The joy of learning!

Learning is fun! And if learning isn't fun for you or your children, then it should be! Think back to your school days (I know, it hurts!) Think of what you most enjoyed learning. Then think of what you least enjoyed learning. When I do this I come up with: favourite - Art. Least favourite- Mathematics.

When I think of Maths at school I think of monotone men in dorky shirts and ties. I think of a class I could easily sleep through if allowed. I think of how little attention I payed. It was mind numbingly boring and I understood very little of it.

Move over to Art. I think of a teacher who was a bit of an outsider and a little unstable. Who sometimes did "art theory" with us when the inspiration overtook or when he felt guilty - about once a year. And the rest of the time? He was, well, not there for most of the class. This was the great part! I could grab a camera and go take photos for 2 hours. Or I could spend that time in the dark room, which I frequently did. Sometime I stayed at the long table and worked on drawing murals with other students. Sometimes I painted.

Can you see the difference? One was formal instruction in a completely non passionate format. The other was free reign, and ultimately, bliss for a creative person.

So what is it I'm saying? Children, young adults, and adults alike need time to figure stuff out for themselves. They need time to follow passions and interests, even if they don't seem to lead anywhere. And if someone is not learning effectively, then the format may need to change.

Let me give an example. My 8 year old finds lessons from a writing or English textbook decidedly dull. But, left to her own devices, she is an avid story writer. One of her favourite past times currently is writing to pen friends. In essence, she can write for hours each day without opening a single textbook.

This is where the wonder of learning at home comes in. A child is not restricted by grades or timetables. If one of the children is immersed in an activity they love and they're learning from it, why on earth would I stop them right in the middle of it and tell them they need to do something more important, more academic. 

It is so important to me to not fall into the trap of holding "school at home". Yes, I think it's important that the children learn certain things but in the quest for knowledge we must never crush the joy of learning.

Post written by Kelly, please visit her at her blog.

Catholic Homeschool Camp 2013 - Only Four Places Left

We warmly extend an invitation to all Australian Catholic Home Educating families to join us for our 13th annual Catholic homeschool camp!!.

When: 9-13th September
Where: The Lismore Diocese.  Camp Drewe, Lennox Head, NSW
Two hours south of Brisbane, nine hours north of Sydney.


Only three more months until our annual Catholic homeschool camp!!  Excitement is building and preparations are gaining monumentum.  Our annual camp is an integral part of our family life and the lives of many of our participating families.  A time to develop and renew friendships, to gain support and to participate in the wider Catholic homeschooling community.

At the core of our week is our shared Catholic Faith, our day begins with Mass (Extraordinary Rite), ends with the Rosary and Benediction and includes Spiritual Talks and the opportunity for Confession. This year Fr Terence Mary Naughtin is Camp Chaplain.

Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett of the Lismore diocese celebrates Mass(Novus Ordo Rite) on Tuesday offering the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion.



The camp is in walking distance to the beach and every day we enjoy swimming at one of the beautiful nearby North Coast's beaches. Activities often enjoyed include icebreaker games, impromptu games of soccer, dancing, a sports day, sand castle building contest, a concert, and on the final night a bonfire.


Each family is accommodated in their own dormitory and meals are fully catered.


Please consider joining us and contact me with any further questions or for a brochure with more details at
aussiethreads@gmail.com

We warmly invite you to join us:) 

North Coast Catholic Homeschool Camp

For many Catholic Home Educating families in Australia homeschool camps are an integral part of our lives.  Lifelong friendships are formed, isolation is eased, support is given. This year our family will be attending (and hosting) the North Coast Catholic Homeschool camp for our 12th year!  Excitement is building in our home, our children are asking, "what activities are we doing this year, who is coming? Will my friends from last year be there, will we have new friends?"

We warmly invite you to consider joining us for our 12th year!:) we still have a few cabins available.  Held on the 10-14th September we are located at  Lennox Head (Lismore Diocese), near the Gold Coast. Two hours south of Brisbane, nine hours north of Sydney.
At the core of our week is our shared Catholic Faith, our day begins with Mass, ends with the Rosary and Benediction and is woven throughout with Spiritual Talks and the opportunity for Confession.
This year Fr John Rizzo (FSSP) will be our Camp Chaplain.



On the Tuesday Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett (Lismore diocese) celebrates Mass offering the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion.

 It will be a wonderful week of making, renewing and building friendships. Impromptu games of soccer, dancing, fun and laughter into the night are our 'stock in trade.'  Icebreaking games at the beginning and a time for parents to share ensures we all get to know one another.


Every day we enjoy swimming at one of the beautiful nearby beaches, we also enjoy a sand castle building contest, 




each year we hold a sports day, 






a concert and on the final night we have a grand finale with a bonfire.


If you are interested please don't hesitate to contact Erin with further questions or for a brochure with more details at
aussiethreads@gmail.com.  We'd love to have you join us:)

Curious about the world around us

written by Kari

             

I am not sure how it first came up but my children have been wondering for months what side of the road Australians drive on.  They have asked me over and over to find out for them.  Finally, I remembered at the right time and I asked Sue Elvis via her blog post on Neenish Tarts.  I read the answer to my children this morning and now they are just bursting with more questions about life on the other side of the world.   

