Going with the flow of natural learning

There’s been some lovely moments in the home learning house here this week. We are meeting some lovely fellow home-schoolers in Santa Barbara, getting out and about, filling up pages of the diary and discovering lots of new learning opportunities.

To be honest, I don’t always know how any day will pan out. We are having more items in the diary to be on time for, but around that, we are going with the flow. Sunday morning we went out as a family to see the art and craft stalls along Santa Barbara’s Cabrillo Boulevard and ended up spending a couple of hours hula-hooping!

Around the book learning (have to admit there hasn’t been a great deal of traditional learning this past week) there are random ‘dress up’ and impromptu ‘acting’ scenes cropping up around the house!

There are trips out to climb and run at local playgrounds…

Visits to our local Zoo, where our eldest daughter’s fascination with snakes can flourish (she was quite the snake charmer this week!)…

And time together to talk over lunch, read books about pirate adventures and the secrets of the ocean deep…

Whilst observing the numerous crabs scuttling on the rocks around the marina…

In the home our youngest daughter loves to paint and create. She is the one most frequently at my side, whilst her older sisters play and learn together.

It’s lovely to have time for leisurely, healthy breakfasts with my three daughters every morning, as well as living in a house with a swimming pool to splash in every day. The children use it so much and our youngest, Miss 3, is now swimming the full length of the pool.

We are exploring new places all the time and the man of the house, is all hands on in the evening, for instance one ‘school night’ this week he came home to a very active Miss 7 pleading to ‘go out’ and do something ‘exciting’! She researched a few options on the Internet, checked opening times and how far away the places were, and came up with indoor rock climbing and ten-pin bowling!

So there’s a few snippets from our week! Plenty to love, plenty of indoor and outdoor moments. Not quite as much traditional learning as my traditionally schooled self would like, but learning is definitely happening in its own natural way. The best part of this experience is seeing my three daughters gel with each other so richly. This time they are sharing is invaluable and the bonds of friendship they are making now will last them their lifetimes.