Homeschool Learnings: And Then There was One

Dearest Beloveds,

We are in full back to school mode. Once again I am juggling what activities to do on what days, laying out my teaching schedule, and sharpening pencils.

Half of the pencils are staying at home and half are going on a bus to our local public school.

Half of the pencils are joining the world of chorus, band, homerooms, and late bells. Half of the pencils are staying home during academic hours for reading, phonics, weekly saunas, and weekly sojourns to Flying Deer.

According to Rudolf Steiner, childhood is demarcated into seven year chunks (more or less). The early childhood (ages 0-7ish) is all about goodness/physical, middle childhood (ages 7-14) is all about beauty/imagination, and adolescence (ages 14-21) is all about truth/spirit.

In other words, from birth to the loss of milk teeth, you are learning about good and not good. You are becoming en-mattered into your new physical body. You are putting down your roots into the earth and formulating your ideas of right and wrong.

After milk teeth wiggle out to the onset of adolescence you are looking at the beauty of the world. You are exploring your creativity, your imagination, your mental prowess.*

Adolescence marks the shift to the next phase. The phase of what is true, what can be true, what is being said in the world as true - and whether all of those are in accord. Your spiritual self is growing into maturity - you will want to be connected and experience The Good - and speak from that inner voice.

I have noticed a shift in the house as Dragon enters the back half of his sixth year and talks of wiggling teeth. You two are aware of and interested in worlds beyond your parent’s circle, bringing home questions/thoughts/quiries: “What is a meme?”

“Ummm, where did you hear about memes?”

OR

“Was there a big baseball game yesterday?”

“I have no idea, your mother doesn’t follow baseball. How do you know about this?”

“Everyone was talking about it at camp. Is the team called the Mankeys?”

“The Yankees?”

“Yes.”

“That would make sense.”

OR

“I want to go the bookstore to get a mood ring.”

“How do you know they sell mood rings at the bookstore?”

“That is where B got hers.”

“Ahhhh.”

You are looking beyond the home for inspiration and guidance.

As you two stride more into the world I am feeling mother a sense of reclaiming. Reclaiming the parts that were put on hold in the face of more pressing needs.

When Bean arrived I quickly realized my sanity was going to unravel completely if I didn’t sleep. So we started on a schedule with you when you were two weeks old. We kept to the routine when Dragon arrived. All in all, we spent about 5 years on a schedule that revolved around naps, regular meals/snacks, manhandling flailing limbs into car seats, and early bedtime.

We have been relaxing that schedule.

Now I head out the door, blithely calling out. “I am mowing. If you need me, follow the noise.”

“Okay Momma, have fun!”

I leave the house. I know you two can forage for food, go potty, entertain each other, entertain yourselves, get your own water if you are thirsty, find your own bandaid or me if something goes wrong, or rest if you are feeling sleepy. You two are now safe, competent, and can thrive without me.

Well, at least for small chunks of time.

For now.

*At age seven, a boy would leave the house and become a page. Historically apprenticeships would begin around age 10.