Playing it by Ear and Acting Like I Know What I'm Doing

This is repost of a blog I wrote last year. It gives a little overview of our "unschooling" and how we try to incorporate learning every day activities. Our "school days" are constantly changing and evolving and will take on a little more structure once we start back up this fall with our oldest beginning 1st grade.

Painting by Charles Lucy "Sunshine Hours"

 

 Isn't this picture lovely? This may or may not be how I envisioned our homeschooling days looking.  You know, back in my youth, whilst I sat and daydreamed of when "one day" came and I had my own precious brood of little darlings. I can still remember how my mind used to wander....
 Classical music playing softly in the background. Teas at 3 o'clock every afternoon--with lovely teacups, of course. Happy little chit-chat with my girls.
 "Please, Mommy, just one more chapter?"
 "Mommy, may sister and I go play with our dollies now?"
"Shall we go tidy up the playroom now?" "Oh, do let's!"

Oh how idealistic I was! Let's all just have a good laugh for a minute. I think I got that from ready one too many Victorian-era books.
  How my homeschooling days actually look (and we are only in Pre-K!) are anything but the peaceful and idyllic scenes I'd envisaged for myself.
 Most days at my house are utter chaos. We've tried to only do school when the baby is down for a nap--otherwise the crayons and counting beans are in danger of being eaten by him. We don't always do "school" (worksheets and handwriting) our four planned days in the week, but we always are learning something. I'm pretty laid back on my approach to what counts as "school," especially since my littles are still so very young.
I try to implement the concepts we are learning in practical, hands-on ways everyday. We talk about letters and what they say everyday--"T is for train. What other words start with T?" We try to find new letters we are learning when we leave the house. (My 3 year old is convinced that Kroger is her store, because it starts with a K like her name.) We count constantly. I'll ask my 4 year old to bring me 6 flowers from the back yard or ask her to pick up 5 toys. The other day she proudly carried in a bucket full of sticks and told me that she found 12 sticks. I was doubtful because I didn't think that she grasped the concept of "12" and gets a little lost after 10. But lo and behold, she counted them out for me and she had indeed picked up 12 sticks.
 My little people LOVE books and have since they were very small. I have recently started purchasing audio books for them through Audible and let them listen for a little while whilst they fall asleep at night. The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne is the current favorite. I've lost count of how many times they've gone through it. We have also enjoyed Beatrix Potter stories, and a few others.
 We do little mini "unit studies" about the things around us--flowers, birds, bugs, etc.
 I am very inspired by and aspire to the Charlotte Mason method of teaching.  A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola is a great book to start with if you are interested in learning more about it.
  One thing I am excited about as I begin my journey as a homeschool mom is the freedom that I will have to tailor each of my children's educational experiences to their needs. I know it's going to be an ever-evolving and changing process. It's daunting and scary and overwhelming and exciting all at the same time. I'll try to share the things I'm learning and things we enjoy as we go along.
Thanks for stopping by!