Julie Bogart says that in the Fall we’re all Classical educators, in the Winter we’re Charlotte Mason, and by Spring we’re unschoolers. It’s a sort of funny comment on flagging motivation as the year wears on. But I think there might be something deeply true about the phases she describes.
Three waiting for the the bus…in Fall
There really are natural rhythms to the family learning project. Melissa Wiley calls it tidal homeschooling. There’s something about Fall that beckons us indoors to stacks of books, fresh journals, and pots of tea. There’s something about the long nights of Winter that shorten our concentration for anything but good stories. And come Spring it becomes hard to stay inside at all.
These cycles don’t have to be a (negative!) comment on our commitment to homeschooling. We aren’t aiming for a mass produced industrial product afterall. Our homeschools are organic, living things. They change over time and follow the motions of the Spirit.
Where have you noticed these rhythms in your own home and work life? And how have you nurtured them?
We have a similar seasonal rhythm to our learning at home! I have always considered it a good and natural flow, except on those days I’m feeling insecure, and despite my fumbling and questioning myself at times (more often than I’d like), they do seem to be learning, and we certainly have a lot of fun! 🙂
Knowing this is what things look like at your house quiets my own self-doubt 🙂