Homeschool | 01

an introduction

This is a new series that will cover anything related to our learned & compiled idea of early childhood education & beyond.

We believe that homeschool values & how you run your home + parenting, are intertwined and will be sharing thoughts, books or other resources that have guided us here as well.

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Our daughter turns 4 this fall, and we have decided to do somewhat the beginnings of homeschool.

May I add that I truly use that term so lightly, almost a whisper, an essence of homeschooling. As we are planning a “non-academic” approach in her early education.

No formal mathematics or science, no reading (other than storytelling from an adult) or writing. Instead, we will be focusing on creating a rich and memorable childhood through good and beautiful experiences in the natural world, such as interactions, life skills, literature & storytelling, crafts & baking. By doing this we will naturally be adding some sort of rhythm to our household. And if you know me, I love a good rhythm in place of a rigid schedule.

One of the most exciting things that I find about homeschool, is that we get to curate our schooling to how we see fit & in line with our personal & parental values.

So, what is the vision then? Shortly after we discussed beginning something that in our eyes resembles homeschool, we decided to write down what our family values were and our hopes for our children. A mission statement that will guide us in our parenting and schooling (one in the same) that decidedly reminds us of who we are, what we do and certainly why we do it. Cooper and I are Christians, and our shared belief creates the foundation of our values & worldview.

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Rudolf Steiner classifies child development into three stages divided into 7-year cycles, and each stage focuses on either Goodness, Beauty, or Truth. 

The Age of Goodness (0-7) – Focus on the Goodness of the world, in nature, and in people.

The Age of Beauty (7-14) – Focus on the appreciation and cultivation of Beauty in the arts.

The Age of Truth (14-21) – Focus on the discernment, discourse, and defending of Truth.

Understanding the 3 developmental periods has helped me to frame (somewhat, I’m so new at all this friends) an idea of what our schooling will look like for now. Knowing that our children (inclusive of our son, though he just watches us now) are in the age of goodness, most of our focus will be centered on creating experiences that teach our children how to see the goodness that exists in the world. Desiring to awaken and deepen our child’s imagination…

I will be sharing snippets of that process & activities here! Hopefully this can be a resource to other families. Enjoy!

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Interactions & Life Skills

Crafts

Baking

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-Morgan