Latest / The BIG Home Ed Conversations | Home Education / Worldschooling - Home Education on the Road

Transcript

Worldschooling - Home Education on the Road · The BIG Home Ed Conversations | Home Education

0:14
Hello everybody, welcome to another episode of the big home
0:18
Ed conversations. You are here, as always with
0:20
myself, Kelly Rig. I'm a home Ed mum of two and
0:24
founder of off roading motherhood.
0:25
So I'm a qualified mindset coach and I work with home educating
0:29
or transitioning to home educating families as they
0:31
navigate the usually quite tricky moments of figuring out
0:35
how it's going to work, how their careers are going to
0:37
happen, all the things and it can be really, really stressful.
0:40
So I really love helping families to they kind of embrace
0:42
it and to make sure they're figuring all of the details out.
0:45
But I am joined as always with my Co host Ashley Venerio.
0:48
So she's a fellow home Ed mum of three and an ex primary teacher.
0:52
And essentially we are just good friends.
0:55
We've known each other for a couple of years now and
0:58
essentially we would find ourselves sitting around having
1:01
a lovely cup of tea, talking about the world and actually
1:04
really backing each other up, supporting each other as we kind
1:07
of overcame various different challenges and mindset stuff.
1:10
And actually. Yeah.
1:12
That really kind of it was just lovely, wasn't it?
1:13
We really found ourselves supporting each other and we
1:15
were sat there one day being like, we should just turn this
1:16
into a podcast. And one of the biggest
1:18
compliments we ever get is that it feels a little bit like
1:20
you've made a cup of coffee. You come and joined us at the
1:22
table when you're joining in with the conversation.
1:23
So fingers crossed that's how you'll feel after you've sat and
1:26
listened to this episode. But if you haven't heard from us
1:28
before, then welcome to the show.
1:30
And if you're a regular, then thank you so much for listening.
1:33
We appreciate every single one of you who TuneIn every week.
1:35
It is literally growing like crazy right now.
1:38
We're seeing roughly kind of 25 percent, 30% like increase of
1:41
listeners month on month, which is just insane, which is really,
1:45
really exciting. So thank you those of you who
1:47
are tuning in again, very, very exciting times.
1:50
So this week we are going to be talking about, well, I guess,
1:55
how kind of experiential learning travel.
1:57
Both of us are in the the throes of summer.
1:59
Now, one of the perks of home Ed is being able to travel term
2:02
times. One of the things which I think
2:03
most of us feel very grateful to be able to do and actually at
2:07
the moment is over in America visiting family and is obviously
2:10
having a great time with her girls and I am I've just gotten
2:13
back from Centre Parks Longley actually with my two.
2:15
We had a really brilliant week with some friends of ours and
2:18
essentially we both were just sat reflecting on the fact that
2:22
travel sometimes can be the absolute best teacher because it
2:27
just puts you in a completely different environment and just
2:29
gives such opportunity for inspiration.
2:31
And I think we just kind of wanted to chat today about kind
2:33
of whether you can travel big or whether you travel small,
2:36
whether it's literally just going to a different park, like
2:38
whatever it is that you can actually do.
2:41
There's some amazing things out there that you might find will
2:44
actually help you to tick off your school thoughts for the
2:47
week without even really trying. It's it's always quite good fun
2:51
to get into this. So we'll definitely crack into
2:53
that in a moment. But yeah, for now, as we need to
2:57
do, our gratitude, as always. I I for one, I want to get
3:00
started by saying I'm actually grateful for the really cool
3:03
video you sent of the osprey doing hunting in the ocean.
3:07
Me and my son were absolutely enthralled at that.
3:09
While we've watched it a couple of times, watching it diving
3:12
down and grabbing its fish out and then flying off with it.
3:14
That was so cool. Yeah, yeah.
3:17
Just just like living vicariously through you, I
3:19
think. But it was really cool to see
3:21
with with Massive bird of prey nuts.
3:24
We did some falconry last week, so to park.
3:26
So we'll talk about that in a minute.
3:27
But we just absolutely love birds of prey.
3:31
So it's really, really cool to get to see that.
3:32
So thank you more than anything. Thank you.
3:34
That's great. I'm happy to serve.
3:36
It's people forget that Florida is like a jungle because you go
3:40
to places like Orlando and very built up areas where that part
3:45
has been removed. But if you're in like other
3:48
areas, it is quite tropical. We're a little north for that
3:51
Outback because we're in the northern part of the state,
3:54
which still does get seasons, I would say.
3:57
But there is a lot of wildlife here and it is non-stop
4:01
entertainment. So yeah, I have actually have a
4:03
video from this morning. We were driving out and there
4:06
was a turtle crossing the street, which I've never seen
4:09
before. And these things are pretty
4:10
massive. And it's hot, like the pavement
4:12
is hot. So I said to my husband, go, go
4:14
get the turtle and move it like off the road.
4:17
And he's like Ashley, that is a snapping turtle.
4:19
It will, it will not like that he's.
4:23
Like do it anyway. Like dare you?
4:25
You could maneuver from the back and stay out of its reach.
4:31
So we just watched it cross that.
4:33
I did take a video which I will send you after this.
4:36
Definitely do. Pretty massive, pretty massive
4:39
turtle. I've never seen them away from
4:41
the water like that. So I guess he was trying to find
4:43
a new pond to swim in. But yeah, I'm definitely just
4:48
grateful for the ability to travel.
4:51
I think that we're obviously fortunate to have the means to
4:55
do that, to be able to come and fly a family of five back to
4:58
Florida once a year. And so that just the expense to
5:02
get here is significant. And so I think that definitely
5:06
is something we will complain about to ourselves as we're
5:09
booking the tickets. But then when we get here, we're
5:11
like, Oh yeah, definitely great that we did that.
5:14
So yeah, just really enjoying the time and, you know, just
5:16
thankful for my husband's job that allows us to do that.
