Unschooling plans? Is that an oxymoron? I was going to say “unschooling ideas” but that sounded too vague. Call them what you will – over the last few weeks I’ve been chatting with the children about what they want to learn this term and jotting down ideas in Evernote, and that’s what this post and … Continue reading Unschooling Plans for English and Maths
This year we let go of the last remnants of curriculum and enjoyed finding our own homeschooling groove. In case you missed them, here’s a round-up of the most popular Navigating By Joy posts of 2013. Click on the photos to see each post. Science Instead of following a science curriculum, we did at least one … Continue reading 15 Best Homeschooling Posts of 2013 from Navigating By Joy
Welcome to my final post in Week in My Life 2013. Click here for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Most Fridays at 12 PM J(8) has therapy for his Sensory Processing Disorder. This week, though, his appointment was at 9:30 AM. Combined with the hour long round trip, that took up most of our morning. I … Continue reading Week in My Life – Friday
This year I’m planning a small change to our daily routine which I’m hoping will have big consequences: I’m not going to declare our “school day” started. Until now, everyone has done their own thing in the morning until about 9AM when I round them up to “start schoolwork”. C(9) might be watching TV, reading or … Continue reading No More School Time
This week’s Homeschool Help topic is “What’s new in your homeschool curriculum?” For us, the biggest change this year will be in our homeschooling style. We’ve been moving in an increasingly interest-led direction ever since we began homeschooling. In fact, next year I’m declaring us almost-unschoolers. “Almost,” because I still find it useful to think … Continue reading Making Up Our Homeschool Curriculum
Science is my favourite homeschool subject. I love it because it’s hands-on, my kids are always enthusiastic about it, and it’s so varied – there’s always a new way to make things pop, whizz, bang or explode! To get straight into how we do science, skip down to “How I plan (or don’t plan) science” … Continue reading How To Make Sure Science Gets Done When You’re Not Using A Curriculum
I don’t really like cooking. Sometimes I feel guilty about this – surely taking delight in serving up delicious home-cooked meals is a natural part of being a good mum? Then I remind myself that just because my own passions happen to lie elsewhere doesn’t mean I love my kids any less. It seems unlikely … Continue reading How To Make Sure Your Kids Eat Healthily When You Don’t Enjoy Cooking
Do you ever have times where everything feels easy in your homeschool? On one of those days: My children greet my suggestions with enthusiasm (or better still, make their own suggestions). We flow effortlessly from one happy learning experience to another. I don’t have time to worry about whether I’m fulfilling my responsibility to provide … Continue reading It’s A Wrap: Going With The Flow
We’ve had a light homeschooling week as it’s UK half term holidays and my mum and nephew S(5) have been visiting. S lives three hours’ drive away and started full-time school last September, so it’s been lovely for the cousins to spend time together. There’s been lots of swimming, park fun and playing in the … Continue reading Weekly Wrap Up – The One Where We Finally Made Elephant Toothpaste
Our Grade 3 (UK Year 4) language arts programme is centred around Brave Writer’s The Arrow. We love how The Arrow exposes us to new literature and inspires us to use language in new and exciting ways. I say “us” because part of the Brave Writer philosophy is that parents learn alongside their kids – … Continue reading Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum – Grade 3
