What is occupying my brain right now...

is homeschooling.  Well, unschooling/natural learning to be precise.  Even radical unschooling, which challenges all kinds of assumptions and my dearly-held beliefs.

Firstly,  homeschooling.  Why?  Well, Abi still has two more years at her Montessori kindergarten and Evie will start at some stage next year, probably in fourth term (sob, myyyy bbaaaayybeeeee).  The issue arises when Abi finishes and Evie still has two years to go.  What do we do?  I had always planned that they would go on to a Montessori primary environment; we have two semi-nearby, one private and one as part of a state primary school.  We live pretty much right in the middle of both so a 20/25 minute drive either way.

The state one is near the kindergarten so we could have Evie at kinder and Abi at the primary school.  Or, we could swap both to the private school, which has an attached kindergarten.  However, the private school's kindergarten is not as good as the one Abi attends now, and the state primary school stream is not as good as the private one.  Confused?  Yes, me too.

A couple of months ago it occurred to me that another option would be to leave Evie at the kinder we love and homeschool Abi for those two years.  Then we would have the option for them both to go to the private Montessori school or if it was going well, we could just continue to homeschool.  It was like the sun came out when I thought of this.  Homeschooling has always hovered at the back of my mind as an option for lots of reasons, and it seems right for us.  I love the school holidays and I have no doubts about Abi and my ability to learn together in a very natural and spontaneous way all the things she needs and wants to.  I love being with my girls and the thought of being with them for all those hours, days, weeks, months and years that I would otherwise lose is intoxicating.

This is hard to talk about sometimes because I worry people who are making different choices will feel attacked or judged by me.  But I have so many reservations about school as an institution, even though I personally had a mostly positive time there.  But the more I think about it, the more it seems insane that children have to go somewhere 6 hours a day, five days a week, forty weeks a year for 13 years.  13 years!

I remember in year 10 saying to a friend that I thought we could have learned everything we had learned at high school so far in one and a half years.  I was being generous.  I have since read that it takes around 1 and a half hours per day to cover the actual curriculum.  The rest of the school day is about behaviour management, assemblies, waiting around for everyone to catch up and just waiting.   When I look back at school, I remember lunchtime and the seemingly endless hours of sitting in class, waiting for it to be over.   Sometimes I was interested in the class, but that was pretty rare.

School suits parents and society because it gives children somewhere to go, a place that will keep them safe and occupied (although I could put quotation marks around those words) and out of the real life lived by adults.

School is not real life.  It is a fake, manufactured social world that all too often seems to bring out the worst in people.  I don't want my girls bullied, periodically ostracised, ridiculed for learning, dumbing themselves down, learning to victimise others, putting up with years of boredom or being forced to memorise and learn things they aren't interested in and won't need to use.  

There are other things too, but I'm out of time.  It's a big subject and a big decision.    I'm becoming more and more sure that it's the right one for us though.

Sisters

I have been thinking about sisters. Sisters in literature to be precise. They always seem to be used to illustrate opposing characteristics, two sides of the same coin. Elizabeth and Jane, Elinor and Maryanne, Antigone and Ismene, Regan/Goneril and Cordelia. The pretty and the interesting, the sensible and the passionate, the resolute and the gentle, the selfish and the loving.

If one is one thing, does that mean the other can't be? Elizabeth was pretty, but not as beautiful as Jane. Elinor was sensible and practical, but full of concealed passion, nonetheless. Maryanne was not without sense. Jane was too subtle and intelligent a writer to fall totally into either/or, but the last groups I mentioned are more black and white.

Other examples are coming to mind. I Dream of Jeannie and her bad, brunette sister. Cinderella and her step-sisters. Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield (hello SVH!).

I am the mother of sisters. I also have a sister, whom I adore. But she is much younger than I, and the comparisons are not really there to be made when one is a toddler and one a teenager. I can feel in myself the temptation to think of my girls as 'the ___ one', at different times. You know, Abi is sensitive, Evie is confident. Abi is cautious, Evie is bold. Of course, Evie is also sensitive and Abi can be bold, so I feel this maternal labelling, no matter how loving, could limit them in my eyes and in their own.

Do mothers of boy/girl pairs do this? Or mothers of more than two girls?

Abigail Pearl, my heart song, my tender place, my Snow White
Evangeline Flora, my little peach, my joyous girl, my Rose Red

See how addictive? And another pair of diametrically opposed sisters.

Bit dangerous this one...

My darling husband foolishly kindly sent me this link recently. Be wary, my friends, before you follow that link. Cassie and Averil, I am looking in your direction. Okay, don't say I didn't warn you...

It has the most divine discounted designer clothes for children. I haven't even skimmed the surface yet and have already found so many things I MUST HAVE. And if your order comes to over $250 then shipping is free! Free! It would practically be a waste not to order a whole lot of stuff immediately.

We were away this weekend for more family birthday fun, but are heading off to playgroup tomorrow. I have lots of stuff to do (how is it th

at one night away creates so. much. washing?) and dinner is just about ready, so must go. But before I do...

I know!

Yes, yes, only three days in and already failing. But it's not my fault! Our big computer keeps freezing due to video-card-drivers-something-incompatible-something-something-nod-and-smile. So I am using DH's laptop tonight. When I get my iPad, all these problems will be a thing of the past. I expect you can get an Ap to write witty, touching blog posts for you. Excellent.

I am not much of a one for gadgets usually, but the iPad had me at demo. I can't wait. I adore my iPod and this will be even better. I am not getting one of those smart covers though as I don't trust them to protect my preshus from the vicissitudes of life in my handbag. I am getting something much sturdier, and sadly less pretty. Brown, black, charcoal or grey were my choices. Sigh. Am getting charcoal.

Yesterday we had cake, vegan and non vegan, for my dad and sister's (non vegan and vegan) birthday. We were at my brother's place and it was so good to see my little 2 month old nephew. He is a little blonde baldy, just like my brother was and is packing on the weight. 250g in a week! I was grateful for anything over 100 with Miss Evie Boo.

My girls were adorable. As a joke my brother suggested to Abi she might like to collect some of the leaves that had fallen down and were messing up the tidy inner-suburban courtyard. She then spent about 45 minutes carefully collecting them and putting them in a bucket which she then placed on the loungeroom floor. She clearly wondered why he would want them, but was happy to assist. Evie spent the same amount of time picking up little stones, putting them in a flower pot and then taking them out again. I wish our back yard was a bit less precipitous and they could play out there without me worrying about them falling down all the stairs. A little courtyard is definitely better than a hilly half an acre when you have pre-schoolers.