I had not planned to learn about geography this summer but it seems a lesson on Australian culture is in order.  And since my children are fascinated with their new-found knowledge and itchy for more, I thought I would go right to the source.  Perhaps through the wonder of blogging, my children and I, and others as well, can learn more about the big, beautiful world God created....The internet allows us such a beautiful way to connect with others and to share our knowledge, our faith, and our lives. 

So, here are a few of our my children’s questions—

1. Do your dogs chase kangaroos or do the kangaroos chase dogs?
2. Do you have kangaroos in your zoo?  How about raccoons or squirrels?
3. Do you ever see koalas in your backyard?
4. Do you have double decker buses? 
5. Does it snow in Australia?
6. Is it really winter down there right now?
7. What kind of trees do you have? (Palm trees?  Evergreen trees? Apple trees? Grapefruit trees?)
8. What time is it right now? What date is it?
9. What kind of desserts do you like (besides the neenish tarts, that is)?
10. What games do you enjoy playing in Australia?
11. Do you call soccer, soccer or football?
12. Who is the patron saint of Australia?

 I write about my children, their curiosity, and our busy life on my blog Overflow.

How do you Homeschool while Suffering... Loss?

Written by Mary Therese

A few years ago, our life fell apart. Two children within two months were displaced from our family. The situations were totally unexpected and beyond shocking.

I have had some people say, behind our backs, there was more to the situation: they got what they deserved. Really horrible comments, that although I say them here, I had to let go of. I didn’t want to let the thoughts go, but I did it for my relationship with God, my husband, my welfare and to show an example to our children. Lastly we realised we were gaining His blessings by letting these comments wash over us.

I personally wouldn’t judge a situation unless I have personally been involved and have very intimate knowledge. There is only one judge, God. We will all stand before Him for our own personal judgement.

So how do you homeschool in the suffering, when you are still in shock, when your heart aches so much, when your world is torn apart?

For us, we limped along for a while, but we also knew our other children were deserving of our attention. We concentrated on what we had instead of what we didn’t have. It was very simple.

My initial response was I understand Jesus’ Agony in the garden. I went through each of the sorrowful mysteries and I could easily align myself to each one. It is in this set of mysteries that I discovered The Cross, how I must carry my Cross and how God gave this Cross especially to me and this family. I was to be thankful for this Cross. He chose me. That’s easy to do, isn’t it?

I now understand the saying, the Cross brings you closer to God. Well it certainly does, but you also need to constantly bring yourself back to ‘this Cross is mine’. I will carry it and not just carry it, but carry it with Joy and Happiness. God really helps when you do.

This was my first window of light. Yes, I still fall down and say why... but then I get up and keep walking along the journey. It’s often the interior voice of Mary that soothes me and encourages me.

So years down the track, there is lots of wisdom gained.

There is still hurt and unresolved pain. But there is love and many blessings have been gained.

We moved forward one foot at a time, just gently and with much prayer.

I learnt eventually to say very little to outsiders, because they can misconstrue your words.

I learnt that we were the gossip of the parish.  I / we turned the other cheek.

Forgiveness? This has been interesting. How can you forgive the people surrounding the events of the lives of two adorable children? Well for a long time I tried but couldn’t. I wanted these people punished. I wanted God to take complete control and sweep down with His fire and brimstone. But... the realisation came that in forgiving, God can do so much more. He can begin the process of repair of relationships and reunite us all if we forgive. That took a long time and many, many layers of forgiveness.

So what did we do to homeschool in the agony? After all this rambling, we recognised Jesus’ Agony. I united myself with Mary’s agony. We picked ourselves up and continued to Follow Christ. We got on with life, moving forward, but never forgetting our treasured children.

Like an onion, we forgave in layers. We are still forgiving in layers. Things will crop up and we will need to handle it, and overcome it, and ask Jesus to help us forgive.

We handed our children over spiritually to God every day: 3, 4, 5 times a day.

We all talked and laughed and forged new relationships with each other and God.

Although these children are greatly missed in our family circle, many blessings have flowed from doing God’s will in very difficult times.  

I would say one of the biggest things was to seek good counsel. Speak with a good spiritual director, seek confession and keep your eyes totally fixed on Our Lord.

It’s not important what others think of you. The most important thing is your relationship with God, your husband and your other children. Everything else will flow from there. 

This is how we as a large family are getting through a suffering and remain homeschooling.    

Unschooling: The Little Way

Written by Sue Elvis

I would like to tell you a story of Suzie Andres and St Therese and homeschooling. But first I must start with a tale of grief. Grief? Yes, it was through grief I first met St Therese and her Little Way.

Our son Thomas died as a baby and I grieved for a long time. But one day the pain lifted slightly and I felt pure joy and was glad to be suffering for God. Love overflowed my heart and I suddenly had the urge to suffer anything for God. I wanted to be a saint. And not just a little saint but a big one. I felt I could follow in the footsteps of St Teresa of Avila or St John of the Cross, whose books I was reading at the time. But this worthy thought lasted only a moment. With the next wave of grief came the plea, “I’ve had enough. Please help me, Lord.”

I had a prayer card. I can’t remember exactly what was on it but I knew I was a bit afraid of it. The words said something like “I offer my whole life to suffer greatly for the souls of my family and friends.” Perhaps there was something about how this life on earth is so short and we should suffer as much as possible while here. And there is nothing better we can do than to ask for suffering that will win the eternal souls of our loved ones.

