4 March 2011

blue skies

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Well that was a week! I must say Friday night couldn't have come soon enough. Tonight's chinese take away seems like a well earned reward for the effort too... Aside from the usual juggling effort with the two smallest owlets, we've had a rather huge journey with big owlet over the past seven days. The tumultuous weekend last week, which I posted about on monday led to us reassessing just how we approach unschooling, lightening up a little. Leaning towards the radical just a little more. We lifted screen time restrictions in an effort to see just what she wants to do with her time, given the choice. She chose the screen and those black circles are a result of a week spent entirely in front of it. We've talked throughout the week about listening to her body, stopping for breaks. We've made a little extra effort to be interested in what she's watching, while making sure our lives carry on and life is exciting around her. Enough to draw her back to our reality. We've ummed and ahhed about it, wondering when she might stop watching. Maybe this is her new routine? She does like routine and habit and we could easily see her getting used to spending her days in this way... I spent time watching her, wondering, occasionally asking, what is it that she's interested in? How can I help her, work with her passions?

Then this afternoon, she was in her room pottering. It was a rare moment. We finished the painting and most of the clouds earlier in the week and gave her her room back, but she hasn't spent much time there yet, although she does love it. We decided to keep little owlet in a different room too, realising that big owlet needed space. She's going through stuff. She's spoken to us appallingly this week and it has been confronting and difficult to maintain that compassion. She's grunted from behind the screen, shouted, cried. She seemed lost to us. Handing her room back mid week brought an instant peace. Nurturing her and saying yes to as many things as we can has eased the ride. And she is sometimes remembering to be thankful, gentle, loving in return. She crept back into little owlet's room to sleep last night, but her space is there when she needs it. So today tiny owlet and I were walking the hallway and stopped by big owlet's room when she was there and we flopped on the bed for a chat. She was telling me about Mister Maker and how she needs craft supplies so she can copy what they made on the show. I suggested she uses what she has at hand to make her own thing - be Ms Maker. A-ha! Lightbulb moment! The answer was right in front of me all along.

Ten minutes later we had brainstormed big owlet's new tv series, to be aired on youtube sometime soon. We've spoken to awesome grandparents with connections to see if she can get a glimpse into real tv and how it's made... All those times where I've asked her in utter frustration "what are you learning in front of that screen all day?" and she's replied "I'm learning to make my own movies." I don't think she was kidding. Later this afternoon, I was pleased to find her pottering some more. She was playing with little owlet for the first time all week. There was music playing, rather than tv shows blaring in the lounge room. She was reading a book.

So Huz and I are breathing a big sigh of relief tonight. It feels like we're getting to know this new version of big owlet a little more. We're learning to listen more carefully. The grey clouds that hung over last weekend have cleared and we've found a little clarity. And I'm so grateful. Tomorrow we can wake up and get on with normal weekend stuff. Like buying fabric to do some green screen filming... and knitting, and resuming my women's circle...

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And figuring out what to do with all these pears dropped of by a lovely neighbour.

Hope its blue skies for you too. Happy Friday to you and yours! x

7 comments:

  1. this is an interesting post

    i am glad your week ended with a little more clarity, it sounds like you have all been going through a lot

    Gill xo

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  2. such a rollercoaster! We love mister maker too, always gets us inspired to create stuff :)

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  3. You're a very brave woman embarking on such an experiment! I'm glad it worked out for you in the end. Can't wait to see the movie

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  4. So fascinating to read this. Because figuring our children out often isn't an instant thing. I loved that you allowed her the space to figure things out and in a way to follow her own path. Your patience is so admirable. I wish you all the best with the new project. I'm looking forward to hearing more about it.

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  5. Mister Maker is such an inspirational show! This is a really interesting post, I love the idea of 'unschooling' but have never known what to call it. I will be reading (if not joining in) on Mondays. Thank you!

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  6. Ah, Lauren, what a journey you all took this week! Sounds like you were challenged and inspired in equal parts…and how beautiful the end was (though it's actually a lovely beginning, isn't it).

    I can't wait to see what your girl comes up with. How exciting. How transforming. I am so glad you shared the journey, with all its bumps and turns. Thank you so much, Lauren, as always :)

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  7. I.Know.Just.What.You've.Been.Going.Through.

    (remember to breathe)...

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