Winter Solstice 2023

 Friday 22nd December

Normally on the solstice and equinox dates, my aim is to spend as much time outside as possible where we take a picnic, read a winter story, and explore the seasonal changes... however, we had multiple things planned for this date, so it was a mish-mash of winter-themed fun all day.

It started with the changeover of books from autumn to winter, I have several collections that are based across the seasons that I keep away from Bear's accessible bookshelf so that only the current season is out. These are kept together on the living room bookshelf so that we can use them throughout the season.

First up was a trip to Grimm & Co (link for their website) for their final Curiouser & Curiouser session of the year, their winter party! The boys got to explore the winter tuff tray (of which I'm always jealous and always wish that I could recreate but never manage!) they played with winter/Christmas-themed materials, made jingle sticks, and cut paper snowflakes, listened to a story and watched it snow with the parachute and some white snowball pom poms! They both had a blast and I cannot wait for Grimm & Co (link for their social media) to be up and running again full-time when they reopen their new apothecary on the 29th of February!

After all the fun with the girls from Grimm & Co, we headed round the corner to Clifton Park to get some fresh air. I'd packed a picnic, and as it started to rain as we got there, we headed for the bandstand for a little shelter to sit and eat our dinner. Bear and I chatted about how it was winter now, what that meant for the seasonal changes, and what it brought with it, mainly Christmas, and then his birthday. The Cub wasn't into sitting still, and went roaming, splashing in puddles, which is one of his favourite things to do right now :)

After a walk around the park and a play in the playground, we headed home for the little one to take a nap, and Bear and I opened our Adventure Gang winter box from Moon Child. We subscribed back in autumn, and that box was beautiful, I was looking forward to this one, and it did not disappoint! A beautiful t-shirt for Bear, fact cards with gorgeous illustrations on for the full moons of the year, the materials to make a moon from clay, some drawings to colour in, a poster of the moon cycle, a moonstone bracelet, and some chocolate. I cannot recommend the subscription enough!

The rest of the day passed in a blur of games and activities, a Christmas movie, and ended with us lighting our yule log candles, reading our newest winter story, and eating beef stew for tea (the only acceptable meal to kick off winter with!) before cuddles and more winter stories before bed. 

It wasn't what I had planned when I'd thought about the solstice, but the boys had fun and that's what's important :)

Enjoy Winter x

Christmas Time

Well, it's been a minute... My apologies for the silence, life happened... what with going back to work, The Cub's first birthday, Home Ed life, Halloween and Bonfire Night, and then the festive season descending on us (which, when you work in retail had been gradually building since August) time has just run away from me.

We have been up to all sorts of things since the last time I posted, but I'm going to just highlight a few things and then attempt to keep up a little more from now on! 

As for Bear's learning, he is coming on in leaps and bounds. We kept up with number and letter recognition, and he now knows numbers 1 - 5 by sight, and the others when in order, but not always when out of context. We have done a letter a week, both the capital and lower case letter, and have worked on their name and their phonetical sound, as well as being able to match them together. We have made it to 'Ii' in the alphabet, and have been making a handprint alphabet as we've gone along. 

We have magnetic letters on the fridge, which has the new letter added to it each week, and Bear can confidently match the upper and lower cases together. The past letters stay up so the repetition of the start of the alphabet is only cementing his knowledge. He's always so proud of himself when he's matched them all up :)

Since the start of December, I have eased back on the intentional learning we'd been doing with numbers and letters in favour of more crafts and lots of Christmas reading and outings!

We read two longer picture books than normal too, the intention was to read them over multiple sittings, the idea being to see how he would take to a read aloud of chapter books, but he was happy to sit and listen to the whole story. We then wrote book reviews for them, as this is something I would like him to do for chapter books as it is a great way to judge how much of it he took in and understood.

Bear has discovered a love of colouring that he didn't have before, going from scribbling across the page one minute, to beautifully neat and in the lines the next (literally, from one page to the next in the colouring book while I was cooking tea one night) - and since then has regularly chosen colouring when before he would actively avoid it...

We will pick up the intentional learning again in January, but until then, his number and letter recognition is coming from real life situation, like being out and about, writing Christmas cards and his letter to Santa, which he wrote his name for, and in play, which is more than enough.

Momma Bear x

Caravan times

We realised an added bonus of Home Education this week when we took off for the caravan for four days between my work days... something that we wouldn't have been able to do if we had followed a traditional route into education and Bear was in nursery. 

It wasn't something that I had factored into my decision when we decided to home-educate Bear, nor had it been something I'd even thought about until the evening after we got there and I was setting up the bits I'd taken with me ready for Bear the following morning.

With some forward planning, despite being away from home, we still got in some intentional learning every day, looking at letter and number recognition, plus we had a lovely walk on the beach that included lots of discussion points and a planned trip to The Deep, the aquarium in Hull. 

We did some number recognition with a number line I've made for Bear so he can keep track of the numbers and a foam counting set I'd picked up in Poundstretcher which he matched to the number line. Bear can recognise numbers 1, 2 and 3 now, but struggles with the rest when out of order, hence the number line.

We also had a capital letters foam board jigsaw that he worked through and can identify a good half of the letters, though we know the sounds, not their names at the moment. 