5:21
So yeah. Yeah, I was going to say, I
5:23
think it's also nice at least we kind of have family in different
5:26
parts of the world. It really helps to obviously it
5:28
cuts down such a lot of cost, doesn't it, being able to go and
5:30
stay with people, yes, that are living there.
5:35
I mean, I've got some family kind of dotted around the world.
5:37
I've got some in Australia and some in in America, etcetera.
5:40
I've got, I've got people around.
5:41
But yeah, just getting there can be really tricky, can't it?
5:43
And I think even just a lot for a lot of people, just, it would
5:46
be quite overwhelming to try and travel like that as well.
5:50
I know that I don't think I could ever, well, I'd say I
5:53
don't think I'd ever do it, but I don't think I'd want to do it.
5:55
I would get through it, but trying to travel myself with the
5:57
kids flying at the stage we are at, I'm not sure I could hack
6:03
it. I think I might find that quite
6:04
hard, probably on my own anyway. I think I'd be fine if I was
6:07
with my husband doing it together.
6:08
But yeah, not on my own. So hats off to you as well for
6:11
getting yourselves there. It's hard work and travelling
6:13
with kids. And I know that you had a bit of
6:15
a, a disaster, didn't you? Bless you sort of travel
6:18
sickness and stuff going on as well.
6:19
So it wasn't wasn't an easy. Journey I personally had the
6:23
challenge which is always better than the kids.
6:25
I think they all luckily were fine.
6:28
I just, I have motion sickness that comes and goes.
6:31
So sometimes the car ride will really bother me and other times
6:34
it won't. And the same with airfare.
6:36
And I was joking. I made it all the way, you know,
6:38
halfway around the world in January when we went to Bora
6:42
Bora without any issues. And then just this flight to my
6:45
mom's, that's like a disaster. The man behind me was so nice.
6:50
So he was like, can I, can I help you?
6:52
And I, I know there's nothing to do to help, but like, just the
6:55
fact that he was like, he's like, I can see you're having a
6:57
really hard time. I was like, yes, I'm probably
7:00
bothering you as well. I'm very sorry.
7:02
Bless you. And I have a very chatty 5 year
7:06
old and at one point I was like just watch your iPad sweetie,
7:10
please no more texting. So let me just like.
7:12
Go inwards and deal with this nausea please.
7:15
She was like, yeah, my youngest as well.
7:18
Doesn't always seem to grasp, but I really just can't right
7:21
now. Like please, please stop.
7:22
I love you so much. But please find something else
7:24
to do. Yeah.
7:25
Oh, bless you. Yeah.
7:27
Yeah. Well, I'm glad.
7:28
That I do. That there, Yeah, Well, sickness
7:31
came to an end and you've managed to get through.
7:33
Yeah, sometime. Without, yes, I'm hoping the
7:35
return will be just fine, but. Stock up on your ginger ginger
7:39
tablets or something. It did.
7:41
I was wildly unprepared for the extreme, but the second 5
7:45
minutes off the plane, I'm fine. So, you know, there was that
7:47
schedule. Yeah.
7:48
Just got to land, get off the plane.
7:51
Yeah. Oh, bless you.
7:53
So, yeah, so we, we wanted to talk about travel because
7:55
obviously it's, it's topical. We try and stick with things
7:58
which are on our minds. And we were sat here going
8:00
through the topics that we had thought about doing for the rest
8:03
of the season. And just like we want to do
8:04
something light today, let's talk about something that's
8:06
actually quite joyful. And so I'd found myself
8:10
reflecting, having taken the kids to Centre parks last week,
8:14
had like an obvious midweek deal, went with some friends.
8:17
And essentially we, we tend to just say like, because I've got
8:22
like a, what I refer to as my good enough homeless methods.
8:25
It's literally just a list on my fridge, which I've mentioned
8:28
before. I've talked about it before, so
8:29
I won't go into detail, but it's essentially it's like maths,
8:32
English, science, all the different subjects and types of
8:35
things that we could possibly do.
8:36
And I kind of aim for a minimum of 15 minutes, sometimes twice
8:40
on each thing to try and ensure that we have like touched on it,
8:43
even if we don't didn't do it for very long.
8:46
Just so that we've kind of had a bit of a conversation of
8:48
something that is related to that.
8:50
And it usually then means we've actually done a lot more than
8:52
that, but it just gives us a little touch points.
8:55
Then at the end of the week, I can just reflect and go, oh,
8:57
gobbled on loads. That's great.
8:58
Like actually I can feel really good about this week.
9:01
We've touched on loads of different things with them and
9:03
some weeks are better than others.
9:04
And typically when we go on holiday, I just don't bother
9:07
filling it out. I just leave it and except that
9:10
we've stepped away from normality.
9:13
We're just here to have fun and do whatever we want to do.
9:15
I'm not going to think about it all like stress about it at all.
9:19
Because what we tend to try and follow in our household is kind
9:22
of school is like a year round thing and we don't tend to take
9:24
half terms and holidays and things like that.
9:26
Partly because I want to be able to keep most days fairly minimal
9:30
in terms of any kind of intentional school work.
9:33
And I find it's much easier to just do a little tiny bit most
9:36
days and then actually then evens out over the year instead
9:39
of having these like really intensive like must do Monday to
9:42
Friday every single week. Otherwise we're going to be
9:45
behind. Like, I don't, I don't like that
9:47
kind of energy in my life. So I much prefer to keep things
9:49
nice and even. So taking a week to go do
9:52
something else is totally fine. And it like we'd absolutely do
9:54
it from time to time, but ultimately, normally I don't
9:58
bother reflecting, I don't bother sitting there and
10:00
actually filling it out. But this time I just did because
10:03
actually I noticed so much during the week that I just
10:06
wanted to kind of remember how much they actually had done.
