Hello out there!
Welcome to Day Four. It’s Thursday. It’s not the weekend yet. It’s not time to swap out home schooling for the weekend yet. I know. And it’s important, as we work to establish our home school routine that we do the full five days this week. This week is about finding and establishing structure and so we have to hold that structure for the entire week. If you’re part of the Da Vinci community, the most important thing you need to do tomorrow is come to the Social and meet the people you will be learning with this year. Easy! You can do this for two more days.
Maybe it’s a good day for a field trip. Get out into the world. Go to a museum. Or a library. Or count birds in the park. We live really close to the ocean. Get out there and write a short story about wind and water. Make a flyer advertising a club you’re thinking about starting up. Don’t just think about it this time. Ask people to join in your home schooling. It’s more fun that way. Get creative. Get crafty. Bake something together and write down the steps you followed. You only have to hold the boundaries of your school day and in that space touch on reading, writing and math. Today, try out filling that space with something fun and think about how reading, writing or math is already present in what you are doing.
I thought I would talk a little bit about “Process” today. I did name this thing Process Based Learning, maybe you want to know why. I like to focus on process over product because we are practicing the process of how we learn. For me, the most important reason why I home school is because I want my kids to love learning. I want them to know the process of how we learn and build new skills so that as they grow into their own unique selves, they will have the skills to be able to teach themselves how to do anything and everything they want to do.
Right now we’re in the beginning phase. We’re stepping into the unknown of this new school year, we’re laying the foundation of our school day so that when things get moving, that can go on auto pilot. You know how you’re breaking up your time. You know when you’re going to take breaks, eat, and stop for the day.
Next we’re going to work our way into a project where we grow and develop new skills. We will be working towards a finished product because this adds meaning and purpose to what we’re doing, but I really don’t care what the product looks like or if it’s “good” or “bad.” It’s the act of finding an idea, working it until you feel like it’s done, revising what doesn’t work, enhancing what does work, and then sharing it with someone that I care about. It’s moving through each of those steps until it’s an ingrained habit and your student has the confidence to say “I can do this without your help.” That’s the goal.
I hear you out there, thinking you have no idea how to do this. It’s okay. I’m going to teach you how to lead your kids through all of this.
That’s the road map up there. The creative process is what I live and breathe. We’re going to be working our way through those ideas for the rest of the year together. We’re going to tap into our creativity. Yes, you are creative. It’s there. It’s in you. I know it. Maybe it doesn’t look like what society tells you creativity looks like, but I can guarantee that each and every one of you are creative in your own unique way. And this process that I’m going to teach you is going to help you connect with that in yourself and with your kids.
I have some pictures for you today. Please remember that my son and I have been doing this for a long time. I hesitate to share this because I don’t want you thinking this is where you should be right at the beginning. This is a peek at what you are heading towards - a kid who generates his/her own ideas, develops them in a way that makes sense for that child and ends in some kind of product. The main thing I did for him yesterday was holding the space for this work to happen. I also ripped tape, held things in place and gave him the time to build a box fort.
My son is into space, Minecraft, and building things. This week we have magna-tiles out for the kids to play with in the morning. My kids have been building space stations and Mars habitats and then acting out space adventures with them. This is what some of their creations look like.
When it came to writing time, my son asked if he could draw a space station. I said yes, but he needed to write four sentences to go along with it. This is what he did. He’s thinking about survival and the things life needs to be able to survive. Air. Water. Food. How do we grow those things in space? How would we grow them on Mars?
Yesterday was a lucky day because a neighbor bought a new piece of furniture and there were large cardboard boxes by the dumpster. He wanted to build a box fort then and there. I had it in my head that we were going to the Marina to fly kites and introduce the flight project we’re going to be working on. I didn’t give that up, but I did cut the trip short. I did scrap my afternoon plans for box fort building and I am so glad I did. This kid spent the summer watching YouTube videos of dudes building box forts. And yesterday was the day where it all came together. The magna-tile space stations were the prototype. The drawing and writing helped push his thinking into what people need in order to survive in harsh environments. The materials appeared and he put all of that together into the fort he’s building. There’s places to grow and store food. There are places for people to live. It’s getting a second level today.
Yesterday looked like play, but it covered all of our core subjects and then some. Your home schooling can look like this too. It might not today. It’s going to look like you and your kids working together to establish your routine for the year.
Enjoy each other today. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Remember, you can talk to me if you want. Just respond to this email. Or click those love hearts at the top of this message. I get Internet points for every heart that gets clicked, and I love Internet points. Hook me up!