We played a new game, something that I recreated from Pinterest, where Bear had to build the Lego stacks to match the numbers, again, recognising the written numbers and then counting the Lego bricks to make the towers :) He loved this and we will be using this regularly.

Our planned trip to The Deep in Hull was amazing, as always. We have a ticket that allows unlimited visits for a year, and we make use of it when we're up at the caravan, and we planned it so that we spent the rainy day there. Bear loved it again, checking out all the tanks and showing us the fish that he remembered from the last time. The Cub is now on his feet and toddled around most of the aquarium checking out all the fish. He loved watching them swimming around in the tanks and was fascinated by the jellyfish, which are Mummy's favourite too. I could watch them forever!

Bear picked a golf club and golf ball as the prize from Hook a Duck at the fair over the summer, so we checked out the mini crazy golf course on the caravan site and practiced a new skill. He was pretty good at it, to be honest. I showed him how to hold the golf club and to hit the ball gently, and although he's a bit heavy-handed and prefers to use one hand, he was happy to chase the ball around the golf course, so I was happy watching :)

No trip to the caravan is complete without a walk on the beach, and five minutes after we made it onto the sand, they were both covered in it - just the way a child should be :) I love how much my boys love the beach! It is my happy place and is quickly becoming theirs too. Bear had his shoes off the moment he hit the sand and was jumping in tide pools and squidging sand between his toes and The Cub was straight in, digging in it and heading for the water. 

We went for a walk in the opposite direction than normal in search of sea glass, but we had a bit of bad luck and couldn't find much. Bear walked so far but needed a carry part of the way back, which meant Mummy needed to she-hulk and carry both boys for a while. Damn, they're getting heavy now!

And, one of Bear's favourite things to do at the caravan is play games, his choice this time happened to be a great shape and spatial awareness lesson! He could name the shapes as he spun them, and worked hard at fitting them all together and not leaving any gaps. 

He was so proud when he made it to the end and had squeezed everything in that he could.

All in all, despite the upheaval of a different setting, we did as much learning as we would at home, just differently, as Bear had no interest in his busy book, which I did take with us. 

It didn't matter what he did, the fact that he is starting to recognise his letters and numbers is proof that what we are doing is working for us right now. 

We're back home now and I will be setting up next week's learning tomorrow, and after seeing how he responded to different things each morning, have decided I might switch things up at home a bit too, as up until now, I have been putting the same things out daily in a routine. I loved seeing his face at what might be there each morning, rather than expecting the same things... so I will be changing things up a little to keep his excitement alive!

Until then, 

Momma Bear x

Autumn Equinox 2023

 Saturday 23rd September 2023

For the last few years I have endeavoured to get outside with Bear on the equinox and solstice dates, usually involving a picnic and an afternoon roaming around somewhere and checking out the seasonal changes. Over the last few years we have found ourselves on the beach in Withernsea, in Dinnington Community Woodland and Shire Brook Valley Nature Reserve. The first year we were on the beach with Nannie and Pops, and last couple of years we have been out alone as the equinox has landed on a week day and Daddy has been busy... We had a great time every year and it was something that I promised myself I would keep up :)

This year, the equinox fell on a Saturday, which meant we could spend it with Daddy, and this year, we invited friends too! We planned a picnic and a scavenger hunt in Clumber Park and met our besties there for what was meant to be a couple of hours of fun in the sun, and we spent over six hours there together :) We have definitely met our people in the Wilkinsons!

Our morning started with some map reading skills to figure out where we were, where we parked and where we were going. Bear loved looking for the right places on the map and even worked out which path we had taken when we had worked out where some of the places were.

Once we had located friends we went on an Autumn Equinox Scavenger Hunt, which included looking for acorns, mushrooms, conkers and fallen leaves and then set ourselves up for a picnic in the sunshine, which came out beautifully for us I might add! Once the picnic had been devoured, the littlest two of our group had some fun on the picnic blanket and the biggest did some playing... they played with a frisbee, dug in some mole hills and went rolling down the hill together. 

The friendship that is blooming between Bear and A is beautiful and I love how much fun they have together. They were filthy by the time they were finished... #wildandfreechildren

Ice cream and a play in the woodland playground followed this and the The Cub got some freedom in his new shoes to do some exploring. He loves getting out of the pram now that he is on his feet, and he is more and more confident every day, he's practically walking already! 

With it being a Saturday, the playground was very busy and it wasn't long before the grown ups needed to escape, so we headed to the lake to feed the ducks where we fed the swans, the geese and the few ducks that dared to brave the geese, and we witnessed the most epic goose fight. There were shocked people, both adults and children, everywhere, and then there was my son and his daddy, egging them on shouting 'FIGHT'!

From here, Bear decided that we needed to find a good sit spot so that we could read the autumnal book that I had taken with us. Usually, I take the Brambly Hedge seasonal story to read, however they are quite long, so I'd taken something different this year and it went down brilliantly. Bear picked a spot in the shade under a big oak tree and we got our rainbow picnic blanket back out to lie on while I read Silver the Shrew to them.

