And the homeschooling saddle, too. We cruised through the holidays, which were more hectic than I intended (aren't they always?). Now we're settling into a new routine for a new year.
I was able to take stock of our progress last "semester" and I finally realized that I've been doing school at home. Exactly what the experts tell you NOT to do. I was taking some much of the joy that DD gets from exploring and doing things her own way. I haven't become a radical unschooler by any stretch of the imagination, but I am committed to letting go of some long-cherished beliefs. Maybe I've been deprogrammed???
Anyway, I read another great book called Learning All the Time by John Holt. In it were excellent suggestions for providing concrete examples of abstract concepts, specifically reading and arithmetic. He continually stresses the idea of adults as facilitators who introduce kids to ideas and then get out of the way. It's the getting out of the way part that I have trouble with. I've been making a concerted effort over the past few days to introduce something, e.g. an alphabet puzzle that we haven't seen for at least one year, and letting her work with it as and when she wants. Amazingly, she asked to work the puzzle again this morning with me. It turns out that she had forgotten a few critical components of the alphabet song. Who knew? I sure didn't.
My new goal for 2009 is Learning without Tears. I may even write a book someday...but first I have to learn my DD.
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