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How do you create an atmosphere of learning?


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 I'm finally feeling better again (ya!) and we've been consistently moving along covering the core daily- LA, Math, Science and History so I've been working on adding in all those extras that were often neglected while I was not feeling well. I don't want these to really be officially scheduled as I don't want to encroach on free time but I do want to make our house a rich environment where learning is just part of what we do. I want them to be exposed to the many things I missed and see the beauty in the world and learning about it all. However, free time to explore their own interests is a high priority and balancing these competing goals is challenging me. I could easily fill our day with many meaningful and worthwhile activities but free time must be sacrificed for every extra that is added.

 

Right now we're trying out a rotating schedule of extras art/music/geo and poetry each once a week. These are all rather laid back, geo is games, maps and reading about other places, poetry is tea time and a bit of poetry reading, art is some lesson for the girls and drawing for ds(the girls often do more but I wanted to schedule it at least once a week to make sure I don't forget as they love it so), music is listening to composers and going over the different composers for each era

 

I'm feeling a bit of a disconnect as doing these extras seems a bit contrived at times. I don't want contrived, I want these things just to be fun things we do together, not formal you have to do this things but we do this because we want to. I need to figure out how to make it feel more like life and less like school, like it does with nature, geography, cooking and current events.

 

What are your thoughts? What extras do you do? Do you officially schedule them and how long? If you don't schedule these things are they important to you and do you do anything to make sure your kids are exposed/educated in other areas? How do you enrich you day? Does your family do this particularly well with any subject in particular?

 

We're not rock stars in any one area but some areas seem more natural for us, geography is fun for all. We're reawakening our love for poetry and I believe it will become just another thing we do to connect once we get back in the swing of it. Nature is an interest of mine so our studies are based on my learning and teaching the kids while on our daily walks. Writing this out it seems the common denominator in how well it is integrated into our day and our collective enjoyment is my own interest and self-education in the subject area. Art and music are more difficult for me, I've had less exposure and interest so I have to work harder to pull these off. So, my question for myself is do I just accept what we are doing well for now or how do we work on pulling these off better?

 

Sigh, I've edited this 10 times now as I continue to write it out my thoughts keep evolving, so if you've read this and wonder why I keep changing it that is why. You know when you start out you have all these ideals and vision. Then life happens and with at least 2 years of low energy and trying to just make it through compromises are made and priorities shift because there is just only so much to give. Now I've got more physical and mental energy and I've been reflecting again on that vision and I realize that it has changed as my kids are older and the atmosphere and break down of how we do things is just different when we also have a fuller schedule in which to fit everything. 

 
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With regards to the extras, if I don't schedule them in it doesn't get done.

 

With regards to an atmosphere of learning, I limit tv, read myself (mostly have my novel laying around lol) and try to make it fun without adding pressure. Also, we haven't done this yet , but was thinking of visiting a college nearby so that they see everyone studies and it's not just me being mean by taking away their play time lol. How my kids are going to turn out I don't know.

 

Immediately after I read to them (30 mins before bed), I either read poems, or play classical music or play hymns or read a biography (3 pages). Sometimes I do 2 out of 3 of those things. And this goes on for about 15 minutes while they are in bed fighting sleep lol.

 

My situation is different since mine are 5 1/2, 4, and 2 yo.

Hth

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For us, the organic learning is more time consuming than the contrived learning. It's the rabbit trail thing.

 

A poem might remind me of a song which leads us to a youtube clip which leads to another song and then a discussion about a particular type of music and next thing I know, we are over at piano.

 

I have an 8th grader so we have plenty of must-dos. We also have 30 minutes minimum of Morning Work (dominated by music) and a two hour block on Friday called "Soup." All kinds of stuff gets thrown into Soup, just like my real soups :)

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I did not homeschool my children at the age yours are, I only started in 5th grade, so maybe this is not applicable.

We create an "atmosphere of learning" by living our interests. Not everything we learn has to be studied in an organized manner.

Our art and music education at younger ages consisted of many museum visits and live performances of all kinds. Rather than doing systematic composer study, we wanted to instill that going to concerts and museums is something people DO for fun, that this can be part of a lifestyle. I sat down on the piano and we sang songs for hours. Same with many other things: traveling and reading about the history and nature of the places we visit is just something we do. Spending our weekends visiting nature centers, state parks, historic sites. Watching history documentaries for fun. Reading poetry out loud because it is beautiful, listening to books on tape, going to the theatre. Picking up the globe to look up something that came up when discussing current events at dinner.

 

At those ages, my main goal was to create what you so fittingly call it an atmosphere of learning by modeling how we adults incorporate learning as a natural activity throughout our lives. I think the long term effect of growing up in a family lifestyle like this is more lasting than any individual piece of factual knowledge.

 

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regentrude, I think writing it out the issue I see is that the areas that I have little knowledge or experience I feel like I need to be more systematic. I've never been into much music or art, perhaps because of little exposure and I want them to have more experience than I have. So, I find it easier to find natural ways to include science and nature in our days because it is an interest and passion but with art and music I feel lost. We do visit museums and go to some showing and performances but this gets considerable less attention than other areas. Perhaps just acknowledging that weakness and trying to be more conscious of including these areas is what I need to do and let it develop on its own? Accept that I cannot provide everything but hope for exposure in a wide range and try to follow my own interests and look for ways to develop their passions as they come to light.