After this we headed for a bench to feed the littlest of our group and Bear, A and their daddies had fun playing in the grass. They ran around a lot, did some rolie polies, climbed all over one another, hid behind trees, hugged a tree and generally laughed a lot. It was amazing to watch as the littlest got fed and The Cub snoozed in the pouch.

Before we knew it, six hours had gone by, and we all needed to be heading home for some tea, much to the wild ones' disgruntlement as they were having far too much fun for that, but all good things must come to an end and we parted ways to end our day, filled with happiness and ready for bed!

Since then we have made a nature journal page for our day in Bear's new book and already read many more autumnal themed books, been on more adventures and been hunting for seasonal changes - more posts to come on all of that soon :)

Until then, enjoy Autumn,

Momma Bear x

Our Morning Basket

I have had so many comments and questions about our Morning Basket, that I figured I'd throw a post together on it...

This was the first thing that I have introduced into our Daily Rhythm for Bear which is just a small basket filled with activities that are intended to be worked through alongside breakfast.

To begin with, this basket just has a few things to spark interest and to start to build up the idea of focussing over breakfast time. I used shape and colour as the basics for the first few weeks, both topics that Bear already had a grasp of so that it wasn't introducing too many new things at once, but this is where I will introduce phonics and numbers. The plan is to do it at breakfast time because it is a time which I can guarantee we are sitting together at the table, and it happens every day... it makes sense for us as it then leaves the rest of the day free for other activities.

For these first few weeks, this is what our Morning Basket included:

> Bear's Busy Book - a book with wipe-clean pages that I make and printout pages for, including doodle space linked to the time of the year, encouraging a recognition of the calendar, name recognition, mark-making practice, and other bits as we develop over time.

> Date magnets with a magnetic board to begin looking at what day/date it is and the significance of that, linked to him, so for example, if we have a group that day, or if we are counting down to a specific date like birthdays etc.

> A book - the first was Miss Caterpillar's Colours

> A mindfulness activity - I bought a pack of Mindfulness Activity cards from The Works recently which are beautiful, I intend to use these as prompts for our day/week, depending on what they are. The one I chose for the first week was A Rainbow Hunt which linked to his book.

> A toy/fidget toy for while I am busy and to prevent him bringing other toys to the table which will cause unnecessary clutter when I want to encourage a learning space.

> A storybook - a different story each day, linked, if possible to the theme for the week.

> There will also be something in there for The Cub, to help keep him occupied :)

For now, it will be none compulsory, but gently encouraged, until it kind of becomes the norm for Bear. We don't have to get through everything every day, or not necessarily at breakfast, if we are struggling one day we could maybe give it another go at lunch, for example!

He has done amazing these first few weeks, and loves the activities, getting involved in pretty much everything. There have been odd days that he hasn't been interested, and that's okay, yet I have found that he asks at lunchtime to have a go instead. He often asks to have a second look at lunchtime, even if we have done the activities at breakfast. I couldn't be more proud of him right now, he's been a little superstar.

Any questions, feel free to drop me a comment...

Momma Bear x

Bear's first day of Home Ed - Foundation Stage 1

Wow - what a day!

Today has been pretty darn epic, even if I do say so myself. We have covered a little bit of everything, including all the 'First Day' activities I wanted to do that will become annual activities.

We started our day off with Bear's Morning Basket on the table which he unpacked to investigate the contents and had a go with just about everything.

I will do a more detailed post about our Morning Basket later in the week as I have had several comments on it today on Instagram stories :)

While I sorted breakfast, Bear did some of the activities in here, chatting away all the time.

After breakfast, we headed straight outside, still in our pajamas, for some morning sunshine while I hung out the washing, the boys both loving it, as normally I would wait until they were dressed. Today, I felt like breaking my own rules, as a way of showing myself just how we can make our own choices. We had no set time for anything, no morning rush. It was lovely just to go at our own pace.

We headed back inside for The Cub's nap, and Bear and I did his 'First Day of Home Ed' activities. We started with the little questionnaire I made that we will fill out each year, then took our 'Not back to school' photos, which, full disclosure, Bear did in his boxers, because who needs clothes on a day as warm as this?!

We also made 'Wooden Spoon Me's', again, something I'd like to do each year to see how Bear's ability and the way he sees himself changes. He loved this activity and has played with the spoons at different intervals for the rest of the day :)

Lunch when The Cub woke up, and we dipped back into Bear's basket and read the two books I had chosen for today. One of which will stay in there all week, a simple book about colours, the other, a picture book, which I intend to change daily, giving us a 'story of the day'. Today's story was one of Toby's favourites, How to Catch a Rainbow by Naomi Jones, a lovely story about collecting the colours of the rainbow. 

After lunch, we packed our own rainbow hunting kit like the little girl in the book and went out with Bear's camera to hunt for the colours and take photographs of them to do our first Nature Journal page in our new journal. Bear loves his camera and is getting really good at lining up the shots he chooses to take. I love to see what catches his eye and what he wants to photograph.

We picked up Nannie along the way and headed for the park in glorious sunshine, and as expected, had it virtually to ourselves as most children have headed back to school today. 

