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the intuitive homeschool in action

as we’ve traveled this month together, we’ve thought about the formative work of our surroundings, the importance of tuning in to our children’s needs, how journaling can help us listen.  i even shared some practical tips that have helped our days together run more smoothly.  but what does it really mean to homeschool intuitively?  what does it look like?

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for us, one thing that it means, is that our days are soaked in good words.  poetry + story form the true spine of our work together.  anchored by a bowl of hot oatmeal with brown sugar + milk, we share a poem each morning.  we might listen to The Writer’s Almanac, read something from the American Academy of Poets, or from our favorite collection called A Poem for Every Day edited by Susan Moger .  after the reading, we’re mostly finished.  we might talk about some of the images, Nicolas might comment on the rhymes or alliteration because he has a wonderful ear.  someone might make an illustration.  but above all, we enjoy the poem together.

a few weeks ago i stumbled into a wonderful conversation on Twitter about the place of poetry in the homeschool.  Sally Thomas asked why there couldn’t be a poetry-centered curriculum, and Melissa Wiley replied that that’s what they had.  while i had never conceived of our poetry work as anything other than a fun add-on, as i thought about it more, i realized that our homeschool really is held together by the poems + stories that we read + write.  that’s what gives our days shape + definition.

for you it may be different.  that’s why it’s important to listen to your own voice first.  find + follow your path.

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2 Comments

  1. A few weeks ago I was up in Gloucester wandering around a used book store. I found an old public school Literature textbook from 1922. As I flipped through it I was surprised by the quantity of poetry it included–at least half the book! How different it was from our modern textbooks.

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