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regentrude, I think writing it out the issue I see is that the areas that I have little knowledge or experience I feel like I need to be more systematic. I've never been into much music or art, perhaps because of little exposure and I want them to have more experience than I have. So, I find it easier to find natural ways to include science and nature in our days because it is an interest and passion but with art and music I feel lost. We do visit museums and go to some showing and performances but this gets considerable less attention than other areas. Perhaps just acknowledging that weakness and trying to be more conscious of including these areas is what I need to do and let it develop on its own? Accept that I cannot provide everything but hope for exposure in a wide range and try to follow my own interests and look for ways to develop their passions as they come to light.

 

I think the answer to this is yes. Your family may naturally have less music exposure but you may have a lot more everyday science than another family.  I don't think it's about doing it all but instead modeling an willingness to learn and the kind of house where it's normal to try new things and learn about them. 

 

I've also found that following my kid's interests helps me include the extras in a more natural way. I have one who loves birds, so we participate in Project Feederwatch and talk about birds and go birdwatching (a pursuit that I would have said seemed incredibly boring before having a bird loving child). The same child loves art, so I try and include art more in our days, even if it just means providing him with lots of art supplies. Because we found art always got pushed to the back burner we decided to use a drawing curriculum for him. One day a week his art lesson with Daddy is the priority for his school before the other subjects. Another child loves Shakespeare so we are taking advantage of the Shakepeare plays in the movie theaters and going to those. Etc. 

 

 

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I don't believe you have to add in a schedule of extra topics in order to create an atmosphere of learning in your home. As you said, they often feel contrived and end up being just another thing you and\or the dc feel you have to get done in the day, especially if there isn't a real interest there.  That mentality is not conducive to learning. I understand the need to schedule even those things you do love (nature walks, geography and poetry until things become natural parts of your day since you've been on survival mode for so long, but I think you need to remain mindful of them becoming a chore. I don't know if this is the case with all dc, but my own tend to differentiate between the things they learn during "school" and things they learn in their less structured or free time.  Those things that were learned during more informal times of exposure and exploration have been the passions and long time interests of my children. I do tend to keep our formal schoolwork focused around the three Rs, then we have those intermediate content areas that I try to keep interest led but somewhat scheduled (history, geography, and science...and I'm speaking mostly for my younger dc here), and then there is just the learning that occurs during the normal course of our life.  Many, many times our content areas spill over into this area since history\geography is a passion for dh and science is a big interest for me. So, the more I coalesce my thoughts about this the more I believe, that in my own home, an atmosphere of learning is fostered mostly by natural exposure during the course of life to many topics, keeping that exposure informal and relaxed, and when you see a spark, fostering it, but following the child's lead in how deeply or intensely they want to go with it.  The underlying thread that binds is the parent.  I have to influence by example.  I have to be inquisitive and curious, experiment and create, and read and discuss. 

  

I think I do a fairly good job of having an atmosphere of learning by always pursuing knowledge (reading, documentaries, lectures), discussing, trying new things, and pursuing my own hobbies or interests. Sometimes a dc will get interested and want to get involved and sometimes they won't.  Recently, dd11 saw me watching and taking notes on dd16's astronomy lectures (it's a huge area of interest for me as well and I want to be able to have meaningful conversations with her about her lessons), and wanted to watch and discuss too.  She wouldn't have willingly asked to watch highschool lectures unless she saw my own interest in them.  All of a sudden now I have another budding astronomer on my hands though!  It sparked something in her and we've been on a week long binge of everything to do with astronomy. But it's all been informal and on our own time.  I asked ds8 if he wanted to watch Cosmos last night....nope...no interest, so why schedule it into my already busy school day.  He will get exposed during the course of his own science curricula and later on when he's a little older might sit in on a discussion or lecture and have a spark ignite too.  I never make it mandatory that they get involved in what I'm doing...I do offer but never push. 

 

My dc have learned so many things just through their exposure to myself or dh doing them or learning about them.  Model making, art, cooking, baking, sewing, crocheting, gardening, dog training, military history, gun history, horse riding, electronics, spectral analysis, evolution, religion, mythology, politics, government, economics, genetics, botany....oh good grief, I could go on and on. Sometimes there is a lingering interest sometimes not. It's nice when an interest is strong enough that you're able to integrate it into formal schoolwork, especially for highschool, but I never want learning, especially about an interest,  to become a chore so I always leave it up to the dc.  (For example dd16 was more than happy to do astronomy for a science credit but wasn't willing to do piano lessons for a music credit because she felt that the work required would take the joy out of playing the piano for her.)  

 

Of coarse there are some areas that you want your child to learn about that you don't want to leave to chance.  Most times we homeschoolers choose art, and music; sometimes poetry if we don't integrate that into our LA.  My solution has been to have those extras as background noise in our home and nurture only those areas that my children show an interest or propensity towards.  I've found that this cuts down on these topics becoming a chore for those who aren't interested beyond a basic exposure - including myself.  