We returned home for The Cub's afternoon nap, probably a little later than we should have because we were having so much fun, and stopped for ice cream on the way back too, and then Bear and I sorted through the photos he'd taken, printed them out and stuck them in his journal. We then discussed the colours, Bear found the matching crayons and gave me the initial letter sound for each colour for me to write them in his journal.

By the time The Cub woke up, it was almost time for tea, which Bear helped get ready, and Daddy was home in time to sit down with us so Bear told him about some of the things we had gotten up to during the day. We made it back outside afterward to water the plants and spend a little time soaking up that golden hour, before a bath, more books, and bed.

All of this, plus lots of free play in between the things we had planned, including some new toys means one exhausted Little Bear, and Momma Bear too, and lots of memories made... now to reset the house ready for tomorrow morning :)

It's Time!

Tomorrow is the 1st September and already my intentions are out of the window... if that isn't one of the perks of Home Education already, I don't know what is!

I had plans to start September off with some activities about Bear and what he wants to be when he grows up etc, you know, the typical stuff... then I realised that the 1st was a Friday and the first Friday of every month is our Forest Tots group so we will be getting up and ready to head out for the day!

Then, to throw another spanner in the works... I am back to work next week, first day back; Monday! So, we won't be starting Monday either 😆

All is good though and I've accepted it on the vein of, 'It's Home Ed, we don't need to keep to someone else's schedule... we will forge our own path!' And surprisingly, my anxiety over planning hasn't reared its head, so I will take that as a win.

What I have done though is design my own planning sheet that encompasses the things I want to work out each month, giving me room to build an ongoing materials list so thst I can stay on top of the bits and pieces I want for crafting and sensory trays etc.

I have also decided to put any resources that I make for Bear on Etsy as digital downloads, so, the planning pages are there if you're interested!

You can find my Etsy Store here, there will be more content being uploaded over the next few weeks!

For tonight, I will end with Good Luck to anyone starting out their new Home Ed year over the next few days! I'm so excited to bring in some of my ideas for Bear 🐻 

Updates to come next week!

Momma Bear x

Which approach?

There are many different approaches to home education and every child is different, so finding the approach that best suits your child can very much be trial and error. Obviously Bear is still only young, and his personality and drive are only just beginning to form, so my intentions to begin with are to pick out the bits from a few different approaches that I feel suit us as a family and see how we go.

The biggest influence on my home education plans so far is the Wild + Free community which are inspired by a Henry David Thoreau quote, "All good things are wild and free." They follow the ideal that not only do they want their 'children to receive a quality education, but also to experience the adventure, freedom and wonder of childhood.' And right there, is one of the main reasons that I chose to home educate my boys.

Don't get me wrong, the education system has its place, and I've been there and worked in it, across several schools and year groups. But with that experience, I also saw its flaws, and that helped shape my decision. In my opinion, the school system is too time-consuming and strict and does not allow a child to follow their own interests, grow in a world that they ultimately have to live in and just enjoy being a child. I want my boys to have the freedom to follow their interests and learn at their own pace. To see the magic in their childhood, not always be watching a clock and to forever be encouraged to reach for their dreams!

That said, my own personality does not lend well to the idea of unschooling and completely following their lead, so I do plan to structure their learning around them in ways that they still have choices and the room to change their minds in order to follow something they find interesting.

The other influence on my idea of home education is Charlotte Mason, who encouraged a love of art and nature and focused on growing the hearts and minds of children. It is from Charlotte Mason that I learned of nature journaling and the ways of showing children how to love nature. She uses great literature to teach concepts like spelling and handwriting, introduced the work of great artists and composers, and let children come to their own conclusions. And above all, she focussed on the idea of the child being a whole person and being treated as such. 

It is from this that I actively get us outside every day, even if that is just us playing outside in the garden with 'inside toys' or taking a walk to the shops and back. Fresh air and nature are the key to our happiest days :)

And lastly, Maria Montessori, who encouraged including a child in their natural environment and allowing their interests and natural curiosity in order for them to develop their skills. She saw the child as a person who could play a part in the day to day life of their family, and encouraged independence from a young age in order to allow a child to develop into a happy and fulfilled adult who can contribute to society. 

I already allow Bear to help around the house whenever he shows an interest, despite it usually meaning that a job will take twice as long, and I actively encourage him to get involved in tasks that are directly related to himself, like helping prepare his meals and tidy up after himself. But there is still room for me to allow him more freedom in his choices, and that is my own compulsive personality that I need to curb in order to let his own shine through. 

I have used the elements from these three home education approaches as well as plenty of my own ideas that I have gathered from reading other blogs, following accounts on Instagram, and of course, trusty old Pinterest!

I'd love to hear what influences your home education approach with your children, drop me a comment below to chat :)

Momma Bear

The websites listed below are for the three approaches that I have referenced above and are where I have taken direct quotes from, or have paraphrased their information.

www.bewildandfree.org

www.simplycharlottemason.com

www.mariamontessori.org

1000 hours outside

I have been taking part in the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge since Bear was born, but this year, with them both, I decided to make getting outside a priority for us. There are so many benefits to fresh air and sunshine, and we honestly feel it. I have always loved the outdoors, though in all honesty, I was very much a fair weather adventurer, and you'd find me curled up inside with a good book if it was miserable and raining outside. 

