At bedtime last night, Pixie said out loud her prayers like she always does..and I may have miss out some words here as she just says them in any order (next time i’ll try put the recorder on)
“Thank you Papa Jesus, for the blessings, for our house, for the food, the garden, my playground in our backyard, our bike, our car, for nature, for teaching me how to climb a tree, for being brave, for the sun, the sky, Teach me Papa Jesus to be patient, Sorry for being naughty and for screaming. Thank you Papa Jesus for my toys, for learning to paint, for all the happiness. Thank you for Lolo, Lola, Tito and Tita, and thank you for my friends, Thank you for Papa, Mama and Pixie…Amen.”
And when she was done, I swear to you my motherhood cup always gets refilled and ready to tackle another day.
Well, we didn’t sleep right away after the prayers. I noticed how bright the moon was from our bedroom window so I opened the blinds a bit more for Pixie to see it too. We talked about what favorite shape of the moon she likes – “half and full moon, Mama”, she said. I suggested if she’d like to learn more faces of the moon and she agreed delightfully(so thats in our list this week)
Earlier before bed, she talked non-stop about her other plans. “Mama, i have a plan. Let’s buy a blue tent or its okay if its another color.. and gather sticks so we can build a tent in the forest. We’ll need some glue and rope and make fire. we can do camping and put marshmallows on the fire you know. becareful not to get burned. when the marshmallows get black, that means you can start eating them. Also, becareful of bears or wolves, Mama. They might eat our marshmallows.”
“Alright, im writing all your plans down..”, I said.
“Yes Mama, I’m like the Queen now. you follow my instructions.”, she laughed so confidently.
Oh Pixie! You and your ever wild, curious, hilarious, imaginative, quirky mind.
Those are the moments that make this homeschooling journey so so so worthwhile.
Meanwhile, Australia’s official school term dates usually start either last week of January or 1st week of February. Here in NSW, I’ve found out that the compulsory years of schooling age starts from 6 and since Pixie is still 4 now but turning 5 this August, we won’t be officially registering for ‘homeschooling’ just yet until 2018. So, at the moment, we are sort of in the journey of ‘preschool homeschool’. If you wonder why I’ve chosen this path, I wrote my reasons before she turned 4 last year here.
I’ve been reading (and reading lots) since Pixie was younger and still have lots to learn from the different ways of homeschooling styles — and so far, what works best for us is a bit or mix of everything — unschooling, waldorf, charlotte mason, reggio emilia and montessori. I’ve been filling my inspiration well from very helpful and growing homeschooling communities & blogs like Mulberry Magazine, The Educating Parent, Wild&Free, and many other homeschooling blogs I stumble upon all the time.
I’ve been gravitated to the idea of letting Pixie just learn at her own pace, follow mostly her interest and trust that she’ll also eventually learn everything she need to know. When she’s ready, she’ll be ready and not needing to rush with academics.
What about social skills? Well, as far as I can tell, she’s pretty ‘socialized’ and never shy. Pixie naturally acts like a ‘leader’ and says ‘Hello’ first often times to playgrounds/museums/everywhere we go to and reaches out to make new friends — she’s got taekwondo classes weekly, too so social skills is not really a thing we worry about. We’re hoping to still meet more ‘homeschooling’ friends in our neighborhood to play “nature” with on a regular basis.
Does it look easy? While we love the freedom always, living slow, finding our rhythm and the flexibility of our days, it’s not always peachy days. We get caught up too with the realities of life. I have my own motherhood dramas, too to cope. Pixie has her own struggles, like how every other child too, especially at the age when she’s still learning to control her own big emotions, frustrations and coping mistakes… and my parenting skills? dear God, as always, is being put to test from day to day. It’s overwhelming sometimes when I doubt if I’m doing things right or when I feel lost or really just needing a reset button on some days — But amidst it all, I’m embracing the struggles as they come and go. I’ll still chose this path over and again if our circumstances still allow it. Grateful always for a husband whose work can still support us to live this kind of lifestyle that’s just ‘enough’. We don’t own a house yet here in Sydney and it may take a looonger time to save up for it but we will hopefully get there anyway.
Because the rewards, seeing and being there for Pixie’s growth and her little big milestones, living life alongside her childhood years ,full of wonder, so far, have profoundly outweighed the uphill battles in between.
Pixie once said, “Mama, when I grow up, I want to be a photographer and take pictures of weddings too like you.”. I was amused and so touched listening to her but I always tell her she can be whatever she discovers and wants to be when she grows up. 
So, these images I’ve gathered along are certainly just a small fraction of what we do, because I do my best to still ‘live in the moment’ (not having to grab my camera each time) and try not to distract Pixie when she’s engaged into something…here’s a glimpse of our first month in pre-school homeschool so far…some of these i’ve posted in detail via my personal Instagram account via @josephinesicadminerva
Nature play is our most favourite play.
exploring geography through Little passports…
eating fresh strawberries growing from our little kitchen garden…
When it’s not too cold, we wait out for heavy rain pour and she runs around to play…
Our last taste of summer ..and that perfect afternoon nap spent by the beach while i manage to read few pages of a book lying down in the sand, too… (shot from my phone)
soon as i saw the sky from our window, i told Pixie we got to head out quick to see the unbelievable sunset.. no time to bring a big camera though, so we just biked to the next 2 blocks, less than 5mins, coudnt stop looking up and Pixie behind me as amazed as everyone who went out of their houses too and saw it.
how’s the weather today? 
⛅️ “Mama, its cloudy today but i still see the sun. and it’s breezy.” 
☺ — been wanting to make this before, finally our DIY weather station idea inspired from @ourmontessorilife 
👏 free resource from @mrprintables
My little passionate singer…
That time when it was too hot to go outside with the summer’s heatwave over 40degrees C.
there’s always opportunity for her to do #naturejournalling whether we are outside or indoors…
that morning sunlight seeping through from the dining window…just right after breakfast, she digs back to sketching some more..this time, butterflies…
One of those afternoons in the water playground…
Drawing that pigeon she chased in the park…
Oh how she love climbing trees…
Building her own little greenhouse to observe…
And watering them daily… “Oh look Mama, they’re growing and growing…some of the seeds aren’t growing yet, maybe they’re still sleeping.”
Exploring where animals live in different countries…
Little simple experiments…
Climbing trees again…this time bigger! and when she conquered the top, she said, “Mama, are you proud of me?” 🙂
Exploring ducks in the pond and their habitat…
My little wild explorer….
Montessori learning at home…using movable alphabets I handmade and DIY from used wooden scraps. because why spend $50-60 ,when you can make ’em for lesser or free! #minimalismgoals
Building our own fun barricades in the backyard…
Writing letters for his friend Lujan having a birthday 🙂
#naturejournaling on most our days happens naturally now and obsessing with these new books to immerse ourselves with all year through…
“Don’t worry Mama, I’ll wash myself later after painting.” 🙂
Ninja skills unlocked! 😛
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