 

I love art and am always messing about with charcoal, acrylic, pastels...and have art books lying about, pictures of famous art, books on artists, etc.,  so my children becoming exposed to that is just a given.  Some have shown an extreme interest and passion for art while others can't stand to draw a stick figure.  The ones who want to do art are given free reign over the art supplies, art books, documentaries on art, child guided art programs, art classes, and so on. This is part of what they love to do in their free time.  It's not scheduled so it doesn't become a chore. Those who don't like it were exposed, show absolutely no interest and move on.  Music isn't as big a part of our lives because I don't play an instrument, but I do enjoy listening  to different genres of music and in doing so have discussed with my dc the various types of music I listen to, it's origins, artists and so on...except country music...my children know nothing about country music. :p  I also make sure to have musical instruments available for anyone who wants to pick one up and see if it creates a spark. Early on my oldest showed an interest and so I facilitate her learning more to the point that she was satisfied.  She learned to play the piano very quickly by ear...she can listen to anything once or twice and then be able to work it out on the piano fairly quickly.  Her interest leaned toward video game and movie soundtracks and so we explored that for awhile. She doesn't want lessons, and that's fine with me...it's not my interest, it's hers, and she can do what she wants with it. My second oldest just recently asked for and started guitar lessons, so we'll see where that leads.  I don't push because once I do it stops becoming something enjoyable and becomes a chore. I tried doing informal (as in I didn't schedule them they were just impromptu afternoon or weekend things I would do when the mood struck me) poetry teas with my dc at various times since I like any excuse to sit down for a proper tea, but there just was no interest there at all for any of us.  I enjoy the exposure to poetry that we get in LA but sitting down and reading it to the blank stares of my dc feels like a chore so I don't do it.  They learn enough about poetry for them to know a few authors and the basics of structure.  If any of them ever show a greater interest then we'll pursue it. 

 

My situation is, of coarse, specific to my family, and it may even change depending on what's going on in our lives.  A few years ago I didn't have the time or energy to pursue as much of my own learning so my dc weren't doing as much learning outside of their formal academics either.  As my older dc become much more independent I have more time to pursue learning so my younger dc will probably end up being exposed to even more and end up learning even more outside of our formal 3 Rs. Also, I think it has to do with the child.  You could set up the most amazing environment for learning with art supplies, musical instruments, living books, movies, documentaries, science paraphernalia, field trips, guest lecturers, biographies, poetry books, ....and yes, the child would be exposed and gain a basic academic base of knowledge, but if there is no interest there then there just isn't and to schedule and force learning about a subject (poetry and country music in my case) is just counter-intuitive. 

 

I feel like I've rambled and blurred the lines of exposure and creating an atmosphere of learning - although I do think that they are interrelated.  In a nutshell - an atmosphere of learning needs to be natural, relaxed, and modeled. 

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I think one of the best things we ever did to foster an atmosphere of learning was to ditch the tv. We did not have tv until my oldest was in 10th grade. We did play videos but those were as needed and not nearly as pervasive as the stinkin' tv. My oldest loved everything outdoors -- gardening, botany, zoology, just everything.So he was fine outside exploring to his heart's content or reading. 

 

 

My next 3 boys are all sports lovers. It's good in many ways, but they really need cable tv to watch their favorite teams. So a few Christmases ago, we got cable tv for that purpose. 

 

It's now a default for my younger two that are bored. They've watched more sprout and Full House and ridiculous time-wasting shows than I'd care to add up.  I'd love to cut it and I'm teetering on how best to approach that.  It forces their hand -- they have to play a game, pick up a book, explore outside, invent some play or lego creation or ..... But with the tv, it's a constant lure. 

 

So, that's the one huge thing I would do again to create a distraction free home that was alive with books and exploration. 

 

Lisa

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I think one of the best things we ever did to foster an atmosphere of learning was to ditch the tv. We did not have tv until my oldest was in 10th grade. We did play videos but those were as needed and not nearly as pervasive as the stinkin' tv.

 

We do not have a TV either. When the kids were younger, we would allow one movie on DVD on Friday nights and on weekends.

 

Now, of course, they have computers, and we do not regulate access - but for younger children, I believe that being TV free was a very good thing. Allowing DVDs on the computer means deliberately selecting what and when to watch, and how much time to make for it.

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And occasional "Show and Tell" is also fun for families - mom & dad participate, too, and we share what we're learning in our own private studies / interests / pursuits. The kids learn that it's normal to be "studying" something, and they learn that sometimes what someone else is studying is VERY interesting, and sometimes it's just not. (Ha!)

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Aime, I appreciated your long rambly post :) My own thoughts are quite rambly right now. I do think that in some ways it has been good for me to purposely schedule those extras I wanted to add back, as even though I wanted them in our schedule we had gotten out of a good routine and habit so I had to make some conscious effort to get us back in the groove. Now, I'm examining what else is worthwhile and after a bit of a famine in regard to such things so many things sound inviting I'm trying not to overwhelm any of us. It is just amazing to me after all this time of my brain just not working how I wanted it just continues to thrill me to have that excitement of learning back. 

 

Certainly part of the problem here was when I wasn't feeling well more electronics crept in, I kept some limits but they weren't enough so as I'm felt better I've cut back more and more on our usage. I am seeing the fruit of cutting back, although at first it was hard for everyone. I do know that this plays a huge part in how we spend our time. 

 

I think we did pretty decent before having a rich environment but kids grow, interest change and now I need to think about what are we doing well and what can we improve. I mean this is my only chance I get at their childhood and our time is so precious!

 

Thanks to everyone who is sharing.

 

 

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My vote is for being happy with what you are doing and not focusing on what you are not doing. Sounds great to me.

Trying to focus on all those areas every week would quickly lead to them just being "extras" for us. I'm toying with the idea of having a rotating "elective" every six weeks or so, where we can focus entirely on that art or exclusive study for that time, and then, satisfied or not, move on to the next area of study.