However, I have noticed the benefits in my children from being outdoors too, and both me and Bear suffer when we are cooped up inside all day. So, I decided that I wanted to make getting outside and getting some fresh air a priority for us, and so far, at over half way through the year, we have spent time outside every day!

Some days, that only includes ten minutes in the garden, or a wander to the local shop and back. The days where it's cold and raining, or worse, windy! Both Bear and I hate the wind. Other days we can be outside nearly all day. Pretty much all of our adventures are outdoor based, and wherever possible I will choose outdoor activities and groups over indoor ones, choosing to use the indoor activities to fill the days when getting outside is harder.

The 1000 Hours Outside Challenge was something that I came across on Instagram while I was still pregnant with Bear, and I loved the idea. Ginny, the founder, based her idea on research that showed that the average child spends nearly 1200 hours a year looking at a screen. Her idea was to try and match that time with nature time, rounding it to 1000 hours, because we all like a good round number!

She provides free tracking sheets which we use, as I like to see them fill up as we spend time outside. This year we chose the new log slice tracking sheet as I loved how it looked, and I decided to track Bear and The Cub seperately as I knew that Bear would clock up more time than his little brother.

I have no idea whether we will make it to 1000 hours outside, in fact, I'm reasonably positive we won't. We haven't come close in the couple of years we've been taking part, but I do know that we are accumulating more time than we would have if I hadn't made it a priority in our days. 

Back at the beginning of the year, I found it difficult to get us outside in the cold and wet weather due to The Cub only being very small, but I soon realised that actually, he was the easiest one to keep warm and dry! He had a lovely winter all in one suit and he went in his pram, under his raincover and was perfectly happy, warm and dry. It was Bear and myself that had to wear layers to keep warm, and stay out of the rain if we wanted to stay outside for long. But, encouraging outdoor time in all weather has resulted in Bear asking to play outside in the garden in all weathers. I often look out of the window and think that he'd be better inside where it's warm and dry, but if he is happy out in the cold and rain, then so be it. I can get him warm and changed into dry clothes when he's finished.

I wanted children that were happy in the outdoors, because it's where I'm happy. I wanted little explorers, adventureres that were up for anything, and so far, that is exactly what I have. Bear is more than happy to be heading out of the front door to spend time outside, whether it's a wander in the local woods looking for sticks, or heading to the caravan for a few days at the beach! And The Cub is no different; the pram or being worn, he is happy outdoors too and loves looking around. When let loose to explore he loves to get his bare toes in the grass or the sand, and is quick to try and get something he shouldn't into his mouth as he is sitll mouthing everything at only nine months old. 

Ginny provides lots of support over on her Instagram page, and has both a blog and a podcast that run alongside it now, all of which support this idea, along with others that interlink. For example, the Sunlight Before Noon Challange which encourages 20-30 minutes of sunlight in a morning. The benefits include enhanced mood, a better night's sleep and a way to help regulate your body.

All in all, I cannot fault the theories, I find that my mood and general well-being benefits from getting outside, and I do find that Bear's sleep patterns, mood and behaviour, and his eating habits, are all better for getting outside every day.

Have you tried the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge yet?

I'd love to know how many hours you're at and how you plan outside time into your days. Drop me a comment below to chat :)

Momma Bear x

The Planning

 

I'm a planner... in life anyway, when I'm writing it's a whole other story, but that is beside the point here. I love a good planner and all the stationary that goes with it, so obviously, when I decided to go ahead with Bear's learning in September, I went out and invested in a great planner. 

I plan to use the 1st of September to mark the beginning of our journey and want to get some 'start of year' photos, and have plans for traditions to start. As this year the 1st falls at the end of the week, those plans will go over the weekend before I make a move to introduce our morning basket which will have some focused activities based on things like the calendar and the weather etc at the start of the first full week in September.

I'd love to hear what traditions you have, whether for home-education, or school-educated children. Along the lines of photo ideas, new equipment, breakfasts... I have ideas of my own, which I will do a post on closer to the start of September, but I'd love to hear some that are already in play :)

Momma Bear x

Quiet Time

I recently replied to a post on one of the Home Education Facebook groups that I am a part of, something I don't usually do as I get imposter syndrome due to not technically home educating yet, but I felt that my opinion counted on this occasion. The post was someone asking about how to create a routine, and feeling like she expected too much of her children who were both still quite young. My response to her post was to say that routines don't happen overnight, especially with little ones, and that starting small and introducing one thing at a time until you have something that resembles a routine that you're comfortable with would be my advice. That's what I am doing with my boys already. 

My example is that I have already started to introduce the idea of Quiet Time into our daily rhythm at home. This is something quite common amongst home educators as it gives everyone some time and space apart, and some time to chill out a bit. For now, all this involves is encouraging Bear to spend some time playing on his own, preferably in his bedroom, while I am putting his brother down for his afternoon nap. I help him decide what to play with, encouraging activities/toys that I know won't frustrate him or need my assistance, and then leave him with a drink and sometimes a snack, while I go into the other room with The Cub. Once he is asleep and in his cot, I spend some time lying on the bed, usually reading. It's nice to just have a little bit of time to myself, something that isn't as easy to come by as a home educating parent because in general, you are always together.

