Little Women and Read Aloud Pleasures

We have quite a number of books on the go, at the moment, and, last night, we were unable to resist the temptation to start another one for our bedtime reading. Until now, we have usually read only a couple at a time, as I didn't trust that we would finish them, if we got too ambitious. Sometimes, our commitment to a book would wane too soon, and I actually thought that I didn't like reading aloud! I've read a lot to the children, over the years - we've had a few lean times but, after looking back, I was amazed by just how much we have read together. I think it has, sometimes, seemed like a chore because there were times when I was reading schoolish-type books while, at the same while, trying to pacify a baby or a toddler. There was pressure, in those days, to get through the reading so that we could tick off our schedule for the day.

These days, there is no such pressure. We are reading purely for enjoyment and we're loving it! Even Bethany, who always seemed to have better things to do, now looks forward to our reading times together.

So, with a renewed enthusiasm for good literature, we have plunged ourselves into the world of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy of 'Little Women.' After reading the first chapter, a few thoughts have come to mind. First of all, the story seems very different to me, now, to when I read it as a 12 year old child. I'm reading much more into the storyline and the characters, this time around, and the Protestant flavour of the book is much clearer to me, now.

For instance, Jo's great regret at being born as a woman probably seemed to be a quirky, tomboyish whim, when I read the book for the first time. Now, as a mature woman and a Catholic convert, it seems bizarre and unsavoury. Bethany, also, found this distasteful. Having read about the author's personal preferences, in this regard, I didn't pursue this branch of our conversation but made a mental note to remember this fact as the story unfolds. I want the children to enjoy the story in it's simplicity, with innocence, but I don't want subtle messages to mislead them. From memory, I think that Jo turns from tomboy into independent woman - nothing controversial there, but I think it will probably lead to a discussion about the traditional roles of men and women.

The Protestantism of the book is apparent, in the first chapter, when the girls plan to play the game of 'Pilgrim's Progress.' A lot of emphasis is placed upon doing one's duty and the girls are inspired to examine their consciences, with the intention of self-improvement. It struck me that their view of God was quite different to our own. No mention was made of the sacraments, and the responsibility for spiritual progress seemed to be theirs alone. They seemed to set high standards for themselves, which is itself honourable, but, without mention of The Blessed Sacrament or confession, the quest for personal improvement seemed to me to be a vanity which lacked humility. However, this was just a personal opinion, an impression which may be judgmental in nature, so we didn't enter into discussion on this issue. Once again, I'll keep this thought in mind, as we progress through the book, with the possibility of an apologetics discussion, later on, if it seems appropriate.

Despite these thoughts, we are enjoying this story so very much. I love the homeschool atmosphere of this family, with their lively minds, noble natures and imaginative occupations. I really hope this book, and others like it, will inspire our children to think creatively and follow creative pursuits, also. The very loving, but human, hearts of this family warm our own hearts, and the caring, attentive mother is an inspiration. I expect to find differences of opinion and outlook to that of the author, but I think this will only serve to promote profitable discussion, rather than spoil this heart-warming story, with it's beautiful sentiments.

Practical Maths Skills Page

1. Shrewd Shopping, Budgets and Money Matters
2. Unschooling Maths - Creative Questioning and Following the Creator

Shrewd Shopping, Budgets and Real Life Money Matters

One of my first impressions of homeschooling was that learning at home must limit a child's real world experiences. I mean, how can children learn about the big world, when they are closeted at home, with their only influences being of the domestic kind? It didn't take much pondering to realize that a housewife's influence is very extensive, indeed!

Take money, for example. Our children could learn the technical skills of money management from the pages of a Maths textbook and, then, attempt (probably, with varying levels of success) to make their learning relevant to real world situations. Or, they can be encouraged to participate in the day-to-day tasks of household management (which, let's face it - are considerable) and, at the same time, acquire a host of different abilities, including financial expertise.


For some time now, all of our children have had their own bank accounts and some of them have proved to be better at saving than others. Jordy, for example, is an excellent saver. (Though, that could have something to do with the fact that, at just 21 months old, he hasn't yet mastered the skill of withdrawing money...).

Bethany, at 10, has discovered that she can save quite a worthy pile of money by doing paid chores and saving her pocket money. She has clear goals in mind and has gained some understanding of the effort and patience required to save up for something special. This has, also, taught her the value of money and material possessions. She has learnt that anything worthwhile must be earnt and paid for, sometimes with great effort, and this is teaching her a work ethic.


But, mistakes are, also, useful learning experiences. Cameron has had several disappointments regarding his past spending decisions. This has taught him to be very careful with his money, now - the result being that he is very sensible about how he manages the earnings from his part-time job.

Adam has, also, learnt from past mistakes. He has discovered that money can be easily and quickly spent, but, sadly, the interest value of his purchases can too often be short-lived. When the novelty of a new possession is over before the memory of the monetary sacrifice has faded, one tends to develop a philosophical and detached attitude towards money and material acquisitions - as Adam has done.


