Here We Are Together

I’m afraid I’m going to have to rant for a minute here.
If you read my blog then chances are you agree with at least some of the things we do,the way we raise our children and educate them. We co-sleep and our boys are intact. We don’t hit (or smack ) our children , we don’t let anyone cry it out and we certainly don’t force anyone to do anything they don’t want to. We don’t have a TV, (we do watch DVDs sometimes though!) we have family meals and family story time, we begin our day with a morning circle or meeting in bed, and, what I think is really quite a big part of our life, we homeschool.

(Pictures are from a recent nature walk in our little forest. Because “the world is our classroom“)

For the past four years we have seen our children grow from tiny helpless newborns into independent smart people.
I can only repeat again and again “you are your child’s first teacher“. We read to our little ones, we answer their questions, we take time to do experiments, go to the library to read a book about how something works, we learn together.
Our children actually enjoy learning!

I understand that to some people it seems like a crazy idea, because it’s not how they grew up, it’s not what’s normal for them, but it really makes sense when you think about it.
No-one knows your children better than you do. You know exactly how to meet their needs, how to make something fun for them, how to make them feel better when they are upset.
Teachers have to learn how to be teachers because they have to teach 30 (or more) students at the same time.
At home, you can give your child your full attention, when they understand something or learn something new you can build on that, you can move on, progress.
In school your child would have to wait for everyone else to do that.
If your little one has questions, wants to know more, they won’t be embarrassed to ask, and you can take the time to explain it to them as many times as they want to.
You can do fun experiments, you can go on school trips ,hey, a school trip to Spain for a history project sounds great , doesn’t it? And even if it’s not Spain, a trip to the garden can certainly be far more educational then reading about your garden in a book. And reading the book in the garden? I’m sure you know what I’m trying to say.
Besides, how many three year olds that are not homeschooled can tell you which leg-bones belong to which animal?

Anyway, my point is, the way we choose to raise our children, the choices we make for our family, we do these things because we feel they are the right thing to do. We know our children better than anyone else, and homeschooling is not easy, we give up a lot to do this, if we both worked full-time jobs we would life a much more comfortable life, but our children are worth it, we do it for them,
so please, don’t accuse us of “ruining their future”, because I happen to find that pretty offensive.

Aehm.
I hope your day was better than ours.
Here’s to tomorrow.
♥

A lot has happened the past few weeks, and I do so want to tell you all about it.
Only just a few weeks ago I was complaining about the neighbours and wanted to move far away.
It turns out that our landlady wants to sell this house, so we are going to move.

We have always been very sensible , lived in very safe places close to family and playgroups, but now,
well, we are ready to move on.
We have been looking at places a bit further away,

we are ready to do what feels right for us, and right now a move far away seems just right.
We have found a lovely house on a sweet island where life is a lot less expensive than it is here,
and that certainly is a plus.
Of course we will miss Nanny & Grandpa, our friends at playgroup and the places we go to every day; Our forest, the beach, the little shops in the village..,
but there will be new beaches to explore , a zoo, nature reserves and botanical gardens, and I am sure we can find a forest or two on that island, too.
Nothing is very definite yet, Anthony will have to go see the house before we make a final decision, (we can’t all go see it, it’s a long trip,especially with three little ones!) but still, for the next few weeks we will be busy trying to fit all of our belongings into boxes, but I will try to check in as often as possible.

It’s a big decision, but sometimes you just have to do what feels right, no matter how scary it is.
(Right?..)

Wow, has it really almost been three weeks?
We have been busy around here, getting to know our newest little one,
sharing hugs and kisses, name changes , doctors appointments, and now we’re about to move to a new home, too! You can see why I haven’t been around much!

I will be back at the end of the week and then hopefully i will have some time to tell you all about our move , our life with our lovely new baby, how we are all doing and what else has been happening.
I hope you have all been well!!
♥
Miri