So far, Quiet Time is not enforced, if, by the time The Cub is asleep, Bear has had enough of being on his own, then we find something to do together. He is praised for spending some time alone, and for being quiet while I get his brother to sleep, and I use the words Quiet Time, afterward, not before, as this can cause him to panic a little at the idea of having to be quiet.

Bear is doing great with this concept so far, occasionally, especially while we've had all this hot weather, he has chosen to get into bed and lie down, (only once having actually fallen asleep) but usually playing with Lego or 'reading' some books. I use quotations as at three years old, Bear can't actually read yet, but he has an amazing memory and can read many of his favourites from memory, or makes up the stories from the pictures.

I make sure to praise him for his time alone, no matter how long it lasts. His average at the moment is around half an hour, which means that I usually get around twenty minutes to myself if I've timed the nap right and The Cub goes down easily. The day Bear fell asleep, I may have gotten snuggled down myself and we all had over an hour's nap (sleep while the baby sleeps and all that) - it was great... until bedtime came around. But that is a whole other story!

As we move through our home educating journey, I plan to encourage Quiet Time to last longer, hopefully, the same amount of time that The Cub naps for, giving us all some respite. Until then though, I am happy that Bear is comfortable on his own, even if only for a short while, and I love chatting with him afterward as he tells me all about what he got up to while I wasn't there with him :)

As I posted in the Facebook group, this is just one thing that I have introduced, and once I feel that we have gotten the hang of it, I will introduce something else. Currently, my plan is for that to be the morning basket in September that will long term, will be our 'lessons' when we pick up phonics and number work. 

Any questions? Feel free to drop some comments,

Mamma Bear

But what about socialisation?

'But what about socialisation?'

Probably one of the most asked questions when a family mentions that they home-educate, and I've already heard it several times, from family as well as others that the topic has come up with and Bear isn't even CSA yet, so we're not technically 'home-educating'. 

Of all the questions that I have heard, and the ones that I haven't had personally yet, but know of due to my research, the one about socialisation isn't one that I worry about... at all! Bear is a very social creature and is not shy when it comes to speaking to strangers. You also have to remember that being home-educated doesn't mean that we do school at home! We are not going to be sat at a table with worksheets for six hours a day, in fact, as it stands, I plan to do very little of that kind of work with my boys. My intentions are much more life-based and hands-on for learning, but more on that another time.

Currently, (remembering that we are not yet technically home-educating yet due to Bear's age) we attend several monthly activities where he engages with both other children (of mixed ages) and adults. We attend a Forest School group for toddlers, which has a follow on group for home-educated children to continue attending when they outgrow Forest Tots. Bear absolutely loves the leader of this group, (as do I) she is absolutely amazing with the children that attend and her passion and knowledge of the outdoors is very much infectious in the best way! We attend a farm group, Little Farmers, which again is aimed at toddlers and preschoolers, and the farm has recently started offering a home-educators group that we will attend once Bear has outgrown the current group. We also use our local library where we attend their Rhyme Time session weekly. Bear knows the woman who runs this and is happy to chat with her as well as interacting with the other parents and children attending.

As a specific example, in Clifton Park recently, we came across the grounds people planting flowers in the flower beds. Bear was quick to notice them and asked me why they were 'stealing the flowers' which made me chuckle. I told him that I didn't think that they were stealing them, and asked if he'd like to go and ask them what they were actually doing, which he was quick to accept and trotted off ahead. 

The guy explained to Bear that they were planting the summer beds and asked if he'd like to help. He showed Bear how to dig a little hole and plant the flower and fill in the soil again. It was really lovely to have someone interact with Bear, and this guy was amazing with him, talking to him and showing him what to do, as well as being respectful of me, and checking that it was okay to involve Bear. He loved it! Bear did two flowers and then the guy let him bring one home with him to plant at home, which we did and Bear is in charge of looking after it, watering it every night :)

On a day-to-day basis, Bear says hello to people in the street and is happy to chat when people stop to speak to us, whether that be neighbours or strangers, he loves to chat with some of the neighbours and regularly asks what they're up to, especially when they're out gardening as his love of the outdoors is very obvious. He converses with restaurant staff, asks in our local shop whether his auntie and uncle are working as well as speaking to staff in pretty much any store. He is well known at our local pub where his daddy runs the musical jam night and speaks to the bar staff and other people in the pub, again holding conversations with them when they instigate it. He introduces himself along with his brother and myself to people and can hold a conversation with people when they ask him questions etc. People often marvel at his speech for a three-year-old and are surprised at how well he can converse, but as I say to them, it's because that's how he is treated at home and with family. I have always allowed him the space to talk and ask questions and I always involve him in conversations when I am speaking to someone. 