Involvement in household shopping has been another learning tool for our children. It's been our experience that delegating certain tasks to the children can be convenient while, at the same time, developing their social confidence and a range of different life skills. This is why I often encourage the children to shop, unaided, for our daily grocery needs. By doing this, they have learnt, among other things, how to calculate a best value item and how to budget wisely. In addition, they, now, know how to use self-serve checkouts, find out information and how to use this knowledge to make sensible decisions.

It seems to me that money management skills can be learnt in very natural ways. From pre-school games -involving toy money, plastic groceries and cash registers - to real life money management situations, there are countless means of becoming proficient at pecuniary affairs in a practical and effective manner, at home. Our experience has been that children will learn the skills necessary for functioning in the outside world, if we entrust to them, at a young age, many of the real world problems which we encounter, on a daily basis.

Financial Skills Page

1. Shrewd Shopping, Budgets and Money Matters

Mapping with Google

We are going on holidays! All ten of us! This will be our first holiday for over 8 years and the first time ever that our whole family has been away together. Naturally, we are all excited and the children have started making plans and doing a mental pack, already.

After booking the accommodation online, everyone wanted to see the photos of the house where we'll be staying, and that led to the children checking out the sleeping arrangements, choosing beds and identifying their roommates. It was discovered that two of the boys would have to share a double bed. This wasn't welcome news for Adam who, being a middle child, was destined to be one of the co-sleepers. But, compromises are easier to make in new surroundings and an agreement was reached without too much fuss. Surprisingly, Megan found that she could be perfectly happy sharing with her three sisters, once the prospect of sharing with three of her brothers was proposed as the sole alternative!

Once the all-important bedroom arrangements were settled, Adam turned his attention to his holiday itinerary. Using the new iPad, he clicked onto Google maps and explored a map of the area. He investigated the route from our house to the holiday location and worked out how long the journey would take, using the app. He, also, checked out the facilities, within walking distance of the holiday house, and discovered that he could walk to the beach, a park, the general store and some tennis courts. Now, we are deciding what we will need to take with us to take advantage of all that we can do, while we are there.

The Google maps app is a useful tool for learning and, also, for practical use. With the wireless Internet connected, we'll use the app as a GPS to, hopefully, get us to our destination, without our normal U-turns and backtracks. Map reading skills have been sadly lacking in our family, in the past. It is quite normal for the designated map reader to indicate a turn, 30 seconds after passing the turn-off point, and it has even been known for us to travel for extended periods, without the slightest clue as to which page of the map we are traveling on. The worst of these experiences occurred during one of our previous holidays, when I was the chief map reader. We traveled for 45 minutes, with me desperately trying to appear in control of the situation while, all the time, we could have been in another state for all I knew. Eventually, we ended up full circle and I recognised the road we had journeyed on, nearly an hour earlier. I breathed a sigh of relief, told my poor husband that we were nearly there and re-established our position on the state's roads. To this day, I am not proud of my awful deceit and the fact that Andy still thinks that the holiday we chose was actually a lot further away than he'd estimated, but we did maintain a peaceful start to our holiday and that's something not to be taken for granted!

This holidays, armed with our newly-acquired Google map skills, we should avoid all possibility of getting lost or inadvertantly taking the 'scenic' route. There are some instances where technology is more reliable than the human brain and, with our spaghetti map brains, I think this journey may be one of them.

Mapping Page

1. Mapping with Google
2. Conceited Beauty and Fairytales - The Hemispheres, Europe and Denmark

Geography Board Games and Interactive Computer Games

Throughout our years of homeschooling, we have found games to be a useful and fun learning tool - especially for those areas which require memory work. Geography is one such area. Rather than use drilling, testing or worksheets, we have played board games and interactive computer games to help us to memorise the countries of the world.

The iPad has some simple, but fun apps, which the younger children are using, at the moment. It works by way of a quiz, to teach the location of the countries on the world map, and it's proving quite effective as a memory booster.

Some of our favourite geography board games include the '10 Days' series from 'Out-of-the-Box' games. The winner of these games is the first person to secure the correct cards for a 10 day trip through the relevant continent. So far, we have four games of the series, covering Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.  An Australian Road Trip game and a world travel game, called 'Getaway', are other games which have provided a fun means of learning geographical facts.

Though the games are effective in learning the hard facts of geographical knowledge, it is our living books and DVDs which provide the real interest. Novels about people of foreign lands, geographical magazines, travel DVDs and movies add relevance to the facts learnt and enrich their learning in this area.

Geography Games Page

1. Geography Board Games and Interactive Computer Games

Unschooling Languages

The study of foreign languages is a requirement of the Board of Studies for our high school children. But, like many others, we already have a natural interest in languages, which stems from our curiosity of the world and it's people. I would encourage our children in this study, regardless of the regulations which we observe.

