I recently joined a newly formed homeschooling group in my area. We have been meeting weekly, but I missed this week, as both me and my youngest daughter have been sick. Some of the families I already knew, but there are some families that I met for the first time. There are a wonderful mixture of ages in the group and it has been great getting to know the parents and watching the kids find their way and make connections.
It has also been interesting listening to everyone's expectations and experiences with both homeschooling and the group. All of our kids are different, they all have their own way in which they like to learn and discover. Giving them the space and time to discover that for themselves, is really important. I think parents feel a pressure to get their children learning by a certain age, although lets be honest they are learning all of the time, but I mean like writing, maths and reading.
That was a common theme in our first meeting, how parents worry that their kids might get left behind. I too felt that pressure with my first child, but that is when I began to understand how I needed to unschool myself. To learn to trust in my daughters own abilities and give her the time and space she needed to discover her own learning journey. When a child discovers and learns things by themselves (with some guidance if they request it), they really get to experience the joy of learning and we get to see the pride they take in doing so.
Learning should be fun, it can be fun. It something that really should never be forced. Nothing should be forced on children, because that is when they can put up walls. Children are learning all of the time, it just flows for them, when we force it upon them, that flow gets blocked and they get knocked off course. Then learning becomes confusing and they lose confidence in their ability to learn.
The hope in the group, is that we can begin to hold different activities for the children, that they can observe and take part in, if they want to. No pressure, just allowing them to follow a natural flow when it comes to learning. Some parents want more structure for their children, so I think this will work for all the kids, those who need that structure and those that just want to continue to just live in the moment.
During our first meeting, the parents shared their skills and what they could offer, in terms of possible activities that the kids could get involved in. Next week, we hope to start with some carving. When I mentioned this to my daughter she was super excited, so lets see how it goes. I'd like to do some nature craft and see if any if any of the kids want to get involved or the adults. I know I will enjoy it.
Learning is indeed supposed to be fun, and it does need to come from internal desire, not imposition from outside. I've always been my own best teacher! I hope that it goes wonderfully well with the homeschooling group, @trucklife-family! 😁 🙏 💚 ✨ 🤙