10:11
And it was, it was little tiny things like going down these
10:14
different water slides. And they were talking about the
10:17
speed that they were going down different ones, which ones felt
10:19
fastest. And between them, we're talking
10:22
about how kind of steep some of them were or how one of them was
10:25
bumpy or how one of them was kind of more windy.
10:27
And that meant that it went a bit slower.
10:29
Or why even though it was quite steep, it wasn't very fast,
10:32
maybe because the water flow wasn't strong enough or whatever
10:35
rate. And I really found it
10:38
fascinating hearing them puzzling stuff out.
10:40
And they definitely were not at all thinking of what they were
10:44
talking about was science. Yeah, They had absolutely no
10:48
awareness that that's what they were discussing, essentially.
10:50
But they were curious about it and showing their own interest
10:53
in it, which is obviously 100% what you want anyway.
10:57
Yes, OK, it's not documented. No, I didn't actually join in
11:01
and and give them any more scientific understanding in
11:04
those moments. I didn't bother.
11:05
I left them to it. I let them enjoy that
11:06
conversation because actually they were grasping the concept
11:09
perfectly well on their own. And what I know that will do is
11:12
down the line, when maybe we start talking about angles or we
11:16
start talking about water pressure or anything really that
11:20
might come up in conversations later, it will help them to
11:24
grasp that concept that much easier because they will have a
11:27
reference that in their minds just made complete sense.
11:31
And actually, when I sat and reflected on the week, we had
11:34
not only ticked off everything that we would normally cover,
11:36
and I mean, history, geography, like topography, we're looking
11:40
at the types of forests and it had all these lovely hills and
11:42
lakes. And we're talking about like,
11:44
oh, we've got this waterfall and the lakes down the bottom of the
11:46
valley. And like, that's topography.
11:49
That's geography. Like we've done science, we've
11:51
done maths, we've done reading. They were helping to figure out
11:54
where our lodge was. They actually found it.
11:56
I let them guide me. I told them the number and they
12:00
followed the signs and they figured out where our lodge was
12:03
like, so they were looking at the sequencing of numbers like
12:07
there's loads of stuff they did and it was just really
12:09
fascinating for me to actually take the time to reflect on a
12:13
week that was 100% fun. Every single second was
12:16
brilliant. We had a great week, we had a
12:17
really lovely time and nothing was intentional.
12:21
Everything was just, they did random bits of stuff on their
12:24
own and they actually ticked everything off and more.
12:28
And it was really lovely to kind of take a moment to really
12:31
acknowledge that. Because I think so often we
12:33
think, and schools as well, like parents get punished for taking
12:36
their kids out of schools during term time to take them abroad or
12:38
to go and do something that is all about fun.
12:41
But I think we're really, that really helped me to really
12:44
remember that actually such a backwards way of looking at it,
12:47
that there is so much learning to be had when our children are
12:51
in a different environment. They've got so many new things
12:55
to inspire them. And yeah, I just found myself
12:58
really smiling thinking this is actually really great and has
13:01
made me feel much more relaxed about my sort of several little
13:03
trips we've got planned and how they're not necessarily going to
13:06
be giving us the time to be doing our school at home like we
13:08
normally would. And I'm feeling really excited
13:10
for our summer now. Like, really excited for it
13:12
because I'm just excited to see what kinds of random inspiration
13:14
come their way. Yeah, no, absolutely.
13:18
And I, I always tell this story and I'm sure I've done it on
13:21
here before, but I think that those kind of taking school off
13:25
the page, which homeschoolers tend to do anyway.
13:28
But the more we can, the more it cements itself in their minds,
13:32
the more it makes it real. Because I, when I first started
13:35
homeschooling for first grade in the States and Italy, which here
13:40
is in England is year 2, I just grabbed A curriculum that I
13:44
thought looked good and we started doing it and it
13:46
incorporated like the English language arts component as well
13:49
as some art history randomly just like to, you know, kind of
13:53
beef it up, make it more interesting.
13:55
So sometimes we'd be, you know, talking about, you know,
13:59
adjectives by describing a classic picture that's like
14:03
famous from an art history perspective.
14:05
And so we were doing this and it mentioned like, oh, this house
14:09
and this is an American curriculum, but we were living
14:12
in Italy and it said this picture is housed in a church in
14:16
Italy. And I was like, I wonder how far
14:18
away that is from us. And it was not far.
14:20
So we could go to, we like went and saw the picture from the
14:25
book that we were doing related to, you know, English.
14:29
And it was just so exciting to be able to be like, oh, I just
14:32
write about that And now I'm seeing it.
14:33
Oh, I am seeing that color and I am noticing the brush strokes
14:36
and like, it was just very lovely.
14:38
And so I think that the more you have an opportunity to do that,
14:43
it just allows it to stay interesting, to stay relevant,
14:48
because I think that's a lot of the challenge with education
14:52
that is done in a classroom, whether that's at home or in a
14:55
in a traditional school setting, is that just largely conceptual?
14:59
And if we can give them those touch points to really interact
15:03
with it, it makes such a big difference.
15:05
And I definitely have always been a huge proponent of travel
15:09
because I think it just exposes you to some of the very
15:13
important things of life that you miss in a classroom setting.
15:16
So like interacting with another culture or language, seeing how
15:19
other people go through like an average day and seeing that
15:22
different from a city if you don't live in one versus if you
15:26
do live in a city, going to some more of like a rural area and
15:29
experiencing it that way. So I just think that those
15:32
things are always awesome. Museums, all of that, of course.
15:35
But yeah, even just like you were saying, like a little trip
15:39
to a different park and there's different wildlife there or, you
15:43
know, just kind of getting, you know, all these different
15:46
inputs. I I do think it's really
15:47
important. My kids definitely point out
15:51
those things when we're traveling.
