3 Traditions for Shared Lifelong Learning

Creating Traditions for Shared Lifelong Learning ~
Written by Debbie Douse of An Adventurous Education

Next year will possibly be my daughter’s last year of homeschooling. Wow, just writing those words causes a squeeze on my heart and a tear in my eye! There are plans afoot for her to attend school for her last two years, to sit higher-level exams.

So, this last year homeschooling feels especially poignant.

As I look back over the years, the thing I am so unbelievably grateful for on this homeschooling journey of ours is the deep connection I have developed with my two children through the medium of shared learning.

It’s in all the hours spent snuggled up reading about the endeavours of Scott in the Antarctic or those excited moments of “Oooh, I get it now,” as they grasp a new science concept. It’s in the deep conversations about human behaviour or which political party to vote for, or the light dinner time chats where we tease out a mathematical conundrum.

This bond through shared scholarship over the last nine years has been a real privilege. It’s reminded me to set in place some key traditions for continuing this connection for the upcoming year and hopefully even once they’ve flown the nest.

Creating Traditions for Shared Lifelong Learning

Literary Picnics

Yesterday Rosie and I had the first of what we’re calling, ‘literary picnics.’ We laid out a blanket and delicious picnic alongside a whole range of books. Over the following hour, we cuddled and:

• Recited and discussed our favourite poems.
• Chose selections to read from various books meaningful to us in some way, such as John Green’s book Paper Towns or Speeches of Note by Shaun Usher.
• Read to each other pieces from our own current writing projects.

This all felt so very Anne of Green Gables (our joint favourite literary character) and was honestly such a joy. So much so that we’ve decided to make it a bi-weekly feature of our upcoming school term.

Throughout the winter, we’ll move them in front of a log fire, but the aim will be the same: connecting through a shared passion for words.

This year, she’s studying for exams in English language and literature, as well as a drama qualification. The literary picnic sessions will be an opportunity for her to embed her learning as she updates me on the books and poems she’s studying, the monologues she’s preparing and the dissertation she’s writing.

It will also offer the chance for us to read together a whole range of writing styles from articles to diaries, to letters to interviews, helping her prepare for her English language exam.

Finally, we can vulnerably share our own writing in this forum (e.g. Rosie’s currently writing a screenplay), bouncing ideas off one another and offering honest and loving advice for improvement.

We are both so excited for these sessions and I pray that it’s a tradition we’ll continue to do for many years to come!

Adventures

Since they were small, our family have always connected through adventures, big and small. Together, we’ve walked a marathon, made brass bowls in Marrakech’s medina, climbed inside an Egyptian pyramid, volunteered at an animal sanctuary in Costa Rica, wild camped, tracked the Northern Lights, fat biked through the dunes of South Africa and made our own hammock.

Learning through the world, these adventures teach us fundamental life skills, such as facing our fears, strengthening self-belief, connecting deeply with others, whilst also filling our creative buckets.  Adventure has and always will be a way of life for our family, a place where I know we’ll continue to connect and grow side-by-side long into the future.

Spanish Hour

All three of us are hispanophiles: lovers of all things Spanish! Since we have this joint passion, I thought it would be fun to spend an hour a week learning more about Spanish arts, sports, music and culture, from a smorgasbord of options, e.g.:

• Make a traditional Spanish recipe
• Select a famous Spanish painting, such as Guernica by Picasso, to discuss together
• Watch different Spanish dances, such as Flamenco or the Argentine Tango
• Listen to traditional Spanish songs
• Read an article together about Spanish culture or history
• Watch a movie in Spanish
• Visit the Tate Modern to view works of art by Mexican artists Frida Kahlo or Diego Rivera
• Go to the Cervantes Theatre in London to watch a Spanish play
• Research the life of famous Spanish sporting heroes
• Pick a Spanish-speaking country or part of Spain and research its famous sites

The aim of these traditions is purely to nurture our shared interests in a joyful and non-pressured way, with the hope that we’ll continue to connect like this long after their school is finished. These traditions will hopefully inspire shared lifelong learning in all of our lives!

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