So, when you ask me if I'm worried about whether or not my children are going to be able to socialise, I apologise now for laughing at you, because honestly, I think Bear is already more social than many 'school' kids his age, and older, and I see no reason why The Cub won't be the same way as he grows up. He's already proving to be a little mischief, and second kids are known for being way more outgoing than the first... I'm going to have my work cut out for me :)

Momma Bear

A Daily Rhythm

A common concept amongst home educators is the idea of a daily rhythm rather than a schedule or timetable. This was something that I've seen across several platforms that I am using to further my knowledge surrounding home education, a couple including Shelley on Instagram (@that.which.is.lovely) who has a post on their current daily rhythm and often does Day in the Life of stories to show what they get up to. I also follow Lyndsey on Instagram (@treehouse_schoolhouse) and like to read her blog from time to time, where she has a recent post about their family daily rhythm amongst so many other things. It was also mentioned in The Call of the Wild + Free by Ainsley Arment, the first book I read on my journey into home education.

It continues to pop up across regularly and I love to see what different rhythms look like for different families at different stages of their home educating journeys. As for what this will mean for us, I am basically using it to highlight what a perfect day for us would look like - I have absolutely no expectations for any of our days to actually look like this, what with Bear only being three, and having The Cub around at barely a year old when we plan to begin in September. However, there are several things that I would like to make a part of our daily rhythm, and others that I would like to see develop into habits for us too.

My ideal days would involve;

~ Morning Time - this is where I plan to introduce Bear's phonics learning. I plan to put together a Morning Basket (more on that in another post) which will include several small activities to do at the breakfast table while I am making breakfast, while we're eating and while I clean up. I also plan to include something for The Cub in here to involve him in this time even though he won't be joining Bear on his educational journey yet.

(This is something that I sort of implemented a while ago as a 'table basket' which was intended to stop the build up of toys being brought to the table every meal time. It was just a basket with some books, a couple of toys and a whiteboard and pen for him to mark-make. Obviously this time around it will be much more thought out.)

~ Activities away from the home - many of the activities that we take part in, Forest Tots as an example, take place in the morning, so we would pack up and head out for the morning and usually over lunch time... picnic included! This is also my preferred time for getting out on an adventure, so whether an activity or just a morning out, this time suits us best.

~ Read aloud - I will be reading some well known children's fiction stories aloud to them in the afternoons while they play, alongside the many picture books that usually get devoured on a daily basis.

~ Getting outside - I have made this a priority this year and at half way through June, we have been outside every single day this year! I am so proud of myself for keeping this up even on naffy weather days and days where I could happily just hibernate. I intend on keeping this a priority, whether it be an adventure that takes us out for hours, or a simple walk to the shop for some fresh air. I've found the benefits immeasurable.

On days where we are out of the house in the afternoons, for example Little Farmers that we attend at Boston Park Farm, we will simply rearrange this rhythm and do the other things during the morning and after we return.

Some other things that I'd like to keep as a weekly rhythm of sorts include 

~ Our (almost) weekly trips to the library, usually to take part in Rhyme Time, other times to check out their Stay & Play, or just to do a book run!

~ Exercise - Whether this is outdoor based when we have been out for a walk somewhere, or home based on days where we don't go as far, I want to introduce Bear to the idea of keeping fit, using Cosmic Kids Yoga and other exercises for toddlers.

~Nature Journaling - We have used a nature journal in the past as something to do when we were out and about. I had a book that Bear and I used to stick things in, draw in, and I'd often write notes about our adventures. 

This is something that I plan to build on with him, but I am going to take a slightly different approach to it than I did last time around. I want to use it as a way of documenting his interests and making notes on his adventures, but with his input! (Post to come on my intentions.)

~ Quiet Time - Another idea that pops up regularly within the home educating community as a way of having everyone, Mama included, get some much needed space and alone time during the day. I have already started building this idea into Bear's day since his baby brother arrived, as he often spends a little time in his bedroom while I get the Cub down for a nap. Sometimes this includes him laying in bed for a while, other times he sits and plays. I plan to build the time frame up on this so that I get some time for me, and he has some quiet time away from his brother.

I will probably do a post on each of these in the future, going into more detail on my plans and what I am going to use etc, so keep your eyes peeled for those :) but for now, this is a general idea of what I'd like our days/weeks to look like!

Momma Bear

So why now?

At what age should a child start on their educational journey?

There are so many possible answers to this question that I could never get into them all, but the obvious answer is that their journey starts whenever they, or you, are ready!

According to the UK government website, Most children start school full-time in the September after their fourth birthday. This means they’ll turn 5 during their first school year. This means that the majority of UK children spend 32 1/2 hours a week in school from the age of four through till at least 16. That is 7620 hours of "compulsory" education.

The UK government website also says that You can teach your child at home, either full or part-time. This is called home education (sometimes ‘elective home education’ or ‘home schooling’). You must make sure your child receives a full-time education from the age of 5, but you do not have to follow the national curriculum.

One other quite common answer amongst home-educating families is the Charlotte Mason approach which includes a very gentle introduction to learning for little ones ages 3-4. The main focus will be learning through play. Children should not begin formal lessons until the age of 6.

The last that I will touch on here is an Unschooling approach, which is a child-led approach to learning, meaning that 'formal lessons' may never happen in their home.

So, the answer is very much open for each family to decide. Personally, I have decided to start introducing some daily rhythms in September when Bear would have started nursery (FS1) but the only thing that I will be 'teaching' him, and I use that word loosely because there will be no pressure at first, and if he isn't ready then I will back off again, is Phonics. I am in the middle of researching Phonics programs and trying to decide which one will be the best fit for us... More on that when I have decided!