I agreed entirely with the thoughts on the prayer card but I couldn’t pray the words. I’d pick up the card and read the words but I always made sure God knew I wasn’t really praying them. I was frightened. I knew what suffering was. I was right in the middle of it. How could I suffer this for the rest of my life? Some days I just begged God to take away the pain. No, I wasn’t made of the right stuff to be a big saint. However much I wanted to be big, I knew I was really just a little soul. I just wanted God to lift me right up in His arms and take care of me and make things right.

Then I discovered St Therese of Liseaux. Of course, I’d heard about her but I’d been avoiding her. I remember a friend telling me that she’d chosen Teresa of Avila as her patron saint and not Therese of Liseaux. The reason? The friend had always had this idea since childhood that The Little Flower was a sickly sweet saint, a saint without substance. I needed big help from a big inspiring strong saint. So I turned to St Teresa of Avila. I knew she’d suffered greatly. What was that famous quote? Something like “God if this is how You treat Your friends, it’s no wonder You don’t have many of them.” I was going to be one of God’s few friends. So I read The Complete Works of St Teresa of Avila and then went onto The Complete Works of St John of the Cross. And I tried to follow in their footsteps. But it was too difficult.  I wasn’t brave. I didn’t really want to suffer. I wasn’t a saint.

Then somehow I came into contact with St Therese of Liseaux regardless of my belief she couldn’t help me. I read The Story of a Soul, and later, I Believe in Love and I discovered The Little Way. Suddenly I realised that maybe I could still become a saint after all. Not a big saint but a little one, a little one supported by God’s arms. I could be a full little cup instead of a full big cup.  Or perhaps, as Suzie Andres would say, I could become a great saint through the little way of love. I started taking life one day at a time, not asking for suffering, but asking God instead to help me accept and bear whatever came my way.

But what has grief got to do with homeschooling? Just as I wanted to be a big saint so I wanted to be the perfect mother and educator of my children. I made big plans, bought the right resources, did my research. How could I fail? But some days I suffered. There were times when I just wanted to lie down and never get up again. “I can’t do this God. It’s too big a task. I can’t give my children all they need. I don’t have the inner resources to give them the perfect education. I am not enjoying this at all. It was never meant to be this way.” How would I teach my children everything I thought they needed to know? Some days they seemed to learn nothing. Other things got in the way or they were uncooperative, not fitting in with my grand plan. Were my children getting ‘behind’? Was I jeopardizing their futures?

I thought about the alternatives, about sending my children to school and I realised I didn’t have a choice. The educating job was mine and mine alone.

Gradually I changed my style of teaching my children. I stopped making plans we never got around to using. I stopped writing timetables that we were unable to keep up with. I didn’t worry about completing particular curricula. I decided to just enjoy my children and trust that they would learn as we spent our days sharing and doing things together and just being a family. We had discovered unschooling. In public, I called our homeschooling method ‘doing our own thing’. I’d vaguely refer to good books, enjoying our interests, music, writing… But to myself I called it ‘my lazy way’. Yes, there was a bit of guilt. Should we enjoy homeschooling together so much? Shouldn’t homeschooling be a bit more difficult? Perhaps we were just being lazy.  Maybe I’d just given up.

Then I discovered Suzie Andres’ book A Little Way of Homeschooling. I jumped up and down with excitement. It all made perfect sense. We were following St Therese’s Little Way while we were homeschooling. I’d given up trying to be the big saint, that perfect mother and homeschooling parent. Instead of trying to educate my children on my own, I was listening to God and to my children. I trust they will learn what they need to know. I no longer worry about that endless list of absolutely essential knowledge I thought I should stuff into my children. I am now living each day, one day at a time. I don’t believe God means homeschooling to be difficult. I don’t see homeschooling as a sacrifice and a suffering that I am just meant to endure and offer up. I think God wants us to delight in our children. And to trust in Him.

There are so many wonderful excerpts I could quote from A Little Way of Homeschooling. Here are just a few, written by Suzie, I hope you will enjoy and find helpful.

Therese was a realist, and knew there was work to be done, but she decided to do whatever came here way without fear without worrying about the outcome, without the false notion that it depended on her…

… I think that one of our methods for multiplying worries is telling ourselves that our job in educating our children is to do our best, to pack as much knowledge into them as possible. How much more profitable to us to begin from Therese’s reminder, “It’s only in Heaven that we’ll see the whole truth about everything. This is impossible on earth.”

God will give each of us the time that we need to learn everything He wants us to know; this applies to both ourselves and our children. Why do we expect we must teach it all to our children in our homeschool? And why do we automatically assume that this burden of prospective learning will be painful for them, arduous for us? There is a less frightening way….

… In the spirit of St Therese, we as Catholics ought to realise that Jesus has set us free. If we believe His words, if we strive to believe Him more and more, we will start by living one day at a time, letting tomorrow take care of itself. Already we will have made progress if we refuse to see the whole future of a child contained in today’s accomplishments, successes and failures…

…Spend time listening to Him, and let Him tell you what He desires for your family. It may be unschooling… Whatever it is, you will recognise it by the peace it brings to you and your children. Do not settle for anything else.

Yes, peace.

Eventually I felt peace despite my grief as I started living one day at a time: “I accept how I feel. You allow this grief. But I need You to help me through the day.” I began to trust God. He was looking after me. And peace followed.

In the same way, I know God is looking after our homeschooling family. When I started listening, He led us to unschooling. And I know this is what He desires for us. I can feel it. No longer do I feel guilty. Instead I can feel peace… real peace.