Our older children have all studied Latin and a couple of them have learnt a fair bit of Greek. There are good reasons for learning these ancient languages, despite the fact that Latin, in particular, is seen as a dead language, these days. Many modern day languages (the Romance languages) have their roots in Latin, including our own, and the study of Latin increases our understanding of grammar, the extent of our vocabulary and our awareness of our heritage. Greek, also, forms a part of our cultural past. Our political system and our knowledge of the arts, philosophy and science owe a lot to the ancient Greeks, who paved the way for our own advancement. English is made up of many foreign words which are reflective of our political, economic, social and cultural history; and both Latin and Greek figure prominently among these.

With our discovery of unschooling methods, our teaching of the languages has taken on a new perspective. No longer do we see any advantage in compelling our children to study a language which holds no interest for them. Still, we would like them to discover a natural interest, so we encourage their curiosity. It is our goal to follow their interests, rather than compel any learning which seems unnatural or uninteresting to them, and this means that the approach we use must appeal to them.

At the moment, Cameron is choosing to study Latin, using the Cambridge Latin Course, in both the book and online versions. Adam is interested in learning Spanish and Bethany has been attempting to study French. Of course, the most natural and the easiest way to learn a second language is to immerse oneself in it, if not by foreign travel, then, at least, by seeking the company of people who speak the language fluently. Unfortunately, neither option is open to us, right now, so we have looked to the experience of others for guidance.

Charlotte Mason was a great believer in copywork, as a tool for learning, and this she extended to the study of languages. I have read case studies of people who have become fluent in another language by simply translating entire books, with a dictionary in hand. I'm not sure how they dealt with pronunciation and oral skills, but the method appears logical and free from those over-teaching practices, which distract and kill both curiosity and enthusiasm.

With this in mind and our unappealing French texts lying abandoned on our bookshelves, I decided to seek out some fun, French reading for Bethany to use in her learning. During my surfing of the Internet, I came across a site which contains free French ebooks of familiar stories. These are available in several different formats and I found it took only a couple of clicks to download a copy to my iPad library. At this stage, I'm thinking that French may be best learnt in a similar fashion to the way our youngsters learn to read English. Simple words and interesting, but familiar, stories are found in Aesop's Fables, so this is the book I chose to read.

The next stage was to find a solution to the oral problem. With no native French person on hand to assist, the most practical solution may be to watch French television and movies, in order to hear the spoken language and learn how to speak it. I discovered that SBS television airs French news, at 10.20am each day of the week, but this would only be suitable for the older children. Youtube may be a better source of resources, for the younger ones, as it contains a variety of French videos from demonstrations of simple vocabulary practice  to movies and movie clips. For the little ones, some French children's shows have subtitles and others are translations of familiar programs, though it seems that it is necessary to subscribe to access the full versions of some of these. My research, also, led me to a French language site which contains advice and information, including descriptions of French movies and how to use them to aid learning.

Considering that infants learn to speak English by listening to those around them, for months before they utter their first word, this approach may provide a useful start to language learning. As we feel our way, it will be interesting to see whether the absence of personal interaction influences their ability to understand what they hear.

All this pondering has meant that, for our middle children, the study of languages is at an experimental stage, right now. Buoyed by the success of our unschooling, we are quite keen to avoid the tedium of traditional textbooks and structured learning methods, in favour of a fun, child-led program of discovery and exploration. As always, it is our aim to satisfy their curiosity and excite their interest, rather than extinguish the flame of enthusiasm while it is still flickering in the breeze.

Latin Page

1. Unschooling Languages

Greek Page

1. Unschooling Languages

French Page

1. Unschooling Languages
2. French and Spanish Progress - Does Unschooling Work?

Pumping Water with Gremlins

It's official - my children are little gremlins!

They started out as sweet angels, when we went out this morning, but, then, I made a serious error. While doing our weekly shop at Aldi, Joel spied some rather interesting science experiments and decided that he would like one of these, instead of the tictacs that he was already clutching in his hands. Being the sort of mother who'd rather spend $10 on an educational toy than $100 on fillings for their teeth, I said, 'Yes, darling, of course you can' (in my sweetest, 'We're in public, darlings!' voice) and, so, we plodded off home with a plastic pump to construct and learn from.

You would think that, after 20 years of mothering, I would have learnt something useful by now, would you? But, no. I sensibly avoided the boxes of noisy electrical experiments and the ones that needed too much supervising and, also, the ones with lots of messy, little pieces that get lost or swallowed by adventurous toddlers - but, I foolishly chose a toy with water. Well, as I've already said, my children are gremlins. It took all of 2 minutes for them to discover that the pump could spray with such force as to drench our lounge, carpet and walls, while having the added benefit of inducing screams of indignation from their older siblings and squeals of delight from the younger ones. Chaos reigned and noise levels began to resemble take-off time at Sydney Airport.

