very virtuous – polishes halo!
Sunday Afternoon – very very quick lunch followed by a walk, with friends, round the castle and Mount Joy. Ticked another tree off our Autumn Watch list, discussed graves and grave yards, yew trees, grave stones and bad driving!
Sunday Evening – The girls and I went to see a musical, Jailbreak, at a local church and Jonathan listed to story tapes. Dutch style pancakes for tea – yummy! and watching Top Gear at it’s proper time – lots of discussion as it was one of their specials, in this one they traipsed across Africa in completely unsuitable cars!
Monday Morning – All (except Martin who eventually went to work!) did some tidying up and playing. Next a trip to the shops for general shopping and to fill the girls shoe boxes. Bought a can of soup and we all declared that home made is so much better!
Monday afternoon – Bex has been making banana muffins while the others paint and we all listen to the last few episodes of a Christmas Carol – listening again on BBC schools radio. We’ve also listened to a poetry program and talked about it. Rebekah and I had a go at cinder toffee but it was too sticky, we’ll have another go later in the week.
Is this representative of our lives – well yes and no. Everyday is very different for us, the subjects that we talk about vary with the children’s interests and who and what is around us. I would say this gives a flavour of what we do, no more.
Now the paints have been packed away the dishes done and the muffins ready. I think it’s time for a nice cup of Earl Grey and a banana muffin. I love home education!
