Poem by Erica

Silence is Non-Existent

Silence does not exist

In the city you hear;
The automobiles as they slip down the street
The 'thrum of electrical advertisements
The children next door

Silence does not exist

In the country you hear;
The wind rushing down the chimney on summer evenings
The goose calling out as he flies
The whistle of a far off train in the dead of night

Silence does not
Exist

How Deanna is Spending Her Days?

Deanna is 14 and has never been to school. If she were in school this would be her first year of high school. People are always curious how homeschooled kids spend their days. We don't have a set schedule. Each day is different and each week is different. Our activities change with the seasons and with our passions.

We have just moved from our home of 12 years and the first month was filled with settling in. We got out and explored, learned about the history, and took in the natural beauty of this new place. We are surrounded by woods so went on several hikes. We also had to stock up the woodshed for winter and Deanna has helped out with this.

In October Deanna was lucky to be able to take the month and do some traveling. She started by leaving from Toronto with her Grandma L. and flying out to Vancouver to visit her big sis for Thanksgiving. She then went back to the Hamilton area and spent a few days with each of her friends. Finally she took a train to go to the St. Thomas and Sarnia areas to visit grandparents and great grandparents.

Now that she is back at home and we are fairly settled she has been working hard on a photography course. She has also been working on some art, writing and a fashion project. It looks like she may want to take some guitar lessons soon and get back to some form of martial art. I assign her a couple of books to read each month and of course she reads many books on her own.

Some things she's looking at studying in the near future-astronomy, math, world religions

Lantern Walk

One of my favourite things that we picked up at the Waldorf School and continued to do at home for many years is the lantern walk that would take place this time of year.

From France there is the legned of St.Martin who discovered a poor beggar huddled under an archway. The man was shivering and naked. Martin took off his own cape, tore it in half and covered the man to warm him. The next night Martin had a dream where he saw Christ wearing that piece of cape. From then on Martin would bring warmth and light to those who had been in darkness. He became the patron saint of beggars and outcasts. Martinmas on November 11 is his feast day. People would carry lanterns through the darkness singing songs followed by a simple meal.

When the children were small they would make lanterns and one evening around mid November we would take a nature walk with our lanterns lit singing songs or saying poems. When they were really young this was very magical to them.

One way the lanterns were made was by taking an old jar, covering it with podgie and covering with squares of various coloured tissue paper. We then glued a candle to the bottom of the jar. My husband would get wire or an old coat hanger and fashion a handle around the top of the jar. One year we made these lanterns for grandparents as Christmas gifts.

For me the lantern walk is a way to mark the seasons. To embrace the darkness and the shorter days. To change our routine a little;bake a little more, snuggle up with books more often and take some time to be still before the rush of the holiday season. It is a time of contentment. The flickering candle reminds me that even in the darkest hours there is light.

So what is unschooling?

Unschooling is a word that was termed by educator, John Holt in the 1970s. It can mean somewhat different things to different people. I understand it to mean an approach to education where a student is always learning by being immersed in life, their environment and passionately pursuing their interests. There is no standard curriculum or grading (unless that is what the student desires). Some people prefer the term "Life Learning", to me both words mean the same thing. I have found that the term "unschooling" does have a tendency to frighten some people, especially husbands at the beginning.

The next question is usually "What's to stop them from playing video games all day?"

Well I confess there was a week one January about 5 years ago when the whole family was struck with a nasty flu and that is what we did. The four of us sat on the couch and took turns playing Fable while we all gave directions for where the character should go. Was it our most educational time? Probably not. But whenever we remember that week we all smile and laugh. Doesn't that hold it's own value?

Most of the time however everyone has several different things they are interested in. Sometimes the problem is finding the time to do it all. I have found that the job of an unschooling parent is of a facilitator; to help provide the resources they need to pursue their interests and to introduce them to things that maybe they hadn't thought of yet.

Quote of the Day

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty."
-Henry Ford

In the Beginning

It is a common question for homeschoolers to be asked why they start to homeschool and there seems to be as many different reasons as there are homeschoolers. In the spring of 1999 we made the decision to start homeschooling our children in September of 99. At the time Erica, age 8 was happy at a Waldorf School. She had been attending a Waldorf School since she was 4 and it was a place we all loved very much. With her little sister getting older though we had to take a hard look at the financial realities of sending the two of them to this school. It was beyond our means.

So what to do? With a lot of research and even more courage we decided to keep them home and try to create "Waldorf at Home" In the autumn of 99 we began our adventure as homeschoolers. Over the years we have tried different methods and different curriculums until we finally found a way that worked for us. Now I can look back and confidently say it was one of the best decisions we ever made.

Quote of the Day

"You can not teach a person anything;you can only help him find it within himself."
-Galileo

Quote of the Day

"I am always ready to learn, but I do not always like being taught"
-Winston Chruchill

Greetings

Our family has been homeschooling now for over a decade. Over the years we have experimented with various curriculums and learning styles but have found that unschooling or life learning is what has worked best for us. "E" is now 18 and started college in September. "D" is 14.

I am on the local homeschool yahoogroup and it seems weekly and sometimes daily there are new parents inquiring about homeschooling. I believe that the homeschool community will continue to grow larger and larger each year. Here I will record some of our experiences and memories from our many years homescholling.

Warm Wishes
Denise