Oops! Somehow, I got caught up in all the revelry, when taking this picture!

But, the scientific learning from all this play was considerable! Our young scientists learnt what mixes well with water and what doesn't - ie. younger siblings do and older siblings don't...

Practical Science Skills Page

1. Pumping Water with Gremlins
2. Kite Flying - A Science Lesson
3. Kites - Lessons in Science and Responsibility
4. Kiting with Wisdom
5. Soup Flavoured Milkshake
6. Making Soap
7. Homemade Soap, Pasta and What Else Could We Make?

Ashboy - Shakespeare's Storybook

'Ashboy' formed one of the inspirations for Shakespeare's most famous play, 'Hamlet.' It, in its turn, is thought to be based on an old Viking tale, which Shakespeare believed to be true. These tales tell the story of a young prince, who discovers that his uncle has murdered his father, in order to marry his brother's wife and take over his kingdom. There are similarities between the story of Hamlet/Ashboy and that of Cinderella. Both stories focus on a stepchild who loses the status of king's child and finds their life threatened or reduced to the position of servant. In this story, Shakespeare changes the happy ending, turning the play into a tragedy. This is in contrast to 'The Merchant of Venice', where he substituted the sad finish for a happy-ever-after finale.

In the Danish story, the hero was called Amlethi. Shakespeare anglicized this name by changing it to Hamlet. Some people think he chose this name in memory of his dead son, Hamnet, and that the play was written with his son and his recently deceased father in mind. The prevailing economic and social conditions may, also, have influenced his storyline. There was widespread famine in England, at the time, and, with Elizabeth I nearing the end of her life, people were losing confidence in their current ruler and fearful of what they would face with the next one.

The young prince, in 'Ashboy', is portrayed as a simpleton, whose quiet wisdom goes unnoticed by those around him. Like Hamlet, he discovers that his father has been murdered by his uncle and his mother is, not only his uncle's new wife, but also his accomplice in the evil plot. When his uncle realises that the boy knows his dark secret, he sends Ashboy to his would-be wife's father, with a sealed note. He tells Ashboy that the note commands the other king to send him on adventures, which will prove his worthiness to marry his daughter. Ashboy, naively, believes him. In reality, the note commands the king to kill the bearer of the note. Luckily, for Ashboy, the note is discovered by pirates, after he is shipwrecked. Moved by compassion, they decide not to rob the boy, after all, and they exchange the note for one which requests the marriage of Ashboy to the princess. Thus, the marriage takes place and the young couple, subsequently, return to Ashboy's home to defeat his uncle in battle and reclaim the kingdom as their own.

The story of Ashboy contains many elements of luck. In particular, the pirates' intervention and Ashboy's rescue are due more to unbelievably good luck than to any wisdom or effort on Ashboy's part. Hamlet, by contrast, is responsible for his own fate. It is his decisions and reactions which determine the unhappy ending in Shakespeare's play. Unlike Ashboy, Hamlet is not considered a fool. He pretends to go mad, but he is not generally thought to be a simpleton. Shakespeare's tragedy is the more gloomy on all counts. The storyline is dismal and the character of the prince is complex and moody. Despite his sorrow, Ashboy is a sunnier personality, who makes a place for himself as court jester. The contrast between the good and bad characters is more clearcut in 'Ashboy', although, like Hamlet, Ashboy desires revenge.

Because the lines between good and bad were clearly defined, the discussion which followed our reading was simpler and our conclusions were reached more readily. The evil natures of the prince's uncle and his mother were evident from their barbaric killing of his father and their plot to kill Ashboy. In contrast, Ashboy was a symbol of innocence and goodness. He was a victim, whose simple nature meant that he trusted his uncle when he was given the sealed note, expecting goodness from him, despite the evil which he had displayed, in the past. However, Ashboy's desire for revenge is not so noble. It is motivated by the urgings of his sensible and worthy wife, and, thus, may not be evidence of his vengeful nature. Furthermore, the battle to regain his kingdom, could be seen as a legitimate fight for justice and an honourable attempt to protect his people from a ruthless ruler.

Like the other tales in Shakespeare's Storybook, this fairytale gave us much to ponder about human nature and virtuous decision-making. The moral of this particular tale appears to be, simply, that crime does not pay. In 'Hamlet', there is no such simplicity. Good and evil are intertwined and the complexities of human nature are explored in a manner which brings into doubt the responsibility of the main character for his actions. As with all of Shakespeare's plays, the younger children will understand the nuances of this play on a limited level. Later on, the discussion will probably develop and expand to enable the debate of complex issues which, as yet, appear black and white to the younger minds.

A Bargain is a Bargain - Shakespeare's Storybook

Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice' was written between 1596 and 1598. It was based on two different folk tales, one of which was an early variant of 'The Princess and the Pea.' This old tale tells the story of three caskets, a tale which is repeated in Shakespeare's play. The other tale contains the theme of a pound of flesh, and the oldest version of this story provided the inspiration for 'A Bargain is a Bargain.'

