Training for September

While many homeschooling families are starting their school year, or getting geared up to start, we're still in holiday mode, and preparing instead for a week of walking in the English Lake District.

Garden Views at our Favourite Holiday Cottage
in Ambleside, Cumbria, England

Ten minutes from our house is Blenheim Palace, a World Heritage site that has not only a beautiful stately home to visit, but also a brilliant 4-mile driveway which encircles the park, taking us over picturesque bridges, through Ent-like ancient forests, and fields of baby pheasants which are just changing into their adult plumage.

We decided to use this route for our training because we have an annual ticket to it, so we get in free, and because there are such good facilities at the beginning and end of the walk, especially ice cream!

Exercising in Style!

For three days, we tackled just a single circuit.  At the end of these walks, we stopped off at the walled garden and played in the maze, on the playground equipment, and challenged each other to giant chess.

Busy Timmy Swings,
Killer and Rocky Play Giant Garden Games

The fourth day, we wanted to attempt a double circuit, that is, 8 miles. We enlisted some help. First, our friends from nearby: Misses P and R, and Master F.

Friends make the Miles Seem Shorter

After a picnic, we were joined by a large crowd, all siblings.  Mayhem helped while away the time.

Many Mouths Make for a Noisy Trip!

We even think we discovered where the Ent-wives of Lord of the Rings have gone!

Busy Timmy with some Busy Buddies

We were very pleased with our 20 miles this week, and hope the weather remains dry and warm for the next week as we make our preparations.

I was reminded of how this week is similar to homeschooling in general. Take it slow and steady, keep the end in mind, don't be afraid to reward, and sometimes it's good to invite others along for the journey.

Taking the Train after a Job Well Done!

Thinking about Next Year

This is a blog topic that deserves more attention than the 5 minutes I'm about to give it, but I've just got to get the thoughts off my chest right now (at 12:30 am!).

What I should be doing now instead of blogging!!

I've been home-educating for seven years, many of which were with a baby or a toddler and, as anyone with aforementioned personnel in their home-ed environment knows, they make for very challenging times.

Now my youngest is 4 and a pretty good reader, plus well-focused and enjoys being at the school table with the others.

Meanwhile, my 8-year-old boy, whom caused me many-a-problem with behaviour until we went to a cranial osteopath a couple of years ago, is turning into a really top-notch narrator a-la-Charlotte Mason method, showing me he actually can listen to my reading aloud, and can indeed tell back to me what I've been reading, including our latest nightly story of the Shakespeare play, "Merchant of Venice".

So the long and the short of it is that I'm planning this next September to do something I've always wanted to do, but didn't really have -- or so I felt -- the right situation to go for it wholeheartedly.  Namely, I'm going to implement the Ambleside Online curriculum with my children.

Despite warnings to the contrary, I think my older two can do Year 4 together, and my younger two can do Year 1 together, with some minor adjustments for the younger in the pair.

My kids are used to doing things together!

If you don't know about Ambleside Online, let me tell you that you're missing a treat.  It's a complete, detailed, and absolutely free curriculum for ages about 5 to 18, using the Charlotte Mason method and as many free on-line books as possible.

Check it out here: http://www.amblesideonline.org/