atypical week #28, spring #4

I was originally going to call this a "spring vacation" week, since we didn't do a circle this week, we didn't use a curriculum story, and we didn't even have a set Family Story Time line-up (although we did read what the kids wanted to during that time slot). But when I sat down to do my end-of-week review, and saw all the learning and education that went on this week, there was no way that I could call it anything but a week in our Spring Semester -- a week where we learned as much, if not more, than any other week! Like the edges of this stump (one of this week's discoveries), the margins don't need to be even or predictable in homeschooling. And hence the beauty!

So what DID we do this week? On Monday we learned about why and how museums keep collections, and explored the collections of our local museum. Afterwards we hung around outside -- I don't think kids do enough "hanging around" in this day and age. When we were kids we "hung around" for hours every day. These days kids seem to be shuffled from one activity to the next, without much "down time" in between. But true self-discovery really occurs in the margins -- with time to themselves. (In this photo J and his friend B are just hangin' around, chatting, and enjoying each other's company. I later asked J what they were talking about, and he said "Everything.")

On Tuesday we "hung around" on our own farm. The kids had hands-on lessons in animal husbandry, weights and measures (weighing and measuring food for the animals), and discovered some important facts of balance and gravity. They participated in some active Phys Ed all week, running races in paddocks and up hills and across fields (in this photo at Westmoor Park), climbing over, under and through fences, and scaling bales of hay, trees, and gates.

Science and Natural History were on the top of the learning list, as they explored ponds, woods, and fields at Westmoor Park on Wednesday, and participated in museum classes about wildlife on Thursday. On Friday, we incorporated arts and crafts (self-directed projects at home), planning skills (board games) and drama (putting on puppet shows and acting out Pokemon battles). They wrapped up the week with a bit of botany (exploring the flowers and plants that are coming up in our yard), music (J is teaching himself to play the Fife, while Zoo Boy accompanied him on the drum -- our own little Fife and Drum Corps!), and cooking class (pancakes for breakfast!).


So you can see why I just can't say that we took the week off. Next week promises to be a more traditional homeschooling week for us. But I can guarantee one thing -- there can't possibly be any more learning going on than went on this week.