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For us, I feel that by being more observant, I can make connections between school subjects and to things we see when we're out. For instance, we studied birds in science for three weeks. The other day, I called the kids' attention to a grackle in a parking lot. My 3 year old has picked up on this excitement of bird study and informed us a blue jay was in our yard.

 

Over the summer, we studied Monet prints a few minutes a week. Now it seems that we see Monet prints everywhere! Making connections between our school studies and the rest of our life has made this really rewarding lifestyle of learning. So my advice is, make those connections from what you read in history, science, etc., show the kids how excited you are, and you will have the atmosphere you want.

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These are a couple of books that I found helpful for creating that atmosphere (while the first one is very much from a Christian perspective, I think it would still be useful for someone looking to implement it in a more secular way). Due to different children's interests, as well as my own educational gaps, we still haven't covered "everything" I would like to cover. But we did a lot more than we would have without adopting some of these ideas. The no TV made a big difference, as well as a well-stocked personal library and craft supply closet. Then some things we include in our 'together time' at the beginning of the school day.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Educating-WholeHearted-Child----Third/dp/1932012958/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413364407&sr=1-4&keywords=sally+clarkson

 

http://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-Mason-Companion-Personal-Reflections/dp/1889209023/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413364356&sr=8-1&keywords=karen+andreola

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Jaybee- thanks for the book recs, I don't believe I've read either of those.

 

Grammargirl- Oh, I love it when we make those connections, your right it really is exciting for them and us.

 

Critterfixer- You know it seems we have seasons where we really focus on one area over another. Last winter we had a binge of art and music, we went to the Symphony and Art Museum in the city, visited the local art museum, got together to make art projects, went to a concert of the local jazz band etc. We don't usually have that many opportunities but they happen to come together so it was nice to be able to hit those areas that are often neglected.

 

I was hoping more would chime in but I guess I phrased my post poorly. I want to hear about how you really think you encourage learning in your home naturally, what do you do to facillitate? Do you do one area well or many?

 

I think we do well with science, it seems something we've always got something going on here science related. Right now we are deep into tech as we are running an FLL team, we're spending many hours a week programming and working on their project. In the past we've built and launched rockets, subscribed to a monthly electronics kit, geocaching, and too many other things to list or remember.

 

My dh especially does a great job of encouraging questions, and I really think this is what we do best, ds is always asking about how this or that works and dh always has some great and detailed explanation, often complete with hand drawn diagrams and video clips. Dh does all our mechanic, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, etc, etc work and he often has ds help, he loves the chance to help daddy and learning about mechanics, electricity and other things are just a nice bonus. Dh has had it in his mind to build a sand rail together, we're hoping this coming year or the next. His dad helped him build a VW bug when he was a teenager and he spent many hours building and rebuilding it and running around with it with his friends, it was great clean fun and he wants to give ds the same opportunity.

 

I'm more into natural sciences, so I like to learn about plants and animals in our area and we're always bringing field guides out when we walk. Before we would walk at least an hour a day, often 2-3 hrs, these days we don't have that much time but we are at least getting out 1 if not 2 x a day for short walks. We walk and explore and watch. Sometimes we go looking for specific things, often we just see what we can find and that will lead to a rabbit trail. I've had interest in medicinal plants and have worked on identifying them and of course they want to learn as well. My daughter is very interested in all things nature so we often take things a bit further but they like to join in as well.

 

Right now the only creatures we have are bees and cats, in the past we've also had rabbits. We've done gardens, flowers and vegetable. We have a small orchard. I've not been up to taking care of much as of the last few years but I'd really like to be able to add on some animals, especially chickens and garden again. My oldest daughter especially really has a way with animals and loves growing things, they are always taking out my seeds and planting them. For her birthday one year I took her to the nursery to pick out flowers to plant her own flower bed.

 

A lot of times I just keep an eye out for interesting things online. In the last few weeks we've done spore prints and a scavenger hunt for different leaves because I found it online. That lead to me checking out some various related books at the library and subsequent trips to see what else we could find. I ordered the dyson engineering box just this week, ds is all about taking things apart. Just yesterday he found a small solar powered light on our walk and he has been taking it apart.

 

We visit museums, exhibitions, natural areas and stop to check out interesting events and places. 

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 I want to hear about how you really think you encourage learning in your home naturally, what do you do to facillitate? Do you do one area well or many?

 

 

What is important to you? It's easy to get caught up in what we feel we should be doing. The truth is, there is only so much time. Whenever someone tsk tsks that we're not doing XYZ, I ask them why they aren't doing RST or ABC? No one does everything. Prioritizing is critical. An atmosphere of learning will present itself differently in different homes.

 

Some people will dabble in 5 or 6 areas, others will devote all their energies to one or two. We've narrowed dramatically compared to the early years.

 

From time to time I write down everything I think I want to be doing, then I prioritize, then I schedule. I am not a big believer in free time - I think it is overrated. What is it you want free time to be doing? Why is it not important enough to schedule? Otherwise other things creep in... How often as adults do we fritter away precious time? Do we expect more from our children than we expect from ourselves?

 

Ack! Speaking of which....I shouldn't be here. I was hoping to add more...maybe later...

 

If this isn't what you're looking for, feel free to ignore it! :)

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I bring home the library books and stay out of the way! That's pretty much it.

