some inspiration {oak meadow}...

with the changes of our days came some changes in the way we've been homeschooling.  finding what works, what doesn't work, and making some tweaks here and there.  

my husband was looking for a little more guidance.  it was overwhelming when all of a sudden we switched places.  we talked about scheduling the days a little more, trusting the natural process of learning, being more diligent about planning activities, getting a homeschooling curriculum... 

what i discovered in those conversations and decisions is what a fluid process this is.  and that's the beauty of it.  we can change whenever we need to.  

we decided on getting a curriculum.  it's very gentle, and very flexible.  that's partially because of how it's written, and partially because of how we're using it.  we can make it as rigid or as flexible as we want.  it gives us ideas when we need them, some guidance when we need it... and at this moment in our lives, that's exactly what we were looking for.  

(language arts... building a lower case h)

the curriculum we chose is oak meadow.  it's a waldorf-based curriculum, incorporating nature and life-learning, while providing a guide for language arts, science, social studies, and math.  it can easily be built into our days... reading fairy tales for bedtime stories, focusing on some science concepts when going for a nature walk, peeking at the moon's phases before we go to bed.  it's not a sit-at-the-table-and-do-your-work kind of curriculum.  which just wouldn't work for us.

(math concepts... math gnomes)

(language arts)

now, i can see how sometimes, it's nice to have a plan already made.  although, other times, there's no need for a plan at all.  and this fits that just perfectly.  we make adjustments when we want to, put it aside when we want to, or use every bit when we want to.  

(science... pressing leaves)

so for now, this is where we are.  we'll see what tomorrow brings...

(language arts)