15:54
So being here, obviously we're in a different household than
15:57
our own. So there's just this subtle
16:00
difference. I was telling you earlier before
16:01
we started recording that my parents always have on like the
16:05
stock market channel. And so there's like a little TV
16:08
in the kitchen and it's just kind of on and you can like turn
16:12
the volume up or down, however, but my girls like, what does it
16:15
mean when the numbers on the bottom are red or blue or green?
16:19
Like what is the what is the difference?
16:21
And so, you know, we that's something they hadn't seen
16:23
before. And so now that's leading to a
16:25
whole different conversation about investing and how, you
16:28
know, corporations kind of have money and it's just very
16:32
interesting, right? So we're I think in a kind of
16:36
maybe dive into that a little bit, at least at a high level
16:39
because they're interested in it.
16:40
So why not? Yeah, absolutely.
16:42
And I think every time they get a random bit of information like
16:46
that, I was always kind of one of the things I say to people
16:49
when they sort of asked me about how how we do things is I said,
16:53
sometimes I kind of just see it as everyone needs a job and it
16:56
starts out reasonably empty. Like we have obviously our
16:59
instincts and other bits of information and stuff that's
17:01
already in there. But everything you do is either
17:03
like a grain of sand or a Pebble or like a really big rock.
17:07
Some things become like significant core information,
17:11
that stuff which they go massively deep into something
17:13
that's really, really interesting and that makes the
17:15
big rock some things a tiny, tiny little grains of sand.
17:18
But essentially all these different things interconnect.
17:21
They all come into the jar together.
17:22
They they slowly but surely fill the jar up with loads of random
17:26
bits of useful information from so many different experiences
17:30
that help to build context and depth of understanding and allow
17:34
them to draw upon different experiences that allow them to.
17:36
Then when they're then presented with a concept later in life
17:39
that's a bit more complex or requires them to have some
17:42
critical thought or they want to learn more about it.
17:46
They would already have these random little bits and pieces
17:49
that they've learnt from before that help them to make better
17:52
sense of it and might already give them some groundwork in
17:55
understanding it. But essentially like everything
17:58
they do adds to that amazing web of thoughts and ideas that they
18:03
they can possibly pull from. And at the end of the day, our
18:05
brains will only keep what is useful and relevant that we
18:10
forget so much. Like if you sort of say to
18:12
people like, would you remember much from school?
18:13
They're like, no God, hardly anything like most of it's gone
18:16
now. And the truth is that we
18:18
remember what's really important to us.
18:20
We remember the memories. Like if you reflect on your life
18:22
and you look for the memories in your head, you'll only be able
18:25
to really pull out the stuff that was really pivotal or
18:27
really important. Stuff that really made you happy
18:30
or really made you sad, or bits of information that was really
18:33
fascinating to you, stuff that you really, really liked.
18:36
And this relevance is super important when it comes to
18:38
thinking about how home Ed is supposed to work, like how
18:41
education is supposed to work, that our children will only
18:44
remember what is relevant to them.
18:48
You can bleed a horse towards, you cannot force it to drink.
18:50
Our brains will not remember everything they are given.
18:53
And ultimately, if we can show our children how relevant it is
18:56
in their community, in their life that will allow them to do
19:00
the things that they maybe want to do one day or whatever it
19:02
might be, then actually that relevance really, really helps
19:05
to build like this. Just just general enjoyment of
19:09
education because it means that they're seeing it, they're
19:12
feeling it, they're touching it, it's in their world.
19:16
There's a reason to know it. And I think that just the act of
19:19
travel or whether it's whether it's not necessarily travel, but
19:22
just like going to a museum or going out for the day and doing
19:24
something as much as you can. Even just like doing hands on
19:29
experiments or doing something which is a bit more creative
19:33
than just doing a worksheet or for example, whatever.
19:34
But like finding another way of doing it, getting out in the
19:37
garden and just poking around in the dirt like whatever it is.
19:41
Yeah. Any experience that allows them
19:43
to build some more texture and relevance to the information
19:46
will help them to actually keep it because it'll just, it'll
19:49
just actually form a memory or form an actual thing that
19:52
they've experienced and done. And I think that's something
19:55
which for me, my travels, the things that I've done in my life
19:59
and had the really like amazing opportunity to do.
20:02
Have been a huge part of what I remember when I reflect back on
20:06
like my childhood and the places that I got to go.
20:08
Sometimes at school trips and stuff.
20:10
We went abroad. I was really lucky to get to go
20:12
on a couple and actually those are pretty like massive memories
20:15
that I've got in school. So I think that because we are
20:19
an international family, a multinational family, we do
20:22
travel a lot just to go see relatives, but it allows us to
20:26
really be in different cultures and really experience life.
20:31
And obviously it's important for me to have the kids back in the
20:33
States because that's what I grew up at.
20:35
And obviously I identify as being American and having some
20:39
of those core experiences. 4th of July, summer barbecues, being
20:44
at the beach like that is very important to me and something I
20:47
want them to experience. And I know my husband has the
20:50
same with being Italian and the things that we do.
20:53
For example, I love going and having the roasted chestnuts in
20:56
the fall. Like I think it's a fun
20:58
experience and he grew up doing it and I want our kids to do
21:00
that. So we do try to do that as much
21:03
as we can. And I think that what I've
21:05
noticed more recently, as we're sort of looking at summer plans,
21:10
because I do want to keep it relevant to home school, I do
21:15
want us to follow up on some of these if we can, these ideas
21:19
that kind of come up. So I have started keeping a list
21:21
on my phone of just random things and like snapping
21:26
turtles. So I'll show them the picture
21:28
and then I'll see if the library has a book on them or I'll see
21:32
if there's another opportunity for us to go and see them.
21:36
And I actually, funny enough, right near our library is a big
21:39
turtle preserve. Wait till I send you a video of
21:41
these. They're amazing.
21:44
So I'll even, I'll even post it to Instagram for everyone to see
21:47
because there are really cool. And when you come up to them,
21:50
like when you walk out on the pier of this little lake
21:52
preserve area, they all come over.