 

I'd like to do more discussion. I think there are too many times when I could create a learning time by opening breakfast and morning time with "Guess what I learned last night when I was reading so-and-so?" Or could offer some of my writing the way the boys are always regaling me with theirs. I don't do enough of that. That might be a natural way to facilitate learning: create opportunity for discussion of unrelated things.

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regentrude, I think writing it out the issue I see is that the areas that I have little knowledge or experience I feel like I need to be more systematic. I've never been into much music or art, perhaps because of little exposure and I want them to have more experience than I have. So, I find it easier to find natural ways to include science and nature in our days because it is an interest and passion but with art and music I feel lost. We do visit museums and go to some showing and performances but this gets considerable less attention than other areas. Perhaps just acknowledging that weakness and trying to be more conscious of including these areas is what I need to do and let it develop on its own? Accept that I cannot provide everything but hope for exposure in a wide range and try to follow my own interests and look for ways to develop their passions as they come to light.

 

Perhaps use nature and science to launch into art and even music?

 

Gathering natural materials to create art sounds like it would be right up your alley,  quite lovely, and the options are endless. If you are trying to stay away from something contrived why not look on pintrest for some seasonal art projects using natural materials? Art is an expression and some people gravitate towards pencils, some toward paint but there are many media uses that could be just as expressive but also free flowing and fit well with your family. I just saw on FB  how to transform autumn leaves into roses, they were beautiful.

 

You could even start looking at raw materials with the question of "does it make noise" ....then create some musical instruments. Some cultures use shells as horns, or one could craft a simple string interment our of a hollow gourd

 

Best of luck!

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Cakes- Brilliant, you read me well. I am interested in art with natural objects and I've been trying to do more of that with dd's. We recently made wreaths with grapevines and are planning on making acorn fairies this week.  My dd's are a big impetus in trying to get more art and music into our day, they are really more inclined in this area than I am. I try to keep them in supplies for their interests. They love it anytime we any kind of craft, I'm not really a crafty person and ds always hated projects so we've never done much but I'm trying to be more aware of such things as my girls love it.

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Cakes- Brilliant, you read me well. I am interested in art with natural objects and I've been trying to do more of that with dd's. We recently made wreaths with grapevines and are planning on making acorn fairies this week.  My dd's are a big impetus in trying to get more art and music into our day, they are really more inclined in this area than I am. I try to keep them in supplies for their interests. They love it anytime we any kind of craft, I'm not really a crafty person and ds always hated projects so we've never done much but I'm trying to be more aware of such things as my girls love it.

 

Ah! I see! This is helpful!

 

Grapevine wreaths and acorn fairies took me instantly back in time! :001_wub:

 

Have you looked into Waldorf resources? We were never truly Waldorf homeschoolers, but I treasure the parts we took from Waldorf - some remain in our lives today.

 

It may take me a bit, but I'll see if I can dredge up some titles....

 

Seasonal music, seasonal meals, seasonal crafts using nature's raw materials.... :001_wub:

Lots of good memories....which were all scheduled on a blackboard in the kitchen with colorful chalk.  ;)

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Here are a few books we used in the early years to help us incorporate music and nature crafts into our days. I didn't agree with everything in the books, but found enough in them to be glad they were a part of our lives.

 

Festivals, Family, and Food by Diana Carey and Judy Large

Mrs. Sharp's Traditions by Sarah Ban Breathnach

A Time to Blossom by Tovah Martin

Seven Times the Sun by Shea Darian

Many songbooks and CDs by Mary Thienes-Schunemann (She is greatly missed...) Those can be found at naturallyyoucansing.com

 

There were many others, but those are either still out on our shelves or readily came to mind. Hopefully they will be of use to someone or will at least be a starting point to finding something else that will work!

 

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See, that kind of thing would make me absolutely nuts. And yes, I was trying to be punny there. 

For me, just about anything arts and crafts that is supposed to tie into learning just is more work for me. 

 

Incorporating nature tends to be very academic for me. I'm not just pointing out plants on a walk, I'm pulling the boys over to discuss the area where they are, what eats them, what they were useful for, whether we could eat them, what family they are in, etc, and capping it off with the scientific and common name! I used to make nature plates, however, used them as decoration...And I do have all these cool glass jars...with lids...

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See, that kind of thing would make me absolutely nuts. And yes, I was trying to be punny there. 

For me, just about anything arts and crafts that is supposed to tie into learning just is more work for me. 

 

Incorporating nature tends to be very academic for me. I'm not just pointing out plants on a walk, I'm pulling the boys over to discuss the area where they are, what eats them, what they were useful for, whether we could eat them, what family they are in, etc, and capping it off with the scientific and common name! I used to make nature plates, however, used them as decoration...And I do have all these cool glass jars...with lids...

 

I'm confused - what drives you nuts? All the things you listed could be mentioned (and often were!) while making a fairy house... ;)

 

ETA: Sometimes we must allow ourselves to get a little nutty in order to meet the needs of our children, whose needs are often very different from our own... :)

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Critterfixer, I see it as an either or and both, for my son our nature walks wer talking more about the things you listed (within my range of knowledge). For my daughter she wants that too but she also loves the art/crafty and the imaginative side as well. So we talk about the fairies we see hiding in the forest, while hunting for and identifying trees, checking out the animal tracks we see and gathering supplies for our crafts. 

