SPACE to SOW and GROW - Learning to Write

I am inspired today to blog about "Learning to Write" as I am amazed at my 5 year old daughter and her progress in handwriting.  

My lovely Seraphina girl has been really enjoying grabbing a pencil and paper lately (or anything that could substitute) and is beginning to write letters.  She holds the pencil "correctly", holds her tongue just right and goes about crafting a story, a menu, a love note or whatever inspires her to write.  At the moment she is writing the letters "A B H i S o P e E T" - to make up words and sentences.

What I find so intriguing is that she has never once had a lesson on how to write a single letter of the alphabet and only 3 weeks ago her writing was of the zigzag variety.  Lines and lines of up down up down, repetitively down the page.  This appears, to the untrained eye, as scribbles.  However, being classically trained in 5 year old manuscript I knew precisely the message that was being delivered. ;)

We knew Seraphina was beginning to recognise letters as she would shout out if she saw an "S" and say "That's in my name!!".

She knows the alphabet song, we've read some alphabet books (not many) and apart from the letter "S" she hasn't really been into wanting to know what the names of the letters are.  Now when she writes a letter she asks, "What did I write Mum?".  I let her know what the letter is and she is over the moon to know she is writing REAL letters!!  Such a joy to watch her learn this way.

So from observing letters in their natural habitat.. in books, on signs, on tv/games.. everywhere!.. Seraphina is remembering the structure of the letter and copying it down.  Just as she did in the past with basic shapes like the circle, square and triangle.

People comment that unschooling is an organic way of learning and it truly is.  It's wonderful how different skills and experiences unfold by simply traveling through life. Each popping up at the precise moment it is needed.  

josephinewall.co.uk

The more I think about rote learning and other conventional early learning methods, the more I feel blessed to be able to allow my children the freedom to learn at their own pace, in their own way.  

Forcing a child to learn how to read and write, when they have no interest to do so, is like force feeding them to eat.  It might go in the right hole and down the right tube but will most likely never be absorbed optimally and quite possibly will be rejected altogether.

Trusting our children to intuitively know when they are ready (if at all) to grasp a new skill, is one of the best gifts a parent can give.  

Just as we sat back and waited for them to take their first step and speak their first word, it is equally important to wait for their own internal desire to read and write, ignite.  Reading and writing will then only ever come from a place of purpose and pleasure.  After all, that was it's intention in the beginning.

mesopotamia.co.uk

I'd like to share Wade's writing journey with you as it had a very interesting and somewhat bizarre beginning. At this minute I have a very sleepy, little one needing my attention, so this will have to wait until next time..

Thanks for reading friends.

Much Love

Angel x

FAMILY ADVENTURES - A Land of Giants and Lost in the Wind

Day 3..

A drive South through towering forests led us to the gorgeous town of Walpole.  We purchased tickets for the Valley of the Giants - Tree Top Walk and made our way towards Nornalup.

I know there are a handful of these tree top walks scattered throughout the country, but I had never been to one.  The views were amazing and the feeling of being so high up in the canopy of the forest was exhilarating!

As much as I loved this experience, I think I felt more at peace and in harmony with nature down below on the Ancient Empire walk.

Being an absolute tree hugger, I savoured every moment of this walk.  The breath of life, the wisdom, the heart expansion...  In my mind, I had transformed into a tiny wood nymph and there were many little secret hollows calling me to take up residence :)

I could have wandered on blissfully all day...

Me and The Petals of My Heart

From here we traveled East along the coast to Albany.  A spirited city with a rich seafaring history.

We checked into our motel as the sun was setting.  There was still one place, however, that I was keen to see before retiring for the night. 

Albany Wind Farm

The Albany Wind Farm sits 80m above sea level along the Torndirrup Peninsula, just 12km's out of the city centre.  The paths throughout the turbines offer some of the best views of the Southern Ocean in the area. 

It was an incredible feeling to walk amongst these eco-friendly giants.  They are 60m in height.  The sound of the wind powering the 35m long blades to turn is reminiscent of something you would find in an extra terrestrial movie.  Quite eerie actually.

You would expect a wind farm to be.. well.. windy, but seriously this place was windy.  The top speed of these awesome towers of metal is 22 RPM.  Which works out to be about one revolution per three seconds.  Not all that fast yet still impressive considering their size. The twelve turbines lower Western Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 77 000 tonnes per year.  Fantastic!! 

Lulu doing her airplane thing

I found the sheer size and design of the turbines fascinating.  So much so, I spent a great deal of time looking up through the lens and not a great deal anywhere else. (I had already been mesmerised by the beauty of the ocean and the surrounding hills) Before I knew it the sun was down and I was separated from the rest of the family.  Lucy was still with me as she was content to skip around the paths following me as I snapped away. 

I didn't panic initially as I was pretty confident I would find my way back to the car park.  Unfortunately, all of the paths looked identical, especially in the dark.  There were no street lights out here :)  

I began to fret when I couldn't hear the whir of the turbines anymore...  I had walked for ages!!!  It wasn't until I realised I was heading towards Albany on the main road out of the park that I scooped Lucy up, switched directions and began sprinting frantically back in the opposite direction.  At this point I didn't know which way was up :)  I felt completely lost... and I'm usually good with directions, especially when I turn the map upside down and back to front hehe :D

Somehow, I managed to find everyone ?? We were safe and sound.. Phew!  It did get me thinking though how having my head securely glued to the back of my camera had caused me to lose all sense of direction. 

And now I'm wondering...  Is getting lost like this a keen (amateur) photographer thing or is it genetic??  

1.  Because I love my SLR and was obviously caught up in the moment and 

2.  Because my mother got lost in the Nevada desert somewhere blissfully taking photos until she too did not know where she had come from..

Whatever it is, I will be a lot more observant of my bearings next time.  That was a little bit too "Woman vs Wild" for my liking.  ;)