A Little Way of Homeschooling is available both as a paperback book, and an ebook as epub and Kindle editions. I thoroughly recommend Suzie’s book.


Please share more of my posts on my blog Sue Elvis Writes

How I'm Doing With My Schoolwork

By Vicky

My unschoolwork is going very well, thank you for asking!

I'm reading lots of good books and keeping myself occupied with heaps of creative projects. My mind is full of ponderings and my curiosity is burgeoning! Rather than being an excuse to waste my days, my unschooling has inspired me to a full and fascinating life of discovery and exploration.





I, recently, read Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina' and I've just begun to read Dicken's 'A Tale of Two Cities.' I've read books on encouraging creativity, mentoring children, unschooling families (Suzie Andres' Little Way of Homeschooling) and purgatory. Now, I've moved on to books about creationism and other forms of unschooling. The children have joined me in discovering old classics and indulging in quality reading on all sorts of topics. I'm well on my way to becoming well-read!

In between all this reading, I'm busying myself with completing my latest portrait, smocking sundresses, knitting a jumper, gardening and nature study. My Maths has been covered with my recent budgeting tasks and my baking efforts. My music has been taken care of with classical CDs and spiritual music, which I listen to in the car.





All in all, I think I'm getting quite a full and varied education. I'm reasonably sure that I'm covering all the key learning areas and, despite the lack of formal testing, I'm fairly sure that I'm achieving a good level of understanding.

What's that? The children? Well, actually I think they're doing quite well, too! In fact, with their energy and youthful enthusiasm, they make my unschooling look rather ordinary!





So, thank you for asking! Unschooling is working for us and life is busier, livelier and so much more exciting than it ever was before, when we allowed plans and curricula to control our learning and form our minds.

**************

(Just in case, I've inadvertently made myself look like Superwoman, I must point out that I'm tackling all of this in small doses and at a very leisurely pace. It's relaxed learning with no schedule and no expectations - and it feels luxuriously lazy!)

A Liberating Education

I would like to welcome Willa to the Australian Catholic Families blog. She has kindly agreed to share a post as a guest blogger. Although Willa lives a long distance away in the USA, we have become good friends. This post is the result of a conversation we had regarding the dress codes at the Thomas Aquinas College, California. Willa's daughter attends this Catholic Liberal Arts College. Many of you will be familiar with a similar college, Campion College in Sydney. I am sure you will enjoy Willa's thoughts on Catholic Colleges and education. Thank you, Willa.

A little while ago, my friend-from-the-other-side-of-the-world Sue Elvis asked me to write about the Catholic college, my daughter is attending. I had described bits of it in a comment on her blog -- how in the classes the young men and women wear collared shirts and nice slacks, not jeans (if young men) and dresses or skirts (if young women), how they address each other as Mr and Miss during class time, and how I thought that contributed to a culture of respect and seriousness as they read great books of the Catholic tradition and discuss them in seminar format.

Besides that, I wasn’t sure what else to say! What would interest Australian Catholic readers in hearing about a small Great Books college in California? (Well, Cardinal Pell did come to this same college to deliver a commencement address, but besides that too?) Could I say anything that wasn’t already over there on the college’s site?

While I was thinking about it, I could hear strains of music floating up from the kitchen where my daughter was enjoying her summer break by cooking something. The music was a CD of a concert that one of her tutors had performed on campus during the school year. He has a beautiful low tenor or baritone and was singing a wide variety of songs, including a rendition of On the Road to Mandalay, a Victorian song based on the poem by Kipling, which keeps running through my head as I type! The college schedules a series of concerts every year and often draws on the talent within its own bounds, since many of the students and faculty are musically gifted.

From many things my daughter has said to me, one of the best parts of college to her is getting to know adults (and some fellow students, too) who are not only intelligent and devout in the practice of their faith, but also interesting human beings. And more than that, lifelong learners. This particular tutor is taking voice lessons. Other tutors raise tarantulas or climb mountains during their holiday breaks. The school psychologist and his wife have raised a large family who are all talented Irish dancers, singers and violinists who have toured professionally. .

Some of the tutors are college alumni, and some of the students attending the college are the children or siblings of alumni. Many of the graduates from the college have gone on to do noteworthy things -- some went on to further scholarly work in different fields, some are writers, some founded Catholic elementary or secondary schools, a significant number took religious vows or entered the priesthood, and many others are mothers or fathers of families. The influence of the learning environment ripples outward just the way I now have some old songs running through my head even though I do not know Clare’s musical tutor personally and was not there to hear him sing.

This made me think about what learning is about and what we hope for when we send our children to college. Surely we hope that while there, they will be supported in their faith, that they will be treated with dignity, that they will learn how the parts (the subjects) fits in with the whole, and that they will move closer to being the people that God wants them to become. Class time is only a part of this project of emerging from childhood into adult life. There are many ways, of course, for this to happen, and not everyone needs to go to college, particularly not to a particular tiny college in the California foothills. Yet the fact that there is an option like this is encouraging to those who are interested in Catholic formation.

To some, having a dress code for classes and meals, and a requirement of addressing each other by honorific prefixes, might seem restrictive and old-fashioned, especially in informal places like southern California. Yet you can see it another way. Dressing well and speaking with courtesy is what adults do to show respect for each other and to themselves.