21:54
So obviously someone's feeding them.
21:56
That's how they're fed, but they ask you not to.
21:57
So we've never fed them, but they do all come over and it is
22:00
amazing. So I'm going to keep trying to
22:02
like kind of build on this. And then even if it's like a
22:05
quick search on whether it's Twinkle, even Pinterest has a
22:08
ton of links to great resources that are free, a video maybe on
22:14
YouTube. So I am going to try to be
22:17
really conscious of making notes of just a topic stock market,
22:21
you know, birds of prey, that kind of thing, so that I can go
22:25
back when we leave here and just make sure I'm leaving that into
22:28
what we're doing. So that they do have like you
22:31
were saying, they have these little like ear markers like
22:33
that they can like I do remember that.
22:34
And this is interesting because I have seen it.
22:37
So I think it just will help us to have a more engaging and
22:41
enriching experience as we think about areas to look at for
22:44
whether it's science or history or whatever that that is.
22:47
So it's super informal, but it I found that if I try to write it
22:52
down, I then have like 5 different lists going in
22:55
different areas. So I've just settled on the
22:59
notes app on my phone and the girls will even be like, write
23:02
this down. Like this is a question I have
23:04
write it down because it's usually bedtime when they have
23:07
them and I don't want to answer it in that moment.
23:08
Delay tactic. Yeah, I'm not falling for it.
23:11
Delay. Tactics.
23:12
Oh, my goodness. My youngest is great for a
23:14
delay. Tactic.
23:15
My goodness. Too many, too many.
23:17
Yeah, no, I think it's also, I think building that relevance in
23:21
what they're interested in and then getting to kind of reflect
23:23
back on its circle back around to it, do a bit more on it is so
23:25
great. And I think like we've got some
23:27
plans. We're going to Cornwall in a
23:29
couple of weeks and I have like we're doing the ocean as our
23:32
topic this term anyway. And it's actually World Ocean
23:36
Day. I just didn't, I didn't realise
23:37
that. So obviously it's a really great
23:38
extra thing on the 8th of June, which is perfect, which is
23:41
coming up. So that's going to be great.
23:43
And I think I've got some loads of fun ideas of simple things
23:46
that can build upon just going to the beach.
23:48
Like we're going to try and like pick a sort of square meter and
23:53
and then count how many of each type of shell we find in that
23:57
square meter. And then we can do a little
23:58
telly chart later. Like I can just make a note on
24:00
my phone. And then later I can say, well,
24:02
you know, those shells we counted, Let's let's actually
24:04
mark it up on a graph and I'll show you how to do the graph.
24:06
Or we're going to take a little jar of seawater home with this
24:10
and then evaporate it. We're just going to leave it on
24:12
like an open plate and let it evaporate and see the minerals
24:16
that are left behind. Like all kinds of little random
24:18
things that we can just kind of further investigations, put a
24:21
little bit of sand under the microscope, that kind of stuff.
24:24
And, and just really notice all the really cool stuff that is
24:27
actually about the beach whilst we're there.
24:30
They're just just loads of observations talking about the
24:32
vocabulary, just looking at the things and talking to them and
24:34
playing with them and building a sand castle and like all the
24:37
different stuff that you can do. There's so many things that you
24:40
can do like as I say, even just building a sand castle, just the
24:42
physics involved in that, like how damp the sand needs to be,
24:45
the methods of how you get it out of the bucket.
24:49
If you make the bucket really wet, why the sandcastles are
24:51
really hard to make. After that, like all the
24:53
different things that are super important for just like concepts
24:58
as again later on, more more complex adult concepts that you
25:01
might then go on to be an architect or an engineer or like
25:05
whatever it is that they might go on to be.
25:08
These things actually really make a difference.
25:10
I mean, I was making a sandcastle with my youngest on
25:12
the beach at Centre Parks and she wanted to dig a Moat.
25:15
And obviously this is a lake. So it's not a beach.
25:18
It doesn't have a tide. There's no, no water coming in
25:21
to fill up said Moat later on. And so she wanted to, to fill up
25:25
the Moat. And I was like, well, OK, we can
25:28
try. But it's, and I was like, look,
25:30
don't, don't tell her, don't tell her.
25:32
Just like let her experiment. She'll see.
25:34
And obviously like bucket after bucket after bucket and it's
25:37
just sinking straight through the sand and disappeared.
25:38
She's like, mummy, why is it, why won't it stay in my Moat?
25:41
And I'm just like, well, why don't you think it'll stay in
25:43
the Moat? And I ended up obviously talking
25:44
about the fact that it's draining away.
25:46
And I said, however, keep doing it.
25:48
Eventually it'll become saturated and then hopefully it
25:52
should start to stay. It'll take, it'll still drain
25:54
away eventually, but it will start to stay for longer.
25:57
And it did. And she was really tough that it
25:59
finally kind of reached the point where we had a full Moat.
26:02
And also she had like the gradient as well.
26:04
We hadn't dug the Moat deep enough on one side and it meant
26:07
that all the water kept pulling around and trying to pour out
26:09
one side of it. And so she's like, why is that
26:10
happening? And she started experimenting to
26:12
try and make it sort of fill up all the way around and just,
26:15
yeah, so many different things in that.
26:17
And I think we have, we just have to almost take a step back
26:20
sometimes. Like any educator I'm sure is
26:23
doing this, whether they're in school, home educators,
26:26
alternative provisions, all these different places they,
26:29
they want to be observing the children, they'll be seeing them
26:31
doing these amazing things and recognising different concepts
26:34
in whatever kind of play they're doing.
26:35
But I do feel like home education is uniquely given an
26:39
opportunity for children to have so much more time to explore
26:43
concepts on their own, wherever they are.
