Gedanken

"Die Musik drückt das aus, was nicht gesagt werden kann und worüber zu schweigen unmöglich ist." Victor Hugo

("Music expresses what can't be said and what you can't possibly be quiet about.")

Open learning

My children are learning in freedom.
Everyone probably remembers my old blog being about homeschooling. As our era of homeschooling is coming to an end (due to German law), I will write generally about open learning.
Lisa is inrolled in a school where she will be able to continue the way of education we have pursued so far. There are not many of these schools in Germany, and they cost a monthly fee.
But the way they work is great!
They don't grade or give marks, everything is voluntarily, the children can move about wherever and whenever. The rooms are equipped by 'subjects'. For example there is a playroom (one of the biggest rooms) with Lego, bricks, games, Montessori material, toys, etc. A creative room, a music room, a geography/biology room, a reading room, a language room, a mathematics room, etc.
The outside is on one side a courtyard where the kids can ride their bikes or play football or basketball, etc. - on the other side there is a big garden with sandpit, climbingthings, a hut, and so on.
The wonderful thing is, that nobody is teaching, there are no classes and no grades.
The kids can follow their interests and desires, and they are left to do 'their thing'. The teachers are there to keep an eye, help, support and give answers to questions.

I was very surprised by the calm and peacefull atmosphere in this school. The house feels more like a home, and the teachers have no authoritative air about them. The kids have rather friendly relationships to them. And the kids themselves didn't show aggression or hyper-activity, they were not as loud as in regular schools and all in all seemed very relaxed.

Lisa spent one whole school-day on her own there recently and she loved it. She didn't want to go home when I came to collect her. :-)
That's usually a very good sign.

The other positive side is that I will be almost as much involved in Lisas development as I am now: I am able to help in the school and be around, I will be able to continue our learning philosophy and the teacher's see me as a partner (in supporting the kids' learning) rather than just 'the parent'.
And I DON'T have to supervise any boring homework, because there aren't any.

So, returning to our open learning - this is what's going on right now:

Lisa:
- making up picture stories
- inventing stories on PC and designing pictures (on Mylittlepony)
- lots of free imaginative play
- exchanging letters and pictures with a neighbour girl
- learning about different animals
- learning a bit about historical things (how did humans live in different times, what did they wear, what did they do, what was already invented, ...)
- inventing songs and recording them on PC
- experimenting with video and photo camera
- exploring nature
- learning how to care for puppy dogs (my moms got two)
- learning all car types and their signs

Jamie:
- picking up some English
- watching English videos
- lots of imaginative role play
- trying out different instruments (bongos, whistle, guitar, violin)
- drawing occasionally
- working out quantitie and comparing them (these are three cars, these are three fingers, this is the number three, etc.)
- exploring nature
- lots of physical action :-) (including pretend-fights on the bed with me *g*)

Amelie:
- copying her brother and sister
- learning to speak (German and English)
- helping cooking
- helping generally
- trying out the tricicle

Me:
- learning classical guitar
- practicing new songs
- writing songs
- working on two stories
- learning how to economise expenses
- studying some history (local, Kelts and Germanic peoples)

...some of the things we are doing right now.
Besides that I am busy planning our move and preparing mentally for a big change in my (our) life! :-)

Miss Marple

My children enjoy watching this Lady at the moment. :-D
I got the DVD from the library - for myself. But the children (especially Jamie)
discovered it and now..."We want Miss Marple!" *lol*

Our inner wealth

I have started to discover one thing recently:
The power of our own believes.
I am watching myself - what is going on in my subconscious and how does it show in my outside reality? What are my convictions and what do they attract in my real life?
When I feel negative about something inside of myself the answer to it on the outside is negative, too.
The rule is: As above, so below.
You can't escape from this law of nature. Therefore, what is in your heart or your subconcious is creating your life!

What a thought! And how powerful that is, too. Because - at any point in time you can start and change those believes to alter them to what you really want.
Of course it takes a little time and it does take energy and commitment and - well, real believe. But it does work. It always works.
Our life is in our own hands.
If we apply real positive feelings and thoughts to this world we will inevitably change something for the better. The problem is that nobody tells us about this.
We get taught to feel like a victim. Life is tough and nothing is good enough and we can't change anything.
If we do come across the concept of the power of our own thoughts, we don't believe in it.
And it is really hard to believe in something that we haven't experienced before.
And above all, we don't have any role-models showing us how to do it, how it works.

Poor us - there we are with wonderful equipment to make life wonderful, and we don't know how to use it.
Or...hang on...there are definitely people who do know how to use it. And then they are called GENIUS. People who have access to their infinite power inside, who believe strongly in what they are doing. To my mind there is a genius in every human in this world.
It is just a matter of our inner believes if we can live it or not. If we use our full potential or burry it under negative believes, doubts and wrong indoctrinations.

About this blog

Let me introduce the Songbirds:

my name (here) is Isla, and my kids are Lisa, Jamie and Amelie. Maybe there will be more Songbirds to come, but right now we will remain 4 (in this blog anyway).
I will write about our journey of life, learning and growing and hopefully will inspire others to look more closely at the things we are taking for granted and don't notice anymore.
Things that are not in our focus anymore but are utterly important for humanity's well-being.
Things that are not in the daily news and not on the politicians' agenda.
And even just little things we have forgotten about - but once new when we were still children.