And to some, learning ends when you graduate from school, whenever that might be; learning ends when you have your “ticket” out into the job market. Maybe you might take some classes to keep up in your profession or industry, but many will give up any thought of continuing to read seriously outside of their field, or learn a new skill, or develop a latent talent.

Yet surely one of the most important things we can teach our young people is how rich life is -- how life is about more than just making money and passing time; it is about learning to be a human, and that learning is lifelong and deeply related to Christian themes of seeking for wisdom and sharing it with others. We all benefit when someone near us gets passionately interested in something and shares this interest with us. It broadens our world. It is like a seed planted, or a gift given.

At my daughter’s college, the tutors, and the grown alumni, and other adults, are inviting the students to see that learning is not just about assimilating what the “experts” pass down, until you can become an expert yourself. It’s about engaging in real things, things of lasting value, and acknowledging that you bachelor of arts degree is just a beginning, not an end, to lifelong learning.

Please visit Willa's blog, The Quotidian Reader

Would anyone like to write about their experiences of Campion College?

Because... Unschooling Q&A

By Leonie

Some recent questions that I have received, about our unschooling homeschooling lifestyle. And some of my replies. Because there is never a new question or a dumb question and because blogging is all about sharing and because this blog reflects my unschooling mentality i.e. sharing bits and pieces.

What do you think are the positives of unschooling?

I guess I see some of the positives of unschooling to be rather nebulous, things like joy and an interest in learning; strong family ties; a sense of identity .Things that can’t always be measured but are with our kids for life – so, there is still that difference, for example, in my older sons, long term unschooling graduates.

In other words, you may not see the fruits of unschooling right now, this very minute, but instead catch glimpses of the fruits but over time. Just like the way our children grow. They seem to be little forever and then, one summer, we notice that they have shot up, their jeans are too short, their shirts too small , and we think, with wonder "How they have grown!" It is the same with unschooling. We worry today about that lazy son. about not enough reading and then, one day, we find a Shakespeare novel under a pillow ( "For night time reading, Mum") and a clean kitchen, cleaned by a son, upon your return from work. Maturity and growth.

Sometimes you don’t see quantifiable things – knowing history or art, for example – but you see, instead, their passions, how much the kids know about their passions – or simply, in the case of one of my sons who has no one passion, just a general happiness, a brightness and an interest in life.

But I see value in a classical education. How can I mesh this ideal with unschooling?

Can you let go of your agenda ( the classical education ) and see where God will take you and your children in learning? I think that is the first step to successful unschooling..no hidden agenda, trusting in a rich home and community experience, in your own influence, in living the Faith, in learning through life. For joy in life and learning, joy in adoring Our Lord, joy in family relationships has to come first, before we even talk about classical education or the tools for learning. We are more open to the goals of the education of "the free man" (to quote Plato and Aristotle) when we are in a healthy environment.

One can also strew a classical education rather than require a classical education. Via books, movies, excursions and outings, music, art, discussion. Living, eating, breathing the classics. Learning Latin or Greek yourself. Learning our prayers in Latin. Learning the Latin in Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Endless family discussions and debate and reference to logic. In other words, using the materials and resources of a classical education within your daily life and home.

One can also educate oneself classically – and then share this with the kids...as you share who you are.

A case in point here. Liturgy is my passion. I don’t teach the kids about liturgy but because I read about it, I blog about it, I talk about it, the kids end up knowing about liturgy. Recently , we had two priests over for a cup of tea. And, as often happens here, of late, we began discussing liturgy. The kids were strong in expressing viewpoints and discussing concepts and ideas – and one son said that this year, liturgy had become something of an interest for him too. Education via osmosis.

But I want my children to learn perseverance and self discipline and commitment.

In family life, especially within my larger than standard family, it is impossible not to learn self discipline and perseverance. We have to discipline ourselves to share, to take our turn, to pitch in and help with chores, to do something we don't want but which others want, to persevere through annoyance or irritability...and through the normal duties and strains and giving and taking that comes with the pleasures of family life.

Unschooling is not wrapping a child in a cocoon..it is opening the world to a child, sometimes warts and all...be it in family discussions on budgeting..or in volunteer work in our parishes or in the homeschool community, working with and rubbing shoulders with a myriad of people.

I have also found that one can pick just a single subject in which to learn perseverance ...and that academic discipline can be learned by consistently studying one subject formally, rather than "doing school" .... and we can leave the other subjects to life and strewing. Sometimes this single subject discipline has been Latin in our house, sometimes Kumon maths or English, sometimes Religion.

But my son's strength is maths but he is not interested in society and environment .

It helps me not to think of my kids in terms of education ( one son is into history, one doesn’t like writing, ) but in terms of virtues ( patience, prudence, fortitude, and so on ) and in terms of character traits ( friendly, quiet) and who they are right now as people. This kind of thought changes my mindset, away from school, and onto the idea of Charlotte Mason that children are born persons. Thinking of children as persons means we think of who they are and what they need; we encourage and acknowledge their input; we don't see them as blank slates on which to write.

Even at work, I see this in my students. I do not mould them; I work with them and guide and instruct and sometimes discipline. I get to know them as people, first.

So, how do we start unschooling?

My suggestion is to start unschooling by taking a vacation, a holiday – in your home, your suburb, your hometown. Act like you would on vacation – make yummy breakfasts, go for walks, play games, watch movies, cook, build Lego, go to museums and libraries, etc.