Some aspects of 'The Merchant of Venice' may, also, have been inspired by true events which occurred in Shakespeare's lifetime. One such incident took place between a Jewish merchant and a bishop. The two wagered a bet, the loss of which demanded the payment of a pound of flesh. It was only the Pope's intervention which saved the merchant from having to part with his flesh, when he lost the bet. In Shakespeare's story, and others of the time, it is the Jew who demands this gruesome payment, since Christians were not permitted to lend money. Money lenders were not popular and this may be another reason for portraying the character as Jewish.

'A Bargain is a Bargain' tells the story of a younger son who squanders his share of his father's fortune. He is, ultimately, left to live as a beggar, while his older brother refuses to help him. When the younger man falls in love with a duke's daughter, he borrows money from his brother to enable him to present himself richly before the young woman. The penalty for failing to repay the loan is to be the payment of a pound of flesh.

From this point, the tale mirrors that of Shakespeare's play. The younger brother wins the girl's hand in marriage, by choosing the casket which holds the prize worth having, and, in return, she gives him a precious ring. This ring he must never part with or he will lose his prize. As in 'The Merchant of Venice', the man ends up in court, when he can't repay his brother's money. His young lady defends his case, in disguise, and she, herself, demands payment from him, in the form of his ring. Sadly, he hands over the ring, not realizing that the lawyer is his fiance, and he loses her forever - though, he has, at least, saved his own life. Shakespeare's play ends more happily, with the girl forgiving the young brother for parting with the ring.

There was much to discuss in this story. Firstly, the prize worth having, in the caskets, was not made of gold or silver,  but of wood. This led to a discussion about the superficiality of material riches and the worthiness of principles and immaterial values. We, also, talked about the ethics of betting and winning money for which we don't work. The girls agreed that earnt rewards hold more real value.

In addition to this, we discussed the behaviour of the young girl. She deceived her fiance by disguising herself as his lawyer, in order to test him. She, also, refused to forgive his 'betrayal', after he used the ring to pay his debts. We decided that her dishonest and unforgiving behaviour was unchristian. We thought the young man's extravagant lifestyle was sinful and greedy, but we, also, thought that his happy acceptance of his subsequent poverty was a commendable character trait, which may have had its roots in a spiritual conversion. When we discussed the young man's decision to pay his debts with the ring, we felt divided. On the one hand, the brother did the honourable thing to pay his debt but, at the same time, he broke his promise to his fiance. Yet, was she entitled to demand that promise of him and, likewise, was he entitled to make a promise that was, possibly, incapable of standing? It may require another court case to determine the rights and wrongs of this issue!

A more obvious wrong-doing was that of the older brother who, not only acted uncharitably when he refused to welcome home his destitute brother, but also sought revenge for the non-payment of his debt. His demands were so gruesome and his actions so extreme that we felt they could only have been borne of hatred. Similarly, though to a lesser extent, we wondered whether the young woman's failure to forgive, also, contained a desire for revenge. Did she feel betrayed when her fiance relinquished her ring so readily and did this give rise to her demand for retribution? Or, was she justified in seeing the ring as a symbol of their love? Was the young man's desire to save his life, at the expense of the ring, an indication that he loved his own life more than that of his fiance?

There were many similarities between 'A Bargain is a Bargain' and 'The Merchant of Venice' but there were some differences, too. The biggest difference was, possibly, contained in the ending, with Shakespeare providing a happier finish to the tale. There was much to discuss in the story and we, by no means, exhausted the possibiliities. We have studied the play before, with the older children, but, with its vast array of topics for discussion, I expect we will view it with fresh eyes, when we tackle it again with the younger ones.

Physical Fitness Page

1. Exercise and Technology - Finding a Balance
2. Unschooling Swimming Lessons and Poetry

Exercise and Technology - Finding a Balance

As homeschoolers, we can either view modern technology as a cultural curse or exploit it for the opportunities it offers in terms of convenience and creative possibilities. Our family has chosen the latter course. 

For the first five years of homeschooling, our house was computer-free. During that time, we did a relaxed type of school-at-home with formal lessons, exercise books and a whiteboard. Then, in 2000, we acquired our first computer - with dial-up Internet - and a whole new world of learning opened up for us. Record-keeping, research, arts, crafts, maths, social networking, writing, social studies, etc, etc - the computer has been used for all of this and more. The children still learn traditional skills, such as handwriting and home crafts, but technology has added an extra dimension to their studies.