 

 

---- and I need to get back to helping ds with his TC story about dwarfs and mystical lands, while I think about all this great info :)

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I, yi,yi,yi. I've been trying to put this together for the last half hour without offending. 

I've got nothing personally against fairy houses, acorn dollies or leaf crafts. Or nature plates. (I made them as a kid, and they were the first things I chucked when I needed more space.) I think what I don't see is the point of them.

 

That could be because I have boys. When I started out with SOTW, I thought that the crafts were great. Be fun to do, and the boys would learn while doing them. Nothing could have been more wrong. It turned out that I HATED getting things together, trying to organize what should have been fun, or trying to make learning a game. That is one reason I stay very, very far away from curriculum that insists on adding these kind of things to the schedule. 

It made fun=work.

 

   If I thought that I had to make room for arts and crafts and nature study, (CM basically) our school would be pretty joyless. But we have so much fun learning. It's fun to be writing my own novel (I write fantasy) and then to have the boys come in and tell me what they are working on, without my help. I seldom offer any suggestions, just enjoy seeing what my work in their formal study is doing to their personal writing. 

    I don't make models out of clay more than I have to, although there is clay available should someone want to make something. Yet I have a volcanic mountain range in my garden, and all I did was supply the shovel and pick up books and DVD's on volcanoes, and read Journey to the Center of the Earth this past summer.

   I didn't schedule trips to a butterfly house, or raise caterpillars. All I did was to work hard on overcoming my fear of grasshoppers, and finding that I actually found insects fascinating. Now we have a box o' bugs in the freezer and even DH has contributed a time or two when he finds something. Bugs interest us so much we now keep a section of the yard in meadow because we get more bugs that way.

 

There are other things. But you don't have to be an arts and crafts specialist to make an environment conducive to learning.

 

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I, yi,yi,yi. I've been trying to put this together for the last half hour without offending. 

I've got nothing personally against fairy houses, acorn dollies or leaf crafts. Or nature plates. (I made them as a kid, and they were the first things I chucked when I needed more space.) I think what I don't see is the point of them.

 

 

There are other things. But you don't have to be an arts and crafts specialist to make an environment conducive to learning.

No offense, I totally agree with you. I've posted those very things before. In no way do I think being crafty is needed or even that it is always educational, not by a LONG shot. But after having a son who detested such things, which was all to well for me as I'm not all that into such things, I have daughters who eat up this stuff and beg for more. So, this is just one area I'm trying to do more in because I want to nurture this for them, I love their imagination and their creativity, even though I don't quite get it. So, I participate and try to facilitate in ways that I can. 

 

This thread wasn't specific to those type of things, that is not at all what I had in mind. As I said I think we do a pretty decent job in the area of science and none of the things we do with ds are crafty, I've just been adding in some crafts lately for my daughters. We're still far from pinterest queens (oh how I loathe that site) but we're doing things here and there. To do too much would be a stress to me but I'm finding that I can find joy in it to a degree because of the happiness it brings them. Even though for me I would find it to be silly busywork I can appreciate that for some it can just be a different way to connect with what they are learning and that is ok too, I don't want to just nurture one kind of learner but be open to whatever works for them, as much as I can while respecting my own needs and abilities as the teacher/parent.

 

So, what I want to really hear about is the ways in which people nuture learning in their family for themselves and their kids and I don't care if it is through books, crafts, work, singing, music. Right now arts and crafts are good to read about because that pertains to my daughters and I find myself a bit lost in this area but  I am just as interested to read about anything else that people would like to share, really. I'm not trying to promote any way as the right way or needed for homeschooling. If your family is learning and your all happy then that's great!

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I would say as well for the most part all I've done in the past is supply the girls with supplies but as I'm feeling better I've done a few things here and there and they think it is so cool. They love me working with them and sometimes giving a bit of direction helps them to see things differently and take things further. 

 

I think that there will be different levels of involvement depending on the kid and parent and even each individual area of interest. So, you seen that the kids had an interest in insects and you nuture it. My kids took to building a survival fort last year based on an article in a science magazine, I directed them to supplies they could use, same with gardening and various other things. Then we have other areas that we've been more involved in, like rockets, dh knew ds would be interested but it wasn't something he brought up on his own, he was thrilled to do it however when dh asked. 

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Ah! I see! This is helpful!

 

Grapevine wreaths and acorn fairies took me instantly back in time! :001_wub:

 

Have you looked into Waldorf resources? We were never truly Waldorf homeschoolers, but I treasure the parts we took from Waldorf - some remain in our lives today.

 

It may take me a bit, but I'll see if I can dredge up some titles....

 

Seasonal music, seasonal meals, seasonal crafts using nature's raw materials.... :001_wub:

Lots of good memories....which were all scheduled on a blackboard in the kitchen with colorful chalk.  ;)

 

 

Here are a few books we used in the early years to help us incorporate music and nature crafts into our days. I didn't agree with everything in the books, but found enough in them to be glad they were a part of our lives.

 

Festivals, Family, and Food by Diana Carey and Judy Large

Mrs. Sharp's Traditions by Sarah Ban Breathnach

A Time to Blossom by Tovah Martin

Seven Times the Sun by Shea Darian

Many songbooks and CDs by Mary Thienes-Schunemann (She is greatly missed...) Those can be found at naturallyyoucansing.com

 

There were many others, but those are either still out on our shelves or readily came to mind. Hopefully they will be of use to someone or will at least be a starting point to finding something else that will work!

