This summer is my time for planting seeds. Not the seeds you put in the ground, but the ones I plant in my head, in my journals and in my planning notebooks for homeschooling. I have three little ones, Sage (6.6 yrs) Torin (4 yrs) and Rhys(19 months), and our family uses an eclectic and holistic approach to learning at home and in the world rather than attending traditional schools and preschools. Although we are only just now finishing out first ‘official’ year of homeschooling, this journey began when our oldest was only 6 months old. Now, it is such an integral part of our lives, I can’t imagine not doing it.

Just like the cycle of planting, tending and harvesting a garden, our family’s homeschooling journey needs time to emerge into each new stage. Each day brings the unexpected which forces the plan to remain fluid and living, each child brings personality and being which forces the plan to be exciting and diverse. I collect the tools, research the techniques, plan, dream, then tend the garden everyday… It takes an entire year to play out, and some of the stages overlap or repeat, but in the end I feel like I’ve not only harvested a beautiful crop but also really enjoyed the process of creating a ‘garden of learning’. Wow- that is one drawn out metaphor- bedtime is certainly in order!This blog is going to serve several purposes. I’m hoping to use it as a journal of our learning, and my process of gathering and shaping the homeschool journey. I also want to share with you all the best and the worst of what I have found. If I plan a dismal failure of a lesson, take an amazing trip or find the best new creative game, you’ll be sure to read about it here. ~jo

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