 As advances in technology have continued at a dizzying rate, our technological tools and projects have, likewise, evolved, over the years. In the beginning, we shared one computer which was set up, in our study area, with a printer and scanner. It was a precious resource and we took turns to play on it. These days, a computer is viewed more as a necessity and the children have a number of netbooks between them. No longer restrained by location, our computers are portable and now, with our iPad, they are even motion responsive. This has changed, yet again, how we use them and what we are able to use them for. A whole new array of iPad apps, ebooks and technological mobility is, now, within our realm.

But, the downside of all this technology is the sedentary lifestyle which can result from living life in the cyberworld. For some people, this can be a huge problem. Obesity, social regression and technological dependency are modern day issues which we are keen to avoid. However, by maintaining a balanced lifestyle, I don't think that it is really too difficult to find a healthy equilibrium.

The motto 'all things in moderation' tends to promote a variety in life, whereby physical activities provide the antidote to our increasingly technological lifestyle. Like the children of our grandparents' era, our children, also, ride their bikes, skip with a rope, swim all summer long, play backyard ball games and, in some seasons, participate in team sports. But, physical activity doesn't always mean sports. Gardening, beach trips, nature walks and, even, household chores provide opportunities for physical exertion which, in addition to being personally satisfying, have the added benefit of bringing our technological interests into perspective and enable us to avoid passivity and sloth.

 So, I guess my ponderings lead me to marvel at the world of new opportunities which modern technology opens up for us, while, at the same time, we continue to enjoy more traditional pursuits - that is, pursuits which bond us to our cultural heritage and ground us in more energetic habits which are, themselves, essential to a healthy spiritual and physical lifestyle.  

'Teddy Bear' by A.A. Milne or Incidental Exercising

For me, poetry and music have the ability to brighten my mood, make me feel nostalgic and raise my soul towards Heaven - and, I suspect that many other people feel this, too. However, I, also, think that the arts can mean very different things to different people. This is, probably, why we have chosen to read poetry and listen to music without the structure of a formal learning program. This sort of unschooling can seem a bit risky but, if I had wanted proof of whether our approach was effective, I think it has been confirmed to me, recently, by our recollection of family favourites, during special moments of sharing between us.
 
This morning, the rabbit trail of poetic memories was inspired by our grubby-faced toddler, who had just licked out a bowl of chocolate frosting. Our first reaction, as he toddled from person to person, plastered with chocolate, was to jump out of the way of contamination from those sweet and sticky mits. None of us desired even the smallest share of his tasty goo! Poor, little Jordy - he just can't understand the conditional type of love, which objects to being smeared and stained with his cullinary 'gifts.' So, pretty soon, I had to put all thought of self-protection aside and submit to his need for maternal reassurance. However, as I was jumping and skipping circles around the kitchen, it occurred to me that mucky infants make for good exercise. Who needs to pay exhorbitant fees at the gym when a sticky spoon and a toddler with a sweet tooth provide more than adequate exercise?! At this point in my musings, Bethany and I together began to recite the words of one of our favourite poems, 'Teddy Bear' by A.A. Milne.

Here it is:

Teddy Bear
A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at;
He gets what exercise he can
By falling off the ottoman,
But generally seems to lack
The energy to clamber back.

Now tubbiness is just the thing
Which gets a fellow wondering;
And Teddy worried lots about
The fact that he was rather stout.
He thought: "If only I were thin!
But how does anyone begin?"
He thought: "It really isn't fair
To grudge one exercise and air."

For many weeks he pressed in vain
His nose against the window-pane,
And envied those who walked about
Reducing their unwanted stout.
None of the people he could see
"Is quite" (he said) "as fat as me!"
Then, with a still more moving sigh,
"I mean" (he said) "as fat as I!

Now Teddy, as was only right,
Slept in the ottoman at night,
And with him crowded in as well
More animals than I can tell;
Not only these, but books and things,
Such as a kind relation brings -
Old tales of "Once upon a time,"
And history retold in rhyme.

One night it happened that he took
A peep at an old picture-book,
Wherein he came across by chance
The picture of a King of France
(A stoutish man) and, down below,
These words: "King Louis So and So,
Nicknamed 'The Handsome!'" There he sat,
And (think of it!) the man was fat!

Our bear rejoiced like anything
To read about this famous King,
Nicknamed "The Handsome." There he sat,
And certainly the man was fat.
Nicknamed "The Handsome." Not a doubt
The man was definitely stout.
Why then, a bear (for all his tub )
Might yet be named "The Handsome Cub!"

"Might yet be named." Or did he mean
That years ago he "might have been"?
For now he felt a slight misgiving:
"Is Louis So and So still living?
Fashions in beauty have a way
Of altering from day to day.
Is 'Handsome Louis' with us yet?
Unfortunately I forget."

Next morning (nose to window-pane)
The doubt occurred to him again.
One question hammered in his head:
"Is he alive or is he dead?"
Thus, nose to pane, he pondered; but
The lattice window, loosely shut,
Swung open. With one startled "Oh!"
Our Teddy disappeared below.

