I love the fall. While summer was my favorite season as a child for obvious “school’s not in” reasons, now I love the fall. In part, this is because my work slows down in the fall as the seasons slow down. I enjoy the slowing down into dormancy that fall and winter bring, just as I enjoy the growth of early spring.
Planning for the fall brings me back into thoughts about a daily rhythm. Although fall in our part of the world is beautiful and we can spend plenty of time outside, most of the neighborhood kids go back to school, so there is less of the mass playing outside than there is in the summer time. For us, there is more nesting and a bit more indoor time as well, working on craft projects for Christmas and working on seasonal fall projects. There is also the celebration of harvest around Thanksgiving.
This fall, we’ll be finding a new daily rhythm. Although I’m an unschooler by nature, we are going to try a little bit of structure. Our plans include a daily walk, play time, some 3 Rs time, and lots of games and activities based on seasonal themes. As a parent who is new to the official homelearning endeavor, I also see that I need to build some household time into our schedule to make sure that errands get run and housework gets done. My biggest challenge will be to become more child-focused during the times when we are playing and learning together, instead of thinking about the housework that needs to be done.
I’ve also constructed a weekly rhythm, mostly based on our existing rhythm of the week. We go to church on Sundays, to an unschooling play school three times a week, and we’ll be doing music classes upon occasion. On the weekend, there is lots of gardening and hiking. The rest of the time, my daughter will be with my or with her grandparents, playing, or with me, play learning.
What are your plans for the fall? What do your daily and weekly rhythms look like?