My decision to start in September when Bear would have been starting nursery is mainly because he is showing a natural ability for learning. He has picked up so much just through play and loves books, so I decided that putting down some foundations ready for learning to read would not be a bad thing. I don't plan to go about it in a 'lessons' kind of way, but more through focused play spaces and introducing the letter sounds with little games and activities. 

I will do more posts on my plans and daily rhythms but for now, that's all I have :)

Mama Bear

The Research

 So, where did I start? In a book of course!

I have slowly been acquiring books on Home Educating that I plan to read to educate myself along the way. One of the first books I bought after making the decision, one which I had pretty much decided on before I'd even had Bear, but obviously talked through with Daddy, was The Home Education Handbook by Gill Hines and Alison Baverstock, although I have to admit, I haven't actually read it yet...

This is my current pile ->

I have a whole list saved that I'd like to work my way through and although I have had a couple of these for a while, the one that I started with was The Call of the Wild + Free by Ainsley Arment. It was a perfect start for me and a philosophy that I already follow with my boys, and one I plan to take with us into our Home Education journey. 

"Allow your children to experience the adventure, freedom, and wonder of childhood with this practical guide that provides all the information, inspiration, and advice you need for creating a modern, quality homeschool education."

It was a beautiful read, one that resonated with me on many levels and will most definitely help shape my way forward on this journey. I loved the way that it was set out, the easily digestible sections made for interesting reading and I found a lot of purpose in Ainsley's ways of living and educating her children. She is the founder of the Wild + Free movement and runs an Instagram page that I love too, amongst many other things!

An idea that I read about from another Instagram profile that I love, Shelley, whose page is @that.whichislovely was about keeping a Commonplace Book; a notebook with your favourite quotes from the books that you read, a place to keep the ideas that inspire you. I dug out a pretty notebook when I started reading The Call of the Wild + Free and filled several pages with quotes, as well as tagging the book with page markers at places that I'd like to be able to jump back to!

My current read is Balanced and Barefoot by Angela J Hanscom, a book that I saw several of the accounts that I follow on Instagram talk highly of. This one hasn't proven to be quite as good of a read as my first, purely because it seems to be aimed quite specifically at parents and teachers with children who have health and cognitive difficulties, which is not quite how it is publicised. I will stick with it in the hopes that it still provides some enlightenment, but a part of me is itching to move on to something different...

"In this important book, a pediatric occupational therapist and founder of TimberNook shows how outdoor play and unstructured freedom of movement are vital for children’s cognitive development and growth, and offers tons of fun, engaging ways to help ensure that kids grow into healthy, balanced, and resilient adults."

I can post reviews here on the blog as I read if that is something you are interested in... alternatively, you can follow my reading journey (though it will include all my fiction reads too) over on my Goodreads page.

More soon,

Mama Bear

Where to start?!

Bear would be due to start nursery in September, which is Foundation Stage 1 (FS1) where he would begin his educational learning journey, so, although I don't plan to do much with him this young, I am going to make a start on phonics as he has a decent grip on his alphabet, or most of it anyway... he is only three, and everything he knows so far he has picked up purely through play. Amongst his toys are several resources that are number and letter based, including jigsaws, blocks, wooden letters, magnetic letters and cars with numbers on, which he has access to at all times.

Many of his toys go through rotation, and to a certain extent, so do his letters and numbers, as I change what is out on the play surface weekly, but unlike his other toys which are put away in the spare room when out of rotation, his letters and numbers are kept in a draw in the play space, so if he ever wants anything different out to play with, he can swap them out by himself. Any knowledge he has so far is all through playing with these and remembering what they are from me naming them during play.

Come September, I plan to make a more concentrated effort to actually have Bear learn his alphabet, then move on to phonics sounds before moving into reading.

Obviously, the first place I have started is with a planner... anyone who knows me knows that I always loved a good planner, though these days, I keep my own plans in the calendar on my phone. I decided, although I know that it is not a necessity, that I would like to keep a record of what I do with Bear, and eventually with The Cub too, for my own peace of mind, if not for anyone else. I looked into 'teacher' planners, but they are far too in-depth for what I wanted, as were 'student' planners. I also had a nosey at some 'home education' style planners, but again, for now, they were far too detailed... so, I went with what I know.

I have used Personal Planners on and off for years, and love the flexibility that they provide to create them exactly the way you want them to be. The personal organiser is a reasonably new line for them, and I decided that I'd like the ring binder so that I can just purchase the new insert each year. This year I went for one of their astrology covers, and the front cover has Bear's educational details on it so that I will be able to store them and find relevant information from them when necessary.

Also, this is Ned! He will feature in our home education journey quite often, though maybe not in every photo as he has done in this post... I like to leave him out with play invitations, and he comes on adventures with us. The Cub has one with his name on too which is already one of his favourite toys <3

I think that's probably quite enough for a post all about a planner - though I may do another one further down the line once I start using it to make plans, and to record our journey... Any questions, please comment below!

Mama Bear x