There happened to be passing by
A plump man with a twinkling eye,
Who, seeing Teddy in the street,
Raised him politely to his feet,
And murmured kindly in his ear
Soft words of comfort and of cheer:
"Well, well!" "Allow me!" "Not at all."
"Tut-tut! A very nasty fall."

Our Teddy answered not a word;
It's doubtful if he even heard.
Our bear could only look and look:
The stout man in the picture-book!
That 'handsome' King - could this be he,
This man of adiposity?
"Impossible," he thought. "But still,
No harm in asking. Yes I will!"

"Are you," he said,"by any chance
His Majesty the King of France?"
The other answered, "I am that,"
Bowed stiffly, and removed his hat;
Then said, "Excuse me," with an air,
"But is it Mr Edward Bear?"
And Teddy, bending very low,
Replied politely, "Even so!"

They stood beneath the window there,
The King and Mr Edward Bear,
And, handsome, if a trifle fat,
Talked carelessly of this and that….
Then said His Majesty, "Well, well,
I must get on," and rang the bell.
"Your bear, I think," he smiled. "Good-day!"
And turned, and went upon his way.

A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at.
But do you think it worries him
To know that he is far from slim?
No, just the other way about -
He's proud of being short and stout.
A.A. Milne

We all love this poem! 

After sharing his gooey treats with the furniture, the house and his loved ones, Jordy remembers to clean up after himself.

Gardening Lessons

Research from the University of Colorado suggests that gardening has significant developmental and educational benefits for children. Lifelong nutritional, social, personal, cognitive and moral benefits are among those sited by the study.  Likewise, the Victorian Government lists the following skills and attributes as likely outcomes of gardening activities: responsibility, understanding, self-confidence, love of nature, reasoning and discovery, physical activity, cooperation, creativity and nutrition. 

These are all commendable skills and traits that we would like to encourage in our homeschooling! But, to be quite honest, they are not the goals which I consciously consider or actively pursue, when I push the children out the door for their gardening chores or for a bit of planting. Mostly, it happens that there is just a job to do or the weather naturally draws us outside, and the chance to connect with God's creation, in a personally fulfilling manner, seems to go without saying.

To my mind, gardening is a natural part of our unschooling lifestyle. The learning happens without us being aware of it but, when I considered all the benefits of our outdoor activities, I was able to add some specific educational outcomes to the lists above. We learnt maths by measuring our plant spacing and using informal measures, and, also, by budgeting our finances, when we made our purchases at the nursery. A bit of reading practice happened when reading the unusual, and often complicated, plant names from which we had to choose. Some science was learnt through choosing only the most suitable plants for the shaded position of our flower bed and the science of conservation was implied by our careful nurturing of the environment. More maths occurred as we estimated how large the plants would grow and how far apart they should be spaced. Art and design were considered in the planning of colour combinations and the layout of our bed. Reflecting on the wonders of God's creation and the natural world was another important lesson - this time in religion.

 In addition to these learning experiences, I enjoyed observing the personal benefits, which were included in the lists that I'd read. It was obvious that morale was high and, as our project progressed, I noticed the harmonious and considerate teamwork which thrived amongst my little co-workers, as well as the enthusiastic displays of initiative, motivation and perseverence. The sense of satisfaction at a job well done and the contentment which comes from exhaustive physical exertion were added rewards, with hidden lessons of their own.

And, to top it off - we now have a neat-looking flower bed, which will bring us fresh interest and excitement, as we watch our tiny, fledgling shrubs grow into beautiful bushes that will glorify God and His Creation.   

Gardening Page

1. Gardening Lessons

Music and Piano Page

1. Our Would-be Piano Virtuosos
2. Rimsky-Korsakov - The Flight of the Bumblebee

Our Would-be Piano Virtuosos

We are a family of music lovers. However, while we may seriously love our music, any competent musician might seriously dispute our efforts to play an instrument as being in any way musical, at all.

Our only child to receive any formal instruction in piano was our eldest, Megan, and, to my ears, she does play very nicely, though she would like to learn more. The middle children learnt enough, at home, to amuse themselves with pretty, little tunes. They know the basics of piano playing and music theory, but the younger girls actually want to play the piano well. With lessons not being an option right now, I have decided to help them from the vast array of music books which we have on our shelves.

Melanie and Joel have discovered that a piano is hardly necessary when one has a perfectly good iPad at hand - and their idea of musical talent is definitely 'unique.' Humble beginnings, as they say...

It makes a mother proud!

But I have to be honest with myself, so with our previous history of musical mediocrity uppermost in my mind, imagine my surprise when I discovered that I have a 20-month-old musical genius on my hands! Admittedly, his first attempt was rather ordinary...

However, after feeling his way for a minute or two, I think you will agree that he found his 'groove.' His musical creativity was suddenly unleashed and this is the result! (Can you see an improvement?)