26:46
And I think that it's really fun watching them come to
26:51
conclusions, to ask questions, to be openly curious, and to be
26:54
so focused for as long as their interest sustains on it too.
26:59
Because I think that's the other really great thing about living
27:01
a slower pace is just giving them those opportunities to take
27:05
their time and to let something fully play out.
27:08
So I think that the idea of the snapping turtles is such a great
27:10
one because that initial fun of just watching it crossing the
27:13
road and you guys laughing about not going and helping it because
27:17
I was going to get a finger bitten off and then looking at
27:19
something later, then going to the reserve.
27:21
And then, you know what I mean? Like it builds on this concept
27:23
and allows them to ask more questions and get more curious.
27:26
Eventually that will Peter out completely naturally all on its
27:29
own. They'll be interested in
27:30
something else and I want to move on.
27:32
Yeah. And when that happens, then it's
27:33
fine. And it just goes off on another
27:35
different tangent. But I think it just allows them
27:38
these opportunities to really build on and to satisfy that
27:42
kind of urge to to fill up that little space in their brain
27:45
that's clearly like looking for something interesting to know
27:48
right now and that love that. I think that kind of concept of
27:52
having almost, if you've visualized like there's a little
27:55
empty pocket in your head of like in at the moment, I'm
27:58
interested in filling up that pocket with some really
28:00
interesting information. And the act of having that
28:04
sensation to want to know something interesting and to
28:08
just learn about it because it's interesting and then keep that
28:12
information to do something else with it later or forget it if
28:16
they don't care about it anymore.
28:17
And that's completely fine too. That ability to just enjoy the
28:22
process of learning means that they'll go off into the world
28:27
and be presented with all of these opportunities and ideas
28:29
and doors opening and people and places and things and jobs and
28:33
career ideas, etcetera. And they will actually have
28:35
these little pockets of curiosity will just open and
28:39
they will naturally want to go and fill them because to them
28:42
the act of learning something new will just be interesting and
28:46
fun. It hasn't got a an exam coming.
28:48
It hasn't got a like you're not going to test them on it in
28:51
three months time to see if they can remember anything about
28:53
snapping turtles. We've just enjoyed learning
28:54
about them. Keep it or don't, but it's fun.
28:57
Like it's just fun to learn about for a minute and it's,
29:00
it's such a lovely thing to see children learning for the sake
29:04
of learning and just enjoying it because it's fun.
29:07
And it's really taught me to do the same.
29:08
I've, I've loved as an adult just enjoying the process of
29:11
learning a random new topic with them.
29:13
And we do forget it and it's fine that it goes out of my
29:16
head. Again, it's not necessarily
29:17
relevant to my day-to-day. Of course, I'm not going to keep
29:19
all of it, but I enjoyed learning about it all the same.
29:22
And it's, it's just nice. It's just fun.
29:24
Like if you can actually see it that way, it's just fun to learn
29:26
new things. Yeah, and I think you hit on the
29:29
the part of time and allowing children to have the time to
29:35
actually really get into something.
29:37
I was reading something, I don't remember the exact quote or, or
29:41
where I even read it, but it was saying about how children take
29:45
can take up to like 2 hours to get into like a creative flow if
29:49
they're creating their own game and like building a world,
29:53
right? Like, OK, you're the shopkeeper
29:56
and I'm going to come in and these are the food and we'll now
29:58
be able to collect the food and it's pine cones or whatever,
30:01
right? And like kind of like building
30:02
this all up that it can take a really long time for them to
30:05
actually get in the groove. And that's why a lot of the
30:07
times when we're at a park or something and obviously as
30:09
parents, we've been there 45 minutes, right?
30:11
We got to get going and the kids are really frustrated, right?
30:13
Like, no, no, no, we just started this game and it's like,
30:15
no, you've been playing 45 minutes.
30:17
But but in their mind, a lot of that was just, you know,
30:20
building up, getting comfortable with the kids around them,
30:22
figuring out how to, you know, get 5 kids to play one game and
30:26
who's happy with what. And all of that just takes time,
30:29
especially for children. So the more time that you can
30:34
allow them to be in that space, the more that they're learning
30:39
patience and they're learning compromise, and they're building
30:43
up their own tolerance for even even boredom, right?
30:47
I mean, if we're constantly pulling these kids out of things
30:50
and asking them to now move on to the next thing because we
30:53
need to do that. And sometimes you do, I mean,
30:55
we've got to make dinner at a certain time and all that stuff
30:57
happens only so many hours in a day.
30:59
But the more that we can allow them to really be in that space,
31:03
the better. And that's why it's so lovely to
31:06
have that flexibility at home, because if we're learning about
31:09
Egypt and the girls are really interested, I don't have to stop
31:12
that because it's math. Like, yeah, normally we'd start
31:14
math at this time. But if we're really loving it,
31:17
let's read another chapter. Let's keep going.
31:19
Let's let's do more because you really just want to take
31:22
advantage of that. And I think that can be hard.
31:27
It's certainly hard in a school setting because you've you've
31:29
got to keep things moving along. There's just too many kids and
31:32
only a certain number of of hours in that day.
31:35
But don't be afraid to flex your schedule to allow for that kind
31:42
of absorption into a topic to really take place, because you
31:46
can always spend less time on it the next day, more time on the
31:50
other things you might have missed.
31:52
But it's it's something really nice to see when you're really
31:56
in that and everyone's interested.
31:58
And like you were saying, that's when they're going to make those
32:00
memories and hopefully learn, learn something.
32:03
I think it's also like a really key thing to like, don't, don't
32:06
be afraid to take the tangent too, because I think sometimes
32:09
you can start on a topic and it leads to something else and
32:12
you're like, no, no, come on guys, we're supposed to be
32:14
talking about this. But actually any kind of
32:16
learning leads to somewhere interesting.
32:19
And I think having that attitude that whatever it is that it ends
32:21
up doing, it could end up being really, really valuable.
