Homeschooling
My experiences of understanding and implementing homeschooling
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I am not this Body but this Cycle is Mine
I am not this body I am not my clothes I am definitely not my shoes But this cycle is mine so I will keep it clean at any cost, even if it means dirtying my body, clothes, or shoes After a heavy rain last night, Yog and his cycle got stuck in the middle of a muddy puddle. I was laughing away to glory when Yog tried desperately to keep his cycle clean but did not care that his shoes, clothes, hands and feet were covered in that muck! Immediately after coming home, he tended to his cycle to clean it. After he was done, I immediately attended…
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Child’s First and Ever Lasting School
What’s common in Embroidery, Carrot and Cheese Salad and Roughly Chopped Carrot and Cucumber Salad? These are all home projects done by our children without any encouragement/planning/teaching from my side. Embroidery and Carrot Cucumber Salad having been done by 5 year old Yog. Carrot Cheese Salad done by 13 year old Toyna. You may wonder what prompted them to pick up random things like Embroidery and Salad Making. The simple answer is that they saw these skills being practiced by someone at our home. Since these were being done for a period of time only by adults, our children figured it must be something interesting to do. After all, adults…
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Our Death Plan
8-Jan-2019 Ever since we lost Yog’s grandmother last year to Death, this D word has been omnipresent in our household. While we might want to avoid talking about Death over and over again, Yog is fascinated with it. It wasn’t long before he connected the dots and understood that Mom, Dad and Grandfather are also getting old and might die any day. It was therefore only proper that we have a solid plan for what does Yog need to do in case he loses his Mom, Dad and Grandfather all in one day. This is how our first conversation, in this regard, went. Yog: Mama, what will happen if you,…
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A World without Boundaries – Mixing learning, working and playing
As the holiday season is getting over, Mothers all over the world heave a sigh of relief because kids are getting back to school. On the other hand, Homeschooling parents like me are always relaxed because our children never go to school. For us, there is simply no difference between a Monday or a Sunday, holidays, exams or school days. We love learning each day. We love to play each day. We never learn to be judged in an exam. We simply learn because that is what we like to do. In essence, we have only two spaces in life – one in which we are learning and one in…
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Bees Don’t Give us Honey
Yog (eating lunch): Mama, what do bees eat? Mama: Bees eat honey Yog: No Mama, Bees make honey for us. They don’t eat honey Mama: No Yog, Bees make honey for themselves. We take the honey from them Yog (thoughtful): So bees sell honey to us. What honey is left, they eat it? Mama (laughing internally): No Yog! Bees don’t sell honey to us! We steal honey from the bees Yog (shocked and adamant now): No Mama! That is not right! Bees give the honey to us. We don’t steal it from them Mama: Where did you learn that Bees give honey to us? Yog: My school book said, “Bees…
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Homeschooling Topic – Problem Solving
Yog figured out by himself that sometimes just switching off and then switching on an electronic device (in this case his battery car) resolves the functional issues. For me, this is one of the most commonly used problem solving technique in the modern world. Works on gadgets, people, homeworks, projects, and even relationships… Just reset the system and start from scratch again. Works 90% of the time. #homeschoolinglife #problemsolving
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Homeschooling Topic – Weather
Yog: Mama, Winter is coming.When will it snow in Hyderabad ? Mama: It only snows in regions which are far from the equator or are very high up from the ground. I am sorry but it doesn’t snow in Hyderabad. Yog: Why? Mama: Because Hyderabad is near to the equator and it does not have any mountains as well. Yog thinking about the facts at hand for some time: Are the mountains growing? Mama: Yes, the mountains are growing slowly. Yog: Then after the mountains grow, will there be snow in Hyderabad? Mama: No Yog! The mountains are growing but not in Hyderabad. I don’t think there will be snow…
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Homeschooling Topic – Photosynthesis
Yog collected lots of twigs and used Popsicle sticks in the park today. He brought all of them to the car as well. I casually asked – Yog, what will you do with all this? Yog: I will burn them. Me (shocked): You know we should not burn things. It causes pollution Yog: No Mama! When I burn these, Carbon dioxide will come out. All the plants at our home are hungry. They need to eat carbon dioxide as their food. I am going to make food for them by burning these. Me silent for a moment. It takes time for my aged mind to process such arguments. Me coming…
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Homeschooling Topic – Religion
A few days ago, we passed a graveyard on the road and Yog wanted to know what it is. So I explained that in some religions when a person dies, he/she is buried. As expected Yog’s next question was – What is a Religion? I explained that it a set of things that we believe in. For e.g, we are Hindus so we go to the temple and worship our God. We do not bury our dead but we burn their body. Today, while we were eating dinner, Yog asked, “Are we Muslims?” I shook my head and said, “No, we are not Muslims. I told you what religion we…
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I Signed The Dotted Line To Take Ownership Of My Son
I formally started homeschooling my son, about 15 days ago, at the end of the Dushera Holidays. The first 3 days were completely chaotic trying to find a rhythm and pattern. By the end of each day, my son and I were both pulling our hair apart. I was obviously wondering if this is the right way to go for both of us. They say perseverance pays and it did, in our case too. Soon we took off the ground and started flying smoothly. Since then, each day that goes by in the Homeschooling routine, I feel more relaxed and confident that homeschooling is the way to go for my…
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