Don’t think in terms of education, just in terms of living and spending time - and keep a journal of what you do each day. I recently purchased a lovely 365 journal and I am writing brief notes of what we do, things we talk about and think about. It’s hard not to see learning after awhile.

The other thing we do is just celebrate the liturgical year together – you would be surprised how much fun, how much learning occurs just naturally through celebrating the liturgical year. For example, this week we talked about St Martin de Porres, and Peru and looked for Peruvian dessert recipes. We prayed the De Profundis for All Hallows Eve and had an All Hallows Eve party. We went to mass and learned about the history of All Saints and made Soul Cakes. We prayed for the dead on All Souls Day ( and read about horse racing for our Melbourne Cup lunch !) and we talked about St Charles Borromeo, his influence on Blessed John XXIII and about Milan and made Milanese pizza. Who needs school ? And doing activities like this is a good way to fill in that gap that sometimes seems to happen if you stop school and wonder what to do next, what are our passions, what do we do as unschoolers?

But I panic without school!

I used to read unschooling books or websites or blogs, every day. No kidding, this is what I used to do.. read a little bit of unschooling wisdom every day, to help me keep on track when, perhaps, the rest of the world thought I was crazy or lazy. I would pray, workout, read about unschooling each morning.

So is unschooling like unit studies or thematic units?

Well, in a rabbit trail kind of way. Not a full blown you must complete x and y integrated units method but more like..hey, this looks interesting, let's go....The latter describes our unschooling rabbit trails.

For example, it was Harry Potter week and I suggested we do some Harry Potter reading and movies and related activities from a unit study that I found free online. Last year, we were going on a beach holiday to Wollongong so I used some ideas from a homeschool Science blog re a shell project and we did that together. Last year, or the year before, we did the growing tomatoes thing from the Canadian Space project and the Journey North as a family. Earlier this year, we were into the 1980s because we like 1980s music and movies and we went several times to a back to the 1980s exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum. So, I downloaded some teacher resources from the website and we chose some activities to do .

Then we had our whole Legally Blonde/romantic comedy genre study going...and now are into C.S Lewis: Voyage of the Dawn Treader ( new movie coming out); Mere Christianity; Screwtape Letters. And unit study ideas from a study guide ...integrating subjects in a Choose Your Own Adventure fashion.

Can you see how unschooling flows from life, is life, is learning?

So, unschooling is...

Different for everyone.. we have always been very influenced by natural learning, unschooling, delight directed learning, John Holt. And I have found that each of my sons have grown more into self discipline and into academics and continue this interest and inner motivation at university and work.

Therefore, for us, unschooling has lead to more rigorous academics, to learning how to follow a path, to perseverance.

Of course, our family home and family culture has a role – strewing, chores, family life, valuing self discipline and academics, our values and Catholicism . But these are hard to separate from unschooling. And that really sums up unschooling..it is who we are...and it makes us into open books for our children.. avid learners at all ages.

Please share more of Leonie's posts at her blog Living Without School

The Heart

By Leonie

I know nothing about education except this: that the greatest and most important difficulty known to human beings seems to lie in that area which deals with how to bring up children and how to educate them. Michel De Montaigne ( 1533-92)

And so begins the book The Film Club - a memoir of a father and son, growing together. The father, David Gilmour, a film critic, allowed his son Jesse to drop out of school at Year Ten, with two provisos.. that Jesse not do drugs and that Jesse watch three films a week with his father, the film critic father , three films of the father's choice...with discussion.

Reviewers of the book wrote...

A heartfelt portrait of how...in the midst of a family's confusion and ire, there is sometimes nothing so welcome as a movie...

..Gilmour's experience suggests that what really counts, for parent and child, is simply being together.

I read this book as a parent on the last legs, so to speak, of her official homeschooling adventure. Only two of the seven sons are now official homeschoolers, the other five having moved into university and work or both.

And next year, there will be only one official, registered homeschooler..Anthony, as Thomas will be at university too.

I read The Film Club, this book, and contemplate our family's homeschooling, unschooling adventure.

I think it is true to say that this adventure has been based on books and movies and on discussion..And on simply being together, through many moves, financial troubles, sickness, miscarriages, babies, toddlers, volunteer work, Mum's conversion to Catholicism, ire, arguments..joy, laughter, a weird sense of dark humour and sarcasm, a healthy dash of cynicism, fun, music, outings, people , friends.....masses and prayers, visiting priests and religious..technology.. work...and those books, movies and discussion.

For all of our life has become our education, our learning, and has made our family, as individuals and as a whole, who it is that we are today.

Someone told my son Jonathon recently that it was good for him to be away from his mother's presence and out of his shell..and yet, when I feel full of self doubt and ponder my inadequacies as a strong mum, Jonathon tells me heatedly, determinedly, that there is no shell, he is not disempowered by my strength of character but has a strong character himself. We all do, mum, he says, we Westenbergs are all determined and hard headed .
Yes, I see that who I am, with faults and failings, has also been part of the children's education. We have not separated life and family and learning but thrown it all together, in a seemngly ad hoc way, to create a smorgasbord of education. people who love books, music, movies, talking, people..and their faith.

There is no dichotomy between education and family life.

Eucharistic spirituality must be the interior motor of every activity, and no dichotomy is acceptable between faith and life in their [ the lay person's] mission of spreading the spirit of Christianity in the world.

