Flowers and firearms

Our week has been a little wobbly. Tiredness and the realisation for Monty that he is is really away from me when he goes to Kindergarten has left us more emotional than usual. We're trying to be gentle with ourselves, but it isn't easy with two boys who find it hard to be anything other than maximum strength. 

Despite our disarray we did manage to visit a little local museum this week. I'd spotted in a flyer that Bankfield museum in Halifax was holding an exhibition of textiles on the theme of gardens which I was keen to see. I imagined conversations with Eli about the artist's processes; materials and techniques used. I thought we might marvel together at the stitches used liked brush strokes and hoped it  would inspire us to run home and start our own creative project...

I pointed out the journey from photographs, to sketches and finally stitches. We looked at how some of the pieces were layered with sewn fabrics behind screen printed transparent cloth. I enthused over the botanical motifs and impressionistic effects...

Meanwhile, Eli was tugging on my arm, desperately trying to stay patient...because what he was interested in,  what he really wanted to look at...was the Duke of Wellington's regiment museum.

Dutifully, and with little enthusiasm I allowed myself to be lead to look at cases filled with uniforms and weaponry. Along with my discomfort at us being surrounded by the apparel and apparatus of war, I realised my knowledge of battle history was severely lacking. Now I was on shaky ground. I didn't have answers to the questions being asked of me. Waterloo? What was all that about again? American wars? Erm...let me see...

I did manage some vague mutterings about the trenches and we both enjoyed looking at various soldier's personal effects - what they ate from, the bags they carried - the everyday objects that remind us of their humanity rather than the violence they were embroiled in.

Learning together may not always be what I expect it to be. Although I set the agenda for our museum visit, and had my own expectations about what we might explore together, Eli had his own ideas. Those ideas meant that I looked at things I wouldn't otherwise have looked at. I found I was interested in some of those things and I found that when it comes to history I am pretty much clueless.

Time for a trip to the library I think...

Trains, planes and automobiles

I have a dream of an unschooled family life...curiosity is king, we all feel in control about what and how we learn, knowledge will be gained by active pursuit and immersion in the subject, we will follow our dreams and passions and our days will be filled with adventure. It perhaps doesn't sound terribly realistic and I know that many days will not be this way, but it is an ideal - something to reach for. We have grown and learned together since they were born, I see home education as a continuation of that. At the moment, Eli is only at his Steiner Kindergarten for a few days a week; from September, he'll be 'home educated' full time. I have used inverted commas with that phrase because I doubt much of our time will actually be spent at home. My hope is that we will have many more days of togetherness and learning like this one spent at MoSI (Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester).

We had so much to talk about here! We had conversations that covered Jupiter's spot, lifting weights with gears, earthquakes, bomber planes, war - and so so much more. It's days like this that help me believe we can do it...that help me to be confident that learning happens in an organic and spontaneous way and that being together makes it all the more joyful.