This week we're focusing on finishing up learning about Prehistory -- finishing that section in the Usborne Encyclopedia of World History (their website is awesome, full of such a wide variety of links to explore), watching documentaries, planning projects. Next week Sarah's going to put together a book of her own on prehistory, to draw together and celebrate everything we've been learning over the last few months. We'd planned to continue with the Mosaic curriculum, moving into Ancient Civ, but I've been wondering whether it might be a better plan to shift to a more project-based approach (because of conversations she and I've had, because conversations with another homeschooling mom recently reminded me how much fun the project-based approach sounds like, and because it was very hard to shift back to our usual routines after our latest break, which made me wonder whether those routines were no longer working for Sarah).

We talked about it tonight, while sitting in the rental car together. The rain was pouring down around us, pounding down onto the windshield. We were waiting for Joe (he was upstairs visiting his mom in the hospital), and we were enjoying the magical feel of being cozy and warm in the car, feeling cut off from the rest of the world. The only touch we were missing was hot cocoa or mulled cider to sip while we gazed out the window. We talked about how Playing School has been going, and about what project-based learning is, and about what we want our winter to be like. It was a really good conversation and it made me very happy to know we can have that sort of conversation, that we're building this life together.


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I'm taking part in an online discussion, right now, that has triggered so many unresolved memories/issues/wounds from our years at the free school.

I'm so glad for our time at the school, and for the community we all created together there, but I am so very, deeply grateful that we're back to homeschooling, just the three of us in our cozy home, exploring the world together and being kind to each other.


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(the outcome of our conversation, btw: we decided to try a week of projects, after we finish up Prehistory, and Sarah suggested it sounds like a fun approach for whenever we want to take a break for a week -- when we don't want to take a total vacation but when we don't feel like doing our usual Playing school, either. Mostly, though, she says she's happy with how playing school is going.)