So I read this morning in Heart of the Christian Life: Thoughts on Holy Mass ( Pope Benedict XVI).

Can I draw some parallels here?

There is no dichotomy betwen faith and life..we adore Christ, we receive Him and , after adoration, as we are filled with Christ's love, we take Him within us, share Him, to our communities..so, we love and live and spend time with our children and take this love into our activity, passions, our interests, our little interest driven explorations, our education.

Just as parenting, and unschooling, are not based on activity and busyness first but instead based on life and love and then, almost organically, a curriculum and learning emerges..Just as love is the centre of the unschooling form of learning..so, too, as the Holy Father says, we base our faith on love and adoration and, yes, acceptance of doctrines ( for, a church bulletin message was wrong; let me tell you, faith, yes, is built on love and trust but the Faith also involves an acceptance of doctrines, of Church teachings, based on this love..and not on feelings). Our parishes are not based on activity first, on lunches and jokes and clapping first, but on the Eucharist, the love of God for us, on adoration and contemplation..and then, the active life of the parish emerges...from the worship, not preceding the worship or instead of the worship.

Undivided love toward God and neighbour is founded upon the mystery of the Eucharist, celebrated and adored. Heart of the Christian Life.

People have sometimes asked me how to homeschool, how to unschool. And people at church have sometimes asked me how I get my teens and older sons to mass, to live their faith.

I don't.

What?

I don't homeschool as an addition to our life as a family, I spend time with my kids, I share books with my kids, we watch movies, we talk non stop. And thus our unschooling education has emerged from these activities, has grown an education, covering outcomes in a real, relevant, manner.

I don't make the kids live their faith. I couldn't could I? But we live our Faith, I live my Faith, my struggles and joys, we go to mass together, we experience beauty.

The saint is the person who is so fascinated by the beauty of God and by his perfect truth as to be progressively transformed by it. Heart of the Christian Life

The heart of Jesus reaches out to us.

The heart of my family's unschooling rests on this, on the Eucharist; and on the heart of the parent; the heart of the parent reaches out for the child, to make the child a priority, to do what is in the best interest of the family and the child.

Education in real life, for real life, with books and movies and talking.

With Faith.

With the Eucharist, the Bread of Life.

Let us pray to her, our holy Mother, so that she may help is to open our entire being, always more, to Christ's presence; so that she may help us to follow him faithfully, day after day, on the streets of our life. Heart of the Christian Life

Please share more of Leonie's posts on her blog Living Without School

Buttons for Dummies

I have been busy working on some posts about writing for the Bush Boys Online blog. This reminded me that when my daughter Felicity was a teenager, she wrote her own article about creative writing. Felicity wanted to write an article for the KIT newsletter but she had no idea what to write about. A helpful friend (who might be called Anthony) gave her the title "Buttons for Dummies" as a starter. Felicity's imagination got to work and she came up with this offering: some suggestions about creative writing for other young writers. I hope you enjoy it. Sue

In the dark of the early morning, summoned by your alarm clock, parent, child or annoyingly pious sibling, you crawl into consciousness. You reel to your wardrobe, clutch a fistful of clothes from a shelf and stagger to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes and one hot (or hot-cold-hot, or lukewarm, or, worst, cold) shower later, you attempt to clothe yourself. Zips are zipped, drawstrings are tied, hooks and eyes inserted, and snappers are snapped. And generally, you manage, even with your mental-processes turned off, to complete these actions. That’s all the skill you need to finish dressing and go on to more important matters, such as food, hair, morning jobs or work. Well, nearly. There is still one more terror to be navigated.

Buttons.

Who has not experienced the horrors of desperately fumbling with these annoying round objects while the clock ticks and other, pressing jobs beckon? No other fastening needs half so much time or attention that buttons require. And unless you are one of those ebullient morning people who love nothing better then 5.30 a.m. rises, and bracing cold showers, no-one has the ability to concentrate hard enough in the mornings to do up more than the smoothest and most easily grasped button. And so, we lurch drowsily into battle every morning with one of mankind’s most terrible inventions.

How does one, weak, befuddled, and totally unprepared as we are in the mornings cope? Sadly, there are few hard answers. One could try asking your pious sibling to rouse you ten minutes earlier (if you could bear it), or splashing your face with cold water to shock your brain into gear. Or you could step out of the shower five minutes earlier. Or run a cold shower. But I have found that all these measures require more self-control than I possess, at least at the beginning of the day. If you find yourself in my position, follow the instructions below…

Do not wear buttons. Ever. With the multitudes of clothes available in the Western world, one is not required to. Even shirts can be fastened with snappers! So, that’s one problem of mornings sorted. Now, if we could just find a way to wake up cheerful…

That was an example of my creative writing. I love creative writing more than any other type of writing. For me, it is the most enjoyable type of writing, because it offers the most scope for personal opinions, invention and experimentation. When I have to write creatively, say for my English course, I might get a subject (the title Buttons for Dummies was all the guidance I was given for the above piece) and some broad outlines (it may be a short story, or have to be written in the first person) and from then on I can do what I like. I’m on my own and can have my say. I am not regurgitating someone else’s writing or facts. I can express my own feelings and opinions.

This freedom is only one reason why I enjoy creative writing. I love the feeling of writing something of my very own and making other people feel the same way (I hope you remembered horror mornings of your own when you read Buttons for Dummies). I like developing my own style (do you notice how much I love adjectives, or strings of possibilities so I can cover all bases and find an answering chord in a reader?) I like bringing scenes so alive and real that I can live there.