Thanks for the info. I looked at Waldorf some when ds was small but as he wasn't interested and I'm not very crafty so we never did much with it. Now, I don't think going full on Waldorf would serve us well but I would like to steal a few ideas here and there. I really appreciate the seasonal aspect and the connection to nature. I would also like to have more traditions for our family and have always been a bit lost because we had few traditions in my family of origin. I'd like to have more singing in our days as well, I used the Wee Sing books so much when ds was smaller but I've not done it so much with the girls but they love it when I do, so perhaps we might not be experts in classical music but maybe I can nurture their love of music and singing in some ways.

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The neat thing about homeschooling, is that as a parent I've continued learning and creating opportunties to try new things along with my children. Areas where I have a solid background, like music and physical education, I've provided a wide variety of opportunties for my dc to play different instruments and sports. Areas where I don't have as strong a background I've looked more at outside sources to provide the teaching (e.g., art and dance). If the dc have shown an interest, I continue to find classes or opportunities for them to add to their learning.

 

Some of this depends on age, as well. When the dc were young, I'd buy art supplies and let them try out different things. I used a curriculum and did my best to give them some exposure. As they grew older, I'd out-source more of the classes to "experts" so that my dc could learn more than I was able to offer.

 

Sometimes I learn along with the dc when we're exploring a new area. My dc (my ds 12 especially) are gaining an interest in theatre. I have absolutely no experience, but am willing to try to find affordable (free!) opportunities for them to do drama. Our local community theatre offers a children's drama course for members who volunteer at the theatre. So I've been putting in time painting sets, greeting people at the door for shows, and other non-skilled tasks. It's been really fun to learn more about the world of theatre that I thought I'd have no interest. Who knows, I may actually end up on stage in some capacity one day - or not, but at least I'll have had some fun and open the door to my dc to exploring this area.

 

 

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wintermom- thanks for sharing! I love your attitude, how do we fulfill that role, sometimes we just have to outsource. My girls are in dance class, there is no way I could do justice to this interst, never imagined that one! They're loving their classes. It is interesting though to broaden ones horizons.

 

I realized last year that my ds might have an interest in theater when we did a homeschool recitation day, he loved getting up on stage -he danced, he sang, he told jokes, recited poems, anything he could do he just wanted to be up there. I'd like for him to try out theater camp next summer but we ran out of money this summer. Hopefully, we get a chance to try some events at the local theatre in the coming year to see if it is for him. 

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wintermom- thanks for sharing! I love your attitude, how do we fulfill that role, sometimes we just have to outsource. My girls are in dance class, there is no way I could do justice to this interst, never imagined that one! They're loving their classes. It is interesting though to broaden ones horizons.

 

I realized last year that my ds might have an interest in theater when we did a homeschool recitation day, he loved getting up on stage -he danced, he sang, he told jokes, recited poems, anything he could do he just wanted to be up there. I'd like for him to try out theater camp next summer but we ran out of money this summer. Hopefully, we get a chance to try some events at the local theatre in the coming year to see if it is for him. 

 

I've been finding that there are huge benefits to seeking out opportunities for outsourcing for specific topics. They meet other people of various ages with similar interests, they get experience learning from other people, and we all get a break from the intensity of being with only each other. The "atmosphere of learning" doesn't have to only be one's home, I think it's just as much an attitude and openness for learning, and it can occur in many places with all sorts of people.

 

My friend has an older women neighbour who loves sewing, and is teaching her daughter to sew. Perfect, as the mom doesn't sew, and the dd loves the attention and time spent with this generous lady - and time spent away from her 2 brothers! ;)  I organized an art class with my two oldest dc from a lady from my church choir who is an artist. I brought her dinner and watched her baby while she gave my dc an art lessons. Another friend of mine started taking Latin lessons with her daughter from a retired professor. It was a wonderful opportunity for her to bond with her dd, and it sparked an interest in her dd's pursuit of Latin, ancient Greek and archeology studies. 

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Sometimes it is easy to get overwhelmed when reading about, or observing, other families and all they are able to include in their lifestyle. But there are several things I try to remind myself of: 1. It all adds up over the years. We don't have to do all of it all the time. 2. We take our lives where they are (both physically and otherwise), and branch out from there. 3. We take ourselves and our children, who we are and what we are interested in, and branch out from there.

 

I did (do) not usually do crafts with my kids--I just provide(d) the supplies and the books with ideas, and they took it from there. There really is a limit to how much you can include of activities and subject matter. So I tend to think that providing access to books (personal or library), and supplies (arts and crafts, instruments, CDs, etc.) is important as much as you are able. However, the single most important thing, in my opinion, is to cultivate the love of learning within myself. If my kids see me curious about the world around me--not just for their sakes, but for my own (does anybody like it when everything is made into a lesson?)--and see me learning new things, whether through books and resources or a new skill, they will likely also develop/keep that childlike curiosity to learn as well. Both the books I listed above give many ideas for how to make your home and lifestyle conducive to that kind of learning. They can be a little overwhelming, but if you start with where you are and add in a few things as you go along, eventually that adds up and creates change.

 

And it sounds to me like you are well on your way with the things you are already doing.

