Category: Learning Lifestyle

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Play Time

https://thewashingtonmail.com/dont-play-with-your-kids-seriously/

Biases up front:
-The author doesn’t sound like the kind of person I would spend much time around.
-I love play and put it at the center of my learning universe.

I guess the latter explains the former. Notice I said MY learning universe. I don’t dictate how my children learn best and I think that is the part of the article that I agree with: let the children play. This mother’s success came from listening to the needs of her children and setting boundaries.

That is a very difficult balance. Play can happen in many ways, but parents have to recognize their own needs and protect them.

I believe play is essential to growth and learning in all stages of life. I set boundaries while modeling my own play through soccer, writing, jiu-jitsu, or any of my varied interests. I don’t play games that I don’t want to and that models consent (I don’t just model consent, we often discuss it).

I strongly believe we all need more things in our lives that we call “play.” Maybe this author most of all. Does that mean you have to play WITH someone else? Of course not, but a life of little play doesn’t feel like a successful one to me.

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Back to My Things

Two soccer games, two yoga classes, two jiu-jitsu classes, cold showers, Wim Hof Method breathing, The Pilgrim’s Progress book study and play practice, our building club, and hiking with a special lady and her daughter in the last five days.

Kind of grueling. Our May is crazy and I’ll be grateful for the shift in routine come June. But I love this pace.

Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

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To Those Who Follow Different Rules

I think you underestimate how much value, health, wellness, and happiness our group has brought to its members. Not once in a year of meeting in public without requiring masks have we been challenged by any authorities.

Some homeschoolers, especially new ones and those in extraordinary circumstances like me, need this fellowship. It’s not nonessential. We won’t let a corporatist government agency like the CDC tell us otherwise.

Much like the groups before Lockdown, we share resources, tips, challenges, feelings, and anything that we hope another with find valuable.

We are parents who love our children, family, and friends no less than those who choose to follow a different set of rules.

Yet, we are treated differently by those we would look to for support. We welcome all, but are not welcomed by all.

The largest homeschool group in the state chose to open itself to temporary homeschoolers; virtual, crisis, and hybrid schoolers; and, it seems, anyone who might be curious about homeschooling in Delaware. That brought about a major culture shift from the dedicated homeschool discussions that had once prospered there. At the same time, they chose to follow guidelines from a variety of agencies (governor’s office, CDC,  DE Dept. of Health) that were ephmeral, impossible to comply with, and often contradictory on their own terms.

It’s difficult for those of us who have been active and supportive in the Delaware homeschool community to be treated as lesser. We are trying to feed a great need for social contact in our corner of the state. We’re trying to do it in a positive and inclusive way. We feel very successful in that mission.

We recently changed our name to “Allschoolers Park Days in New Castle County” to highlight our inclusivity and simple mission: To provide a weekly, outdoor meetup for whoever needs it.

Come out on a Thursday and watch the children play. Cook some dogs with us and share whatever thoughts you need to share. We miss so many of our friends and love making new ones.

May God’s blessings shine on everyone.

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A Quick Full Circle

Our weekly social group for families of all educational stripes has birthed many clubs, social circles, and learning opportunites.

This weekend we attended a new gardening club where everyone learned something new (Mexican honey wasps are my new favorite piece of knowledge).

Once the structured learning was finished, the adults gathered around an impromptu fire while the children played in a tire swing.

We seem to have ended up where we began.

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Time to Build: We Don’t Always Get Messy

Time to Build has been our Lego club for the last few months. Through the most oppressive restrictions, we have not been deterred. Our children need hands on learning (aka “play”), smiles, hugs, laughter, and a sense that their worlds are made larger when other people are welcomed into them.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

My favorite things about Lego are very adult. They aren’t sticky or loud or leave glitter all over the floor. Lego is arts and crafts for parents who don’t like to clean up.

Children are naturally inclined to disrupt the comfort zones of guardians. Last week they requested paints, nails, hammers, screws, and…a power drill. I acquiesced on all but the power drill, and really that was because I didn’t want the hassle of running an extension cord.

Once I saw the magic of five boys from ages four to twelve all working diligently and safely (and *almost* quietly!), I knew I had to feed this new passion to create.

As conditions permit, Time to Build will become bigger than simply Lego.

We’re going to get all the tools and paints and glues (okay, maybe not all the glues) out and see what these creators come up with. Our life might just become as colorful as our Lego collection.

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Allschool Fun

That’s my boy looking triumphant. He’s always conquering or mastering something. Today it was Nerf battles, backstop climbing, and any number of games he and his friends came up with.

This group was created to facilitate the social needs of our children. All of our previous groups, activities, and locations for feeding these social creatures was shut down by the Lockdowns. There are still few places where children can congregate without nonsensical restrictions. So our group is growing. Fewer people are allowing the absurdity of the mainstream narrative to dictate how they raise their children.

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Unschool Outside

Tuesdays are set aside for Lego building with our friends, but the nice weather is too much draw to get out of doors.

The kids asked for paints, nails, hammers, a saw, and more. They went to work on our ever-evolving “pirate ship.” I don’t think there was much of a plan, but I was impressed with how well they did with very little supervision.

We closed our time together with homemade cake and cupcakes for my younger son’s 10th birthday.

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Not The Answer I Wanted

After 14 hours of hiking over five mountains, we had one more summit on our list. Out of nine in our original party, three or four were considering the final mountain. The others had resigned to end their day.

The crossroads was at the only waterfall we had seen all day. I was of two minds about continuing, so I decided to climb down to get a good look at the falls and ask God for guidance.

The day had been full of grueling rock scrambles and this small descent to the river seemed extravagant and unnecessary. This beautiful moment gave me clarity. I charged back up to the path and announced that I was in to finish the trek.

My fellow travelers didn’t expect that. We were looking at a long seven miles of ascent and descent that would have to be completed in the dark. I realized that I was acting in bravado. God was speaking to me through my companions.

To avoid injury and the pitfalls of climbing off the mountain in the dark, we decided to end our journey.

We all got back to our accomdations happy and healthy. It was the longest and hardest hike most of us had undertaken. We slept soundly and started making plans for a return to Devil’s Path in the morning.

God often answers my prayers in unexpected ways. He counters my desires with a better course. He reminds me to pay attention to all the signs around me.

Tonight I thank Him and pray to always keep my eyes sharp for His signs.