It's working!

Well, I think it is. Although I would like to cross fingers and touch wood and all that sort of thing.

And when I say working I mean this home educating pathway we are hurtling along, tripping over and sometimes stumbling on (often at the same time!). Working in that one child is doing something that would seem to be a tick in a box!

It has come to my attention that Mia may be learning to read completely without my help and intervention. Of course I have tried, to intervene and cajole or maybe that should be encourage! Buying books, reading books, borrowing books and generally making books seem like a great way to spend a bit of time alone or together is perhaps the thing that has actually worked. But more and more she'll say "what does that say?" and I'll say "let's have a look together" and she'll read it. There a words that are tricksy of course but more and more the words I think she may get stuck on she doesn't.

Now, I know in the real world of school and schemes and reading records this is not amazing. A seven should be able to read by now shouldn't they? Well, Hmmm. I guess I just feel good about her doing it her way and it still working! We have respected her boundaries, not pushed or punished or badgered and still it works! It works because she wants it to, when she was little nobody forced her to learn and yet she did, numbers, letters, sounds or colours, animals, shapes and language. All these things were done in fun, out of curiosity and we still hold on to these ideas that we are here learning and exploring because we want to.

And "yay" it works!