Education can come in many forms.
It doesn’t always look like a school room with a teacher at the front giving her instructions. I used to think the classroom the ideal way to learn. Over the years of homeschooling (emphasis on HOME), I’ve come to understand that education is not a 8-3 job but rather a 24/7 (minus a few hours to rest) task.
So, what has Mellie been educated in this week?
Summer months are usually for less desk work and more activities. It has been hard here in Florida to do the outdoor activities in the summer with the extreme heat but she does love going outside.
This week she discovered a giant nursery (our yard) for baby lizards and I lost count how many she brought inside or to my swing outside to show me. She just thinks they are the cutest things. Babies? What’s not to love, right?
We have continued trying to swim daily knowing this part of our life will come to an end for a season. Both of us love our pool. She continues to impress me with all she knows in the pool. I’m walking and reading and she is saying, “Mom, watch this dive.” Her education expanded this week with helping Stef daily test the pool. She is starting to learn which chemicals are needed according to the test strip. Chemistry class in a pool?
Her sign language continues to improve even if she stresses me a little with how sloppy I feel she can get. Our deaf friends don’t care and think she is so cute. Kind of reminds me of when I was a young adult in Toronto. We had many Cuban refugees pass through our church. Some even lived with us for a time. They didn’t speak English (or much) and I wanted to talk to them.
Only having high school Spanish under my belt, I would bounce into a conversation with any word I knew including verbs which I never conjugated. My mom, teacher both of Spanish and English, would constantly say, “Julie, use the right verb form.” I just wanted to talk! The Cubans assured me they didn’t care because they just wanted someone to communicate with while missing family back home.
Mellie will learn – we will keep up with it when we move. She will look back and be grateful not only for our dear deaf friends but for having another language learned. She doesn’t know yet, but her grade 6 schooling will include French. Why not, teach her a language she hears often in our home when her dad speaks to his brother.
Create an eye for design.
Today’s cover picture for this post is thanks to Mellie. After church last night (during which we had a huge hurricane almost storm), she grabbed my phone to take pics in the parking lot. She is always taking cool pictures and probably knows more about lighting than me.
Yesterday, cooking became a teaching moment when she made us bacon and French toast for lunch. She knew the basics but as I lay down (it wasn’t the best health day yesterday), she’d call out with questions. Lunch was fabulous.
Educate your children throughout their day and make it fun.
Having a mind to learn keeps life a wonderful adventure!