In fact, I am so fixated on creative writing, I try to put a little bit into every piece of writing I do. I used to get stuck opening essays on historical figures. I found out several years ago if I picked a crucial and dramatic scene in the life of the figure I was writing about and described that in a paragraph first, as creatively as I could, the rest of the essay just flowed. I made that person interesting to myself by dramatising him, and because I was interested in him, I had to write the rest of his life down. I still do that to open pieces of writing (this article is no exception!) I also like to dress up otherwise plain and boring writing by picking exciting adjectives or using more dramatic sentence structures.

That doesn’t mean that I always find writing interesting and easy. But sometimes it can become exciting and absorbing. I find this happens most often when I am doing creative writing. Even so, I can sit down to write creatively, and nothing can happen. I have found that sometimes I need to think and structure before I write. Sometimes everything is there and all you have to do is sit down and write, but most of the time you have to plan it out, if only in your own head.

For me, the hardest thing about creative writing is finding a subject. My mum (she’s my editor and critic) and I must have spent twice as much time brainstorming ideas for essays and articles than I have spent actually writing. We go through all sorts of ideas (this article could have been How To Decorate Fish Tanks or I Am A Troubled Teenager With No Friends – truly!) until I hear one which appeals to me. We can refine it, add to it and change it. I’ve gone to the computer lots of times clutching an old envelope covered with felt-tip scribbles of ideas. The idea can change totally as I write and think more deeply. It becomes further changed as Mum and I (and sometimes, other critics) reread and revise.

I find that the two most important things to know before you begin writing are exactly what your writing is about and who it is intended for. With my creative writing, I generally find that it turns out to be about me – even it is meant to be about someone else. I can’t decide if I am just very selfish or I just know myself much better than anything else! Mostly I think that, just like some actors declare that they only play themselves on screen, most writers write about themselves because it’s simply the easiest thing to do. Why write about characters and experiences that you have no knowledge of? Why not write about things that you very familiar with and will therefore be able to describe well? I think another reason to write about yourself is because you are far more likely to write better and stay interested in subjects you know and understand. And if you like what you are writing about, it’s more likely that readers will like what you have written too!

The second thing to remember before writing is to define who you are writing for. Whodunit writers and romance writers have it easy – they are writing for crime addicts and sentimental romantics. Because they know who they are writing for, they can plan their stories to please their audiences. When you have to do some creative writing, think about who will read it. Has your mum told you to write her a piece of creative writing? Aim it at her. That doesn’t mean writing about the Super Mum of the Year, but simply means to write it at her level of understanding. For example, your mum might not appreciate a story full of silly humour. Your younger brother might, but you are not meant to be writing for your younger brother. You mother might like reading stories with an omnipresent narrator (a narrator who can go into the minds of all the characters and narrate their thoughts). Why not try that approach for your mum? I know right now, as I’m writing this article, that it will be read by people of all ages, but mostly mums looking for homeschooling ideas and children who are (possibly) looking for creative writing help. Therefore, I have to aim at two sorts of people – those who are doing the creative writing and those who are trying to teach the creative writing.

Things I never really decide about until I begin writing are things like layout, persons, tenses and style. I’ve used all sorts of approaches depending on the subject I’m writing about. I’m not particularly adventurous, in my opinion. I just keep going until my writing seems to suit my subject. With articles like this, I simply write the same way I would speak, keeping my voice natural. Other types of writing may need other types of voices (could you hear my voice change as I switched from discussing buttons to discussing writing?) When my writing voice fits my subject (and my subject fits my writing voice) I can begin to put it all down and review, revise, rewrite, redo…

Something I’ve learnt to live with, if not like, is rewriting. I know that sometimes I have to keep hacking and adding and polishing my draft until its just right. Still, finishing writing and feeling that I have done my best to say what I want to say in the words can be satisfying. Perhaps some creative writing is begun by unbalanced geniuses madly scrawling burning ideas down, but I bet most creative writing is finished with methodical revising.

Mum taught me most of what I know about the technical side of creative writing. Mum used to gather myself and my two younger brothers, sit us down, discuss techniques of creative writing together, such as original metaphors, personification, points of view, active verbs, humour and putting yourself there, and then send us off to describe an object (it could be a friend, a cushion, a bushfire, or a person making a cake!) When we had finished, we would come back and read our pieces aloud. We always enjoyed this, because we got to point out our use of techniques. We were always surprised at our different styles and methods we used. Afterwards, we’d discuss our work again and file our writing away until next time.

If I were to summarise what I considered important for writing creatively, I’d say:

q       Have a subject that interests you and that you know well. The never-fail subject is yourself!

q       Know who you are talking to.

q       Be aware that there are techniques to creative writing. Use them if they fit, but if they don’t suit you and what you’re talking about, don’t.

q       Be descriptive. Be there. Bring your readers there.

q       Show emotion. Show what you feel, not what someone else feels. If you do not show real emotion, readers will feel nothing except boredom as they read. Show real emotion, and your readers will feel the same thing.

q       Have a sense of humour. To write honestly about yourself, you will have to have a sense of humour. Otherwise, you will never survive other people’s comments!

q       Enjoy it all! Creative writing must be enjoyable, or we would never have any novels or literature.

Now write something. Can you write the article that tells me how to awake cheerfully?