This is how we Unschool...

We do not “do school” – we are students of life and we learn what we want to. We are growing into ourselves as we learn and we love it entirely.  

We employ a combination of methods in our homeschool based firmly on the Bible and based loosely on the teachings and findings of Charlotte Mason, Ruth  Beechick, and John Holt - but at the end of the day – our homeschool is uniquely our own and no one else’s opinions or directions hold as much weight as our very own in conjunction with God’s will for our lives. We seek to know what He would have us do in this life and we seek any and all wisdom that would align with His goals for us.

He gave us our passions and we fully explore them!

We primarily use notebooks/journals in our homeschool to aid us in learning and to teach us proper studying. We have math journals where we record our mathematical observations of the world around us. We have study journals where we fine-tune our reading and writing skills to record the fascinating things we study. We prayerfully study whatever fancies us day to day.  Sometimes we collaborate and study together and sometimes we are on journeys of our own. We also keep nature journals where we express our fondness for creation.  We study God’s Word together as we seek to live our lives according to His will. We also keep prayer/life journals.

 

**When I say “we” above I am including myself. My children have these notebooks/journals (math, study, nature, prayer) and so do I. I have a math journal, and a study journal, and a nature journal. I am still learning. I am still clay in my Potter’s hands and it’s important to me that my children understand that we are NEVER done learning. There is ALWAYS something new to learn. So I keep journals alongside them and it blesses me daily.

Sometimes we use textbooks, most times we don’t. We love our local libraries and we frequent discount bookstores. You can often find us at the local park playing ball or just running around. We love to catch bugs and name them before we release them. We revel with each other when one of us makes a cognitive connection to the world around us in our daily doings. We see things most do not in our daily lives because we are looking. We learn things it takes others ages to learn because we are eager. We own our knowledge and we enjoy sharing what we learn with others.

Everyday is filled with life and love in the Lakeside Schoolhouse – our home sweet home – that is actually not by a lake anymore but we kept the name anyway because… we can! 

Mom... My love tank is low...

As an adult I find that I am often times completely crippled when it comes to expressing my need for physical attention and/or love in relationships. Which is a strange thing because it's something we all  NEED to be healthy and feel whole!

As humans, we were made to love and be loved. But the world is cruel and if we let it... it can rob us of our most basic instinct. And when we don't understand our own needs in relationships, it's very likely that we wont be meeting anyone else's need either. 

My kids and I do this thing... we call it "filling the love tank!" :)  It started because one day I was reading a random blog post  somewhere on the internet about silly ways to connect with your children and one of  the post's suggestions was to tell your kids that their "tickle tank" was looking a little low and they needed to be tickled until it was full. I tried it... it felt weird and forced so I didn't do it again.

But later one of my kids said to me... "Mom, my love tank is low..." and I was like "Huh?"

So I pulled my little kid up into my arms for some TLC and the concept of asking for love and care in my family was born.

This is my small son, posing as a "sad kid" :) Totally posing!! 

This morning my son was eating his eggs. He takes for ever to eat and is often left at the table long after everyone else is gone. So I said from across the room, "Make sure you are eating over there!" and he replied... "Mom, my love tank is draining..."
It caused me to stop and look at what was going on... he was alone at the table and probably feeling a bit, well, lonely! So I called him over and we hugged and snuggled for a few minutes and I gave him some kisses. I didn't let him go until he was ready and he went about his way eating his breakfast!

This practice has helped me to be more vocal about my need for care and affection in all my relationships. We must remember, it is not weird for us to need and want to be loved! It is not a bad thing to have to ask for it either... When we can be honest and vocal about our needs in relationships I think we find they grow stronger.

I am hoping that this "love tank" business in my home helps my boys to be more vocal about their needs in relationships throughout their lives! For now... it helps us to touch base and connect with one another where we might not always remember. It keeps us