I've already written about how I'm a lazy homeschooler. And also how we don't make daily plans of how much we will get done each day. I have generally vague ideas in my head but we are not too worried about whether we finish half of a phonics worksheet tomorrow, or four worksheets. This attitude may seem too laissez-faire for some of you - and that's totally fine, as each of us has a different style - but I will try to redeem myself by saying that I do have a specific, attainable goal in mind for each and every day. And because I am lazy, it's the same goal every day, and it's easy to remember. Here it is:
Connection, Understanding, and Creativity: or in a more general sense, The Spark.
Connection. Charlotte Mason said that "education is the science of relations," and one way in which I can see small amounts of daily success is through relationships strengthened and connections formed in our children's minds. This could be relationships between people: when a child and I share a laugh over a humorous poem, or I see one brother helping another with a difficult puzzle, or when all six of us connect over a shared bedtime read-aloud. This could also be relationships between different school subjects: when Big Brother recognized Copernicus's name in our history book, because we had also read about him in astronomy; or when a vocabulary word we learned in phonics shows up in a picture book, and Middle Brother notices it all on his own. Finally, this could also be a connection between a child and a part of the real world: when a boy spends his morning watching a caterpillar and building a home for it; or when we visit our favorite pond and the boys notice changes brought by the new season, which tells me they have bonded with this small area of nature, and are observing and learning from it; or when Little Brother tells me that 3 + 3 = 6 because he counted three window panes on top and three window panes on the bottom in our dining room. These are moments that I count as great victories, because it tells me that the child is remembering what we have read or talked about, is thinking and observing, and on his own is relating it to other areas of life.
Understanding. It is important to me that our boys understand the ideas we read about and work on. I would rather spend a week working through one math concept until they fully grasp it than complete four full lessons with only a mediocre understanding. When I see that "light bulb" moment of comprehension, or when a boy says "Oh! I can do that. It's easy!", or when their eyes light up after reading a word correctly on their own, that is a moment of success for me, no matter how far we may have progressed that day. These little sparks of understanding throughout our day give me encouragement. And really, what is the point of any education without understanding?
Creativity. Most days, our boys spend many hours in free creative play, and this is another success in my book. At this age, most children do not have the capacity to be "creative" in the sense of creating something completely original and unique - their creativity is based off what they see, experience, read, hear and do. And that's perfectly okay - it is an integral part of how they process and make sense of their world. Sometimes I give them an idea or some materials, and they run with it; at other times it's entirely their own initiative. This creative expression could be drawing, painting, creating with playdough, acting out a scene, telling me their thoughts out loud, writing down a short story, building a contraption with toilet paper tubes and cardboard boxes, creating a scene with Legos or blocks, and the list goes on and on. Anytime I see this sort of play happening, I count it as a win. Children need this sort of play and I know that it is helping them to solidify and gain ownership of what they have learned.
When I see these sparks of connection, understanding, and creativity happening throughout the day, I feel like we have achieved something. That is, I know in my heart that our children are learning - if the house is a mess and I'm behind on laundry and the baby's crying and I'm still not sure what's for dinner at 4pm (yes, this happens - no, you're not the only one), the day may not actually *feel* successful in a general sense, but at least I am confident that the kids have been learning!
One aspect of this goal that I value is that once you start looking for it and encouraging it, it's pretty easy to see The Spark nearly every day, multiple times a day. This creates a lot of heartening moments, if you are willing to see them as such! I also appreciate the fact that if I reach the afternoon and realize I have not yet seen The Spark in a child, it's a simple fix. A picture book read together on the couch creates an instant connection; maybe I can invite a child to help me make dinner and foster some new understanding of cooking; and with the right materials, creative play is easy to encourage at any age. It's very rare for me to have a day that feels like a waste - NOT because we are always productive and accomplishing so much, but because I am slowly learning to recognize the many moments of natural learning that happen each day and am redefining my idea of success to account for them.
Plus, I'm an optimist.
"Well, we may not have done any math today, but those boys have really worked hard on improving their Lego skills!"
"Wow, did you just call your brother repulsive? That's such a great vocabulary word!"
"Aw, look at her coloring on the wall - such great fine motor skills!"
Ok, yes, you could maybe take it too far. Thankfully I've got a realist husband to keep me reasonable and balanced.
"Give your child a single valuable idea, and you have done more for his education than if you had laid upon his mind the burden of bushels of information."
~ Charlotte Mason
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