On Mondays we Cooperate

At the beginning of September, Julie, one of the brilliant moms of the homeschooled kids we hang out with, suggested we swap kids for class a few hours on Mondays.  Myself and one other mom were in on the conversation, which began in summer, and we faltered our way through the first few sessions, mainly relying on Julie to take the brunt of the classes.  By late Fall we were more settled in, and by mid-winter we had attracted the attention of some of the other homeschool families in our playgroup.  We are now six families and eight kids strong.  Scott and I have been teaching about nature writing, through the window of searching in nature for signs of Spring.  Our first session was held in a snowbank in Moir Park, all of us huddled around a fire roasting marshmellows.  We followed up last week with a muddilicious day on the marsh, and coats were optional.  So good to see the progression of the weather.  We finish up in a week, back at Moir Park, encouraging this bunch of ruffians, and Lauren, to do some writing of their own.

The biggest change I've seen in going from four kids to eight is that three of the new four are OLDER.  This means both that they have new and interesting things to offer the class, and also that hormones are raging.  So soon.  So we now will be adding in learning how to deal with that as we prepare for our next outing!