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I've been finding that there are huge benefits to seeking out opportunities for outsourcing for specific topics. They meet other people of various ages with similar interests, they get experience learning from other people, and we all get a break from the intensity of being with only each other. The "atmosphere of learning" doesn't have to only be one's home, I think it's just as much an attitude and openness for learning, and it can occur in many places with all sorts of people.

 

 

 

Very true, I guess I could have said as well, how do you cultivate a spirit of curiosity.

 

We've not done much outsourcing, only for physical activities so far but I can see it possibly being a huge asset. I tried to get some art lessons set up this year but I didn't have much luck and now we're so busy I cannot add anything until spring.

Sometimes it is easy to get overwhelmed when reading about, or observing, other families and all they are able to include in their lifestyle. But there are several things I try to remind myself of: 1. It all adds up over the years. We don't have to do all of it all the time. 2. We take our lives where they are (both physically and otherwise), and branch out from there. 3. We take ourselves and our children, who we are and what we are interested in, and branch out from there.

Yes, I agree we must start where we are and displaying a love of learning oneself is paramount.

 

I was thinking about this conversation last night, I think a big part of my feelings and thoughts on this stem from my own childhood, my parents were smart enough but they had little interest in the outside world, there very much home bodies. We didn't do any festivals, performances, travel, theater. Our only vacation was camping with relatives. I remember one musical performance and 1 movie from my entire childhood. We didn't really have books around and our school library would nearly fit into my current living room. We lived in a town of 600 people and without traveling there was not much available and we didn't travel. At that time the internet wasn't really around, certainly not where we lived. Now it wasn't that they were sheltering me, they were just not interested. After starting college and getting married I was opened up to the world around me. I was always curious but with limited resources, exposure and opportunity you are limited in what you can do and learn, it is hard to learn about something that you don't even know exists!

 

We still yet live in a smallish town (although not nearly that small!!!) but I want to provide them with whatever experiences and information that I can to the best of my ability. We've decided for us that the pros of living here outweigh the cons but I'm not blind to them existing. So, I guess although I'm generally a practical person I'm not always reasonable about this. I want them to have what I didn't have and being the first generation it isn't always so natural. I do think were doing a pretty good job and I try not to compare in a negative way but I want to keep my eyes open to ways we can improve. 

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I grew up in a small town as well. But my mom? Oh, she read all the time, and suggested books for us when we asked. We didn't get toys except on birthdays and Christmas, but we could order all the books from Scholastic that we wanted. We had a set of encyclopedias, and we took music lessons. She was interested in the world and read about it. She took classes on cake decorating, tailoring, and sewing lingerie from the county extension office. She took the class on CPR when they first started offering them, and it required learning a notebook of materials and three days of classes. She bought a computer at 70, and attended adult education classes with me at a nearby university to learn the Office suite. Well, you get the idea. She had a limited upbringing due to finances, but entering into adulthood, she has always been a lifelong learner. It trickles down. And now, in these days of the internet, you can bring opportunities into your home much easier. Add in a few museums along the way, go to plays and concerts at the nearest university, and you may be surprised at how far those things can take you without a lot of expense and without a hectic lifestyle.

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And now, in these days of the internet, you can bring opportunities into your home much easier. Add in a few museums along the way, go to plays and concerts at the nearest university, and you may be surprised at how far those things can take you without a lot of expense and without a hectic lifestyle.

Jaybee, your mom sounds like an interesting lady.

 

To be clear I know there are opportunities where I live but we just don't have as many, there are trade-offs and that's ok but I want to be aware of what I can.The internet does open things up. We do all of those things you listed and we keep our life at just about the right level of busyness for us but I'm always looking for new experiences, thank goodness for these forums as I've learned about so much that I would have never known about, like FLL, which we are doing now largely due to this forum.

 

edited- due to my many errors, sigh, multi-tasking doesn't always work!

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  • 1 year later...

Educational DVDs (like old school Carmen SanDiego) for watching on road trips or long car drives. I check out a few science, poetry, history books along with the ones the kids pick. They often finish reading the books they chose and pick up the ones I picked out from sheer boredom! I use our read-alouds to expose them to different cultures, times, and places as much as I can. I also use our breaks or vacations to visit family (or when family visits us) to go to local art museums. We play educational games sometimes instead of doing that subject formally which the kids see as a treat. I also get puzzles of different architectural structures around the world, famous places, famous paintings, or a massive instrument for us to put together as a family. The games or puzzles lead to more natural questions/discussion with the kids which they don't see as "learning." I've also tried to make lots of international friends for the kids (our neighbor in VA was from Ethiopia. My kids had no idea where that was...led to the kids researching it so they could "surprise" neighbor next time with all their knowledge) to meet and learn from organically. 

 

Exposure to music has been harder for me to do slyly. I'm still working on that one. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I schedule some extras because that's how things need to be. For other things, I provide the infrastructure. Dd wants to learn beekeeping and my brother has hives across town, but she can't without a bee suit so I bought one. She did a few classes making sculpy stuff last year, so I bought some sculpy and a toaster oven for Christmas because  I'm not having her bake plastic in my oven. She's been hammering nails because we have nails and wood, but we don't have a saw because I broke the saw blades so I have to get her one or she'll be limited by that. Now she's old enough to take care of other people's books, we're now adding a library trip to the weekly schedule. I can't afford to buy books on chocolate, making pop up books, bees, and whatever else comes into her mind every week!

 

We don't have a tv either. The only media access is through my laptop. That'll change when the right time comes, but it hasn't yet.

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