the natural learning curve

This last year my well planned Charlotte Mason style school plan has metamorphosed into something a little more like - no school plan. I have slowly culled what was necessary for the children to have accomplished/ticked off each day as tiredness has seeped out in anxiety. There are many things I physically can't accomplish and maintain a peaceful atmosphere; so I have let go a bit here and a bit there, and tried to keep up what I deemed as the bare essentials- maths, some form of writing and our read alouds. I've always worked hard to flow with the children's interests on top of what we were doing though lately its been about all we've been doing.

Gradually I have dictated less and less as to what the children must get done each day, and during this I have been surprised at my own schoolishness. My need to see evidence of learning in order to feel we've accomplished something that day. Yet I know that learning is happening all the time and takes many forms.

As no relief in the sleep department has come, and my inability to cope with keeping on top of children's tasks and managing the active toddler, we have gradually evolved into a more organic indicator-less learning environment. Bit by bit I'm learning to trust the children more - trust their innate desire for seeking that which feeds their curiosity.

There are no clear cut lines within the homeschooling family - it's all blended into a mash of needs

- emotional/physical/intellectual/spiritual. Much of my thoughts over the last few months have centred on how to navigate through the varying ideals, expectations, theories of learning not to mention personalities and family dynamics. Things such as unwillingness to cooperate, sibling conflicts, toddler needs, lack of sleep, individual interests, Charlotte Mason and Unschooling etc. all the while seeking to shape "us". At the end of the day genuine and true learning happens where the child makes their own connections and 'owns it' all within a stress free environment, and this has lead me to a more natural learning approach. I hope to be mindful and awake to the breezes that flow through our home. More connecting less correcting. Enjoying the children rather than being stressed about what isn't getting done.

I thought I'd share some of this on the blog - the discoveries we/

I make as we journey towards "us". My own natural learning curve as I question why things have to be done a certain way and as I learn to find a balance in this season of babyhood and bad nights, of tired minds and bodies, and of improving strength and health in our family.