Mudspark Life Learning

Every day of homeschooling is hard. Every day of homeschooling is brilliant and a blessing. A lot like parenting, or living life. It's a great lesson in spiritual awareness and committing to flow. I read something recently about how we moms today feel guilt no matter what we do. No matter which way I choose, there is always someone there to tell me it is grossly insufficient. If I homeschool I'm selfish and don't trust anyone and have a self-righteous complex. If I send my kids to school I am failing them and letting my family be run by the government and giving my power away to a teacher. What if it's not so cut-and-dried? What if we flux and flow - school for the purpose of being part of community (or whatever one's reasons), homeschool to center in family, half time school for both, adjusting to the emotional needs of everyone in the family as we go? Isn't that, after all, why most of us chose to homeschool - to respond to the varied needs of eve

We are using the book The Private Eye , a system of using a jeweler's loupe to examine natural objects close up, come up with analogies about what you see, draw the object, and use the analogies to write poetry and stories, and then to learn about it's scientific properties, again through the lens of analogies. My seven-year-old created the following poem and drawing. This is the first time we have done the analogies part, rather than just looking at things through the loupe. We will revisit the same coral in a few days to come up with more analogies, explore it's properties ("why is it like a whirlpool/rose/seaweed? What does that tell us about it?") and write a story.

Kids for Saving the Earth has a free education packet , along with a "Conserving Classroom Calendar ." The calendar has links on it that bring you to printable lesson ideas. Another fabulous free resource for learning about the earth and our relationship with it are the classroom resources at Heifer International . They also offer a program called Read to Feed , where kids take pledges, raise money, and help other kids and families in struggling countries. Meanwhile, they learn about giving and service and about other countries. Compassion and education are important traits to teach in order to raise eco-loving kids. The Rainforest Action network also has curriculum available, including reading lists, films, and a save-an-acre program.