32:24
And if they're curious about it, then it is valuable.
32:26
Simple, really. I think that's actually the
32:29
truth of it. If they are curious about it,
32:30
then it is of importance to them, especially right in this
32:33
minute. As much as possible.
32:34
Yeah. But like we, we went, we had the
32:37
opportunity to go to Norway last year and it turned into like a
32:42
three month long pre holiday topic.
32:45
The kids were so excited about it because they'd never been
32:49
abroad. So when I started a bit abroad,
32:50
but when it was like 2. So they were both like
32:52
consciously aware of getting to go.
32:54
And so they were really excited to do it.
32:56
And we set about the task of learning about Norway and the
33:02
cruise ship and the route we were going to take and the
33:04
places we were going to go. And that was kind of the early
33:06
start of the topic. And it, it very quickly detoured
33:09
off down Viking route. And then I was like, no, no,
33:12
come on. Right.
33:12
We're supposed to be learning about Norway.
33:14
Let's try and bring this back to Norway.
33:16
Started looking at the wildlife, which then obviously veered on
33:18
to going off and looking at the Arctic.
33:20
And I was like, OK, all right, so we've done some Arctic, now
33:24
let's come back to Norway. And it it just like, I don't
33:27
know, all sorts of stuff like how glaciers are formed, why
33:30
cruise ships don't sink, or at least like how we try and
33:34
prevent it. And all of the different things
33:36
like safety things that are on board lifeboats, boats that have
33:40
sunk, like all the conversations that we had, but the amazing
33:44
science experiment we did about water lines, like how boats can
33:47
take so much weight, but once they go over that certain weight
33:49
that they will actually sink great.
33:52
It's quite scary, but it's, it's really fascinating.
33:54
And I think they asked some brilliant questions.
33:57
I mean, went off on some really random tangents and some of them
34:00
were like, it's, it's, I always say it's a bit like, Oh, I can't
34:03
think of the name of the show is it's like like like links, like
34:06
random links in your head. It's like it's a very ADHD thing
34:10
to do, to be honest. But like when you're, you're
34:12
talking to someone and then you suddenly find yourself 20
34:15
minutes later you're talking about something completely
34:17
random and different and like, what were we talking about?
34:19
What was it that started this conversation?
34:22
How did we get here? Yeah, I don't actually
34:24
understand. And this is very much how our
34:26
home Ed tends to follow it's weird tangent paths.
34:29
And actually, I don't mind it. I actually think it works really
34:32
well for all of our brains in our household.
34:33
Anyway, We actually really enjoy it.
34:35
We love the meandering and we love seeing where it goes.
34:38
And then eventually it does reach a natural end.
34:40
And at that natural end, we then say, right, OK, what?
34:42
Well, we were trying at stretching then about.
34:44
Let's go back to. Where do we start?
34:46
The core of this subject so that we can take it off down a
34:48
different route. Actually, we've ended up doing
34:51
some really amazing things because of it.
34:53
And also it fills me with a lot of gratitude for my kids because
34:58
I do think that as an adult, I went out into the world thinking
35:01
the only thing that I was it was important for me to learn were
35:04
things that would make me money. And anything else was considered
35:08
a hobby. Everything else was considered a
35:10
waste of my time currently because the only thing I should
35:12
be worrying about is trying to make a good income and or like
35:16
learning how about mortgages or learning about how to run a
35:18
household or learning how to do the washing or like whatever
35:20
important adulting job that I had to do.
35:24
Learning how to be a parent should have done more of that
35:26
before I had kids. But there's lots of things that
35:28
should definitely do not realize how much there is to it, do we?
35:33
But I think that since deciding to home educate and slowing my
35:37
career down a little bit and being home a lot more and yeah,
35:41
all of the subjects that they have shown an interest in, I
35:44
have ultimately ended up learning alongside them.
35:46
And it really helped me to start to get interested in the world
35:50
again and to recognize how actually that kind of idea that
35:54
as adults we're supposed to just be focused on things that are
35:57
going to make us money. And I think that's so true of so
36:00
many adults won't do almost anything except for like if they
36:04
think to, well, I enjoy painting.
36:06
Maybe if I do a course, then I can learn how to paint this so
36:09
that I can sell them or whatever, right?
36:11
Like we always seem to think that we've got to monetize or
36:14
make it productive or we can't go to that art class of an
36:17
evening because actually should be working.
36:19
And that's more important. And sometimes it is, of course.
36:21
So we all need to make our our ends meet.
36:23
But ultimately we tend to then stop ourselves from having any
36:27
of these detours and side side projects and, and interests that
36:31
genuinely just make our brains happy.
36:33
They just make us really satisfied.
36:36
And I, and I really love that. Yes, OK, I, I don't, I don't
36:40
know whether or not this lovely tangenting brain nonsense is
36:43
going to create really flighty kids that are going to hop from
36:46
job to job to job. I don't know, maybe that would
36:48
make them very happy to do that. Who knows?
36:50
But I don't know what that will mean for them when they grow up
36:52
and, and whether or not they will find a way of using that
36:55
meandering learning ability to, to get really good at a job and
36:58
to like really drive down into it.
37:00
But ultimately, I want them to remain curious.
37:04
I want them to remain open minded and seeing opportunities
37:07
to learn about new things because we never know what new
37:10
thing that might come across our path could turn into the most
37:13
incredible career or opportunity.
37:16
And I want them to be open to that.
37:18
And I'm really grateful that they have reminded me to open my
37:22
mind to, to open my eyes and to see and to learn more about
37:26
what's around me and the people around me and the places and
37:29
things because opportunities have come for me in the past few
37:33
years. This podcast is a great example.
37:35
Like I've started doing more things that I never would have
37:38
done before because because of this.
37:40
And it's it's great to actually acknowledge that and recognise
37:44
how relevant it is to us as adults to do this too.