Actually, despite our light-hearted approach to music, I still feel that our children's musical talents are more dependent on their interest level than in finding the perfect teacher. Who knows? Maybe, there is some real musical talent in this family, after all, and, maybe, a mentor type of teaching might be a future option by which these music lovers will actually realise their potential.

Unschooling Art Lessons

 

I've written before about how our children have taught themselves, by imitating the skills and interests of those around them. The opportunity to do this freely is one aspect of unschooling which I love and feel increasingly passionate about. In the past, both Megan and Carrie followed in my footsteps with their love of drawing and, now, Melanie is treading a similar path.

Being a portrait artist means that I have some strong views about teaching art to children - and they happen to be consistent with my views about unschooling. First and foremost, I think that children need the freedom to explore and experiment with their art. They need encouragement and praise, rather than being restrained and discouraged by formula teaching, judging and criticism. Technique is not something which can be taught much earlier than the teenage years. Children develop naturally, at a steady pace, and are more likely to develop their own unique style if their creativity is given full reign in their younger years.

Because of this, our children have had little formal art instruction from me. All that they have learnt has been through imitation and it has been an effective learning tool. However, when Melanie asked for an art lesson, after comparing her artistic efforts with mine, it seemed appropriate to offer her some basic formal instruction. I say basic because, in effect, I did nothing more than draw a hand and foot for her to copy and suggest to her that she draws what she sees. Children usually draw from imagination and that's good but, now, Melanie wants to improve the realism of her drawings so it's time to develop her observation skills.

Here are the sketches she completed, after our 'lesson.'

And, here is the half-finished drawing which sparked her interest. With the encouragement of unschooling, I truly believe that, one day, she'll far surpass the talent and skill of her 'teacher.'

The Fairies in the Sunshine (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

'Little House on the Prairie' is a favourite in our house. The older children enjoyed the books and, right now, the younger ones are loving the DVDs of the TV series. Fairies are, also, a favourite - at least, with Melanie. Fairy costumes, fairy dolls, fairy movies, fairy colouring-ins - she loves them all. So, a poem by Laura Ingalls Wilder about fairies was bound to go down well.

Melanie, predictably, was delighted by the image of fairies painting all the fruit and flowers. Bethany is a bit past fairies - she's always been a tomboy, anyway - but I think this cheerful and colourful poem still has universal appeal. It paints such a happy picture of life and has a simple, bouncy rhythm which is really quite jolly.

The Fairies in the Sunshine

    The little sunshine fairies

        Are out on sunny days.

        They gaily go a-dancing

        Along the country ways.

        They paint the flower faces,

        The leaves of forest trees,

        And tint the little grasses

        All waving in the breeze.

        (One painting tiger lilies,

        Who runs away and goes

        To play awhile with baby,

        Puts speckles on his nose!!)

        They color all the apples

        And work for days and weeks

        To make the grapes bloom purple

        And paint the peaches’ cheeks.

        Ah! There’s a tiny fairy!

        She’s in the garden bed!

        It’s little Ray O’ Sunshine

        Who makes the roses red.

Someone (Walter de la Mare)

This is another favourite poem from our years of schooling the older children. The familiar words and rhythm bring back lots of memories, from the very first line.

This time around, we were able to relate the sentiments to Melanie's fear of going to bed. For a while, she would keep getting up, worrying that someone was lurking outside her window. Her fears stemmed from a real situation, when a trespasser was seen outside her bedroom window. That led to understandable, but unreal, imaginings.

We spoke to Melanie about how her fears could, possibly, be normal noises, like those in the poem - a beetle, an owl or a cricket. I think reading it was actually a comfort to her.

Someone

Some one came knocking
At my wee, small door;
Someone came knocking;
I'm sure-sure-sure;
I listened, I opened,
I looked to left and right,
But nought there was a stirring
In the still dark night;
Only the busy beetle
Tap-tapping in the wall,
Only from the forest
The screech-owl's call,
Only the cricket whistling
While the dewdrops fall,
So I know not who came knocking,
At all, at all, at all. 

My Shadow (Robert Louis Stevenson)

This  poem was a favourite with our older children and, now, we are enjoying it with the younger ones.

Megan memorised it, when she was about 8, so I tried to see how much she could still remember, prompting her at every line.

"Mum," she said, "I'm not a student, anymore. I'm the teacher, now."

"But, you need to teach it to your students," I reply. "Every child wants to know Robert Louis Stevenson!"

"No," she says, "every child wants to know when the tuckshop is open."

"Or, who's got a new Wii," I muse, sadly.

"No, Mum. Everyone's got a Wii, already."

Even sadder...

Well, our children will get to know Robert Louis Stevenson because I'm a bit old-fashioned and I still love his stories and poems. And, if they don't take to him as well as I'd like, I expect they'll still have fond memories of our read alouds with Robert when they're older.

This one's a favourite.

My Shadow

I HAVE a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—	5
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.	10
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,	15
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.