Lifestyle of Learning: Volume 7 and a Little Educational Philosophy As Well

Playing and loving this new game -Bishop won again!

Bishop swimming and having fun with friends!

The week of March 10-16 has been an interesting and busy one.  There was a visit to the dentist on Monday, allergy shots on Tuesday, outpatient surgery for me on Wednesday (nothing to be alarmed about), travel immunizations for Christian on Thursday, a birthday party and two sleepovers for Bishop to attend, and then, of course, youth group, Boy Scouts and homeschool choir.  On weeks like this there is little to nothing that you would recognize as "school".  Maceo did read some history and logic but, otherwise, all learning was that which simply comes from living and pursuing one's personal interests.  It usually involves some reading, some game playing, some media viewing and a lot of conversation.  This is the learning we love most.  This is the learning that is most effective, it is often imbibed to our very core transforming who we are and how we view the world.  I believe that humans are by nature learners, that we actively seek to figure out who we are, what is this world that we are in and what is our place in this world.  Although human beings learn in every sort of environment and all situations it is ideal if the learning takes place in a rich environment surrounded by love and encouragement and with recognition that, although there are many commonalities throughout all of humanity, each individual is different and has their own unique, God-given mission.  A 'schoolish' approach is not necessarily the best approach.  Consider our infants  acquisition of language, we didn't contemplate some contrived way of teaching them to speak we simply spoke to them, engaged them, loved them.  When they were learning to walk we did not give them didactic lessons on putting one foot in front of the other we, just in the simple act of living, modeled the act for them and then supported and encouraged them.  We also didn't assume that they would all learn these skills at precisely the same age, we offered them a safe space to explore who they are, what the world is about and their place in it, we offered opportunities and encouragement and then allowed them to develop at their own pace.  I believe that these are examples of learning at its optimum and is applicable to all learning, including reading and math. This is my philosophy of education.
From this many questions may arise...
What does this type of education look like?
What exactly is the parents role?
Without following a standardized scope and sequence how do you insure that there are no gaps in your children's knowledge acquisition?
I will give further consideration to these in future posts and in the meantime
the adventure continues!