When I first began homeschooling, I was a “super planner.” I had days, months, even the whole year planned out. I laugh at myself now because my, how things have changed. My whole year went out the window so fast because I learned that homeschooling is a lot different than teaching in a classroom. When I began homeschooling, I could plan out my day and my week and even have a good outline for the month or year, but I found that some of my good intentions changed as quickly as my teaching style.
Homeschooling has allowed our family to take so many unexpected twists, turns and learning paths, that I now hesitate to “super plan” because then I find I’m constantly erasing my well laid-out calendar.
As homeschoolers, we have had a variety of unexpected learning experiences and several spur of the moment activities that have been some of our most memorable. I have found that we have the ability to simply follow an interesting or educational path if it presents itself, rather than passing it by as I might have had to do in the past.
We can veer off my calendar to take last minute trips to the fish hatchery, catch an orchestra performance, or a hike to see freshly hatched tadpoles. Or, if a frog is found in our backyard, we can take the time to learn all we can about it.
We can make time for things as small as reading a book and being inspired to make our own book of “opposites” for grandparents to read. When we’ve head pounding rain on our windows, we’ve had the opportunity to don raingear and run outside to measure the depths of the puddles and save the worms from drowning!
I find that I feel I not only have the gift of time for learning, but also a broad and in-depth education. We can deviate from our set path to learn something amazing, and are still able to get back on track, or make up for anything missed at another time without having to worry about being where every other teacher in the same grade is at on a district-implemented planning calendar.
Having a small teacher-student ratio, I know first-hand the learning needs of my children. I’m able to connect right away to sudden circumstances and make it into a learning opportunity.
I encourage learning as play, and play as learning. At a time when my child is inspired by something, we can have fun with that concept for as long as they are interested.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m still a planner – yes, I dare even say, I’m a big one, but just not a “super planner.” I don’t let my plans drive our day. It’s the spur-of-the-moment activities that have been some of our greatest learning experiences.
Andrea lives in California with her husband and two daughters. She left 11 years of public school teaching to homeschool and hasn’t looked back. Andrea loves reading, writing, and spending time outdoors. Connect with her on at her blog No Doubt Learning, Facebook, G+, Twitter, or Pinterest.
I just loved this! Kids are all in when we show them that learning, exploring, and discovering are exciting and worth the detour from schedules. Our best homeschool days are either directly or indirectly related to these spontaneous learning opportunities. Thank you for sharing!