37:46
But yeah, so I guess this conversation itself has gotten a
37:48
fun tangent. Really.
37:49
It's with these all away from travel altogether.
37:52
Yeah, I think. To travel, it's important.
37:56
Just all about the. Journey, right?
37:57
Ha ha, ha. Yeah, yeah.
37:59
But yeah, so I'm, I guess that's it.
38:01
I just think it's just really lovely.
38:03
And I think we definitely need to be embracing a bit of
38:07
meandering in our lives, a little bit of slowing down, a
38:09
little bit of just trying to do something differently.
38:12
Experiencing stuff, feeling touching, tasting, experiencing
38:15
the world around us in whatever capacity you can do.
38:19
And as I say, travel doesn't have to mean jetting off to
38:22
another country. It can, it can genuinely just
38:24
mean going to a different person's house or going to a
38:27
different playground or whatever.
38:30
Like find, find ways to kind of add a little bit of inspiration
38:33
to your day and just experience as much as you can because
38:38
there's, there's so much out there to experience, isn't there
38:40
really? Exactly.
38:42
And I think, you know, as we come into summer, it's obviously
38:46
the natural time to start to think about traveling or people
38:48
are going on a holiday and taking vacations, whether it's
38:51
to visit family or just to to get away as your as your own
38:54
little nuclear family. And I think that sometimes
38:59
homeschoolers can be worried or maybe like AI don't know.
39:03
Sometimes my relatives are worried like, oh, but what are
39:06
you going to do for school? Then I'm like, well, they're on
39:07
break just like the kids are on break.
39:09
Like, it's the same. We might do it at a different
39:11
time, but it's the same. They still deserve a vacation,
39:14
too. But yeah, don't be afraid to do
39:16
that. Don't be afraid to spend some
39:18
time just pulling away. Like you were saying, you
39:21
weren't even going to track what they were doing that week
39:24
because they were on vacation. And that's OK if you do that.
39:26
So I really just try to enjoy it and do what I do, make some
39:30
notes and then circle back later.
39:32
I was going to say, I think equally like, yeah, just just
39:36
actually just enjoy it. And as you say, they'll be
39:37
picking up so much that you'll see it.
39:39
You'll see it. If you're getting good at
39:41
observing and noticing what they're doing in their play
39:44
anyway, you will really see how much they pick up just by
39:48
exploring and experiencing the world around them.
39:50
It is just incredible to watch. Yeah.
39:53
So I guess the last thing we should say is I wish all of you
39:56
a wonderful holiday if you're going off on one season.
39:58
I hope you have a lovely time. We would love for you to
40:00
inundate us if you want, with the places you're going and
40:03
maybe moments when you've experienced this with your kids
40:06
and it's really made you stop and think how amazing it is that
40:08
they get the opportunity to do these things.
40:10
I know I've got one in particular where my kids got to
40:12
like feed an Archer fish at a, at a museum, an aquarium, that
40:17
was just amazing. There's a massive school group
40:18
came through and obviously there's far too many for them
40:20
all to get to have a go. But as soon as the school group
40:22
moved off, my 2 got to actually have a go at feeding them, which
40:24
is really awesome. Yeah.
40:26
Just like amazing little experiences that will always
40:29
stick with me. I mean, I don't know if it stuck
40:30
with them. I should ask them.
40:31
But it was really cool. It was a fun thing to get to do.
40:33
So, yeah, I hope you will have a lovely time.
40:36
If you're off anywhere exciting soon, do come and tell us what
40:39
you get up to. But yeah, So obviously we will
40:41
be back again next week. Apologies for the slight delay
40:44
of a an episode. We're doing great this season so
40:47
far, aren't we? I think we've done this twice
40:48
now. Yeah.
40:49
We both had a beautiful week of it trying to wrangle time
40:53
differences and I wasn't feeling very well and too many different
40:56
things were going on and we're just like, oh, we've missed the
40:58
we've missed the window. So never mind.
41:00
We've done one for you this week.
41:01
So enjoy this one. And the next one should
41:03
hopefully be I'm recording with Wendy from Education Otherwise
41:07
at the weekend to give you guys an update about what is
41:10
happening with the children's well-being in schools.
41:12
Bill, I've chosen to speak to Wendy again because they
41:17
obviously are part of the legal fight against it.
41:19
They've got the contacts in our Lords who are actually fighting
41:23
it and then trying to back us up.
41:24
So she should hopefully have some some really good
41:27
interesting updates. And also, I think at this point,
41:31
as it kind of progresses through the motions, I think more and
41:34
more of us are starting to worry that this will actually come to
41:36
pass, which is a bit of a a shame.
41:39
And hopefully, obviously, there's still some fighting time
41:41
left. And then even once it comes in,
41:44
they'll still have to get things put into law, which still takes
41:47
time and hopefully will still be fought and stopped further down
41:50
the line. But we are a little bit
41:51
concerned right now that it's getting a little bit close,
41:54
isn't it? It's getting a little bit hairy.
41:55
So it'd be good to hear what Wendy thinks is going to happen
41:58
next. And obviously, if it does come
41:59
to pass, what that actually will mean for us as a home education
42:03
community, which I think is important to think about.
42:05
So hopefully that's what the episode will be about next week.
42:08
So hopefully you'll enjoy that. If you are listening to this
42:12
early on Sunday morning, you might catch me in time.
42:14
I'm going to be recording at 11 with her.
42:16
So drop me Adm if you've got a question for her.
42:18
You might get there just in time to ask me a question.
42:20
So if you're hot off the things, then good job to you.
42:23
But thank you as always for listening.
42:25
Drop us a rating if you've enjoyed this episode, pretty
42:27
please. We're ranking really well these
42:29
days and I'd be lovely to reach out and to get more people to
42:32
come and listen. And yeah, got some great
42:35
episodes coming up, so speak to you all again soon.
42:37
Take care.