by Georgia Fowler

Created on: May 22, 2009

Our first day of homeschooling was in the middle of the Shropshire countryside in a tiny village called Hindford in England. We were staying with my mother for the summer in her little ivy covered cottage, to escape the horrors of a Florida summer.

I don't know why we ever sent the girls to school really. Candace was miserable from the very first day she went, and although Lara joined her two years later, she really wasn't into the whole idea either. So at the end of the school year we decided not to send them back at all.

Our summer in England seemed a great place to start. Not only were we staying with my mother who was always full of great craft ideas, but also with my younger sister who was and is 'the best auntie in the world'. Mornings were spent at the dining table with some work books or reading, and afternoons in the garden with Aunt Victoria, making up games, building dens and exploring the canal.

While Dad was out at work we hopped on buses to get to the nearest town and scour the thrift stores and library for books, and then staggered home, arms aching, to lie in the garden and read. Weekends and days off were spent exploring ancient castles and majestic homes, for history lessons.

One very memorable day we set off for the ruins of Haughmond Abbey, not realizing it was a medieval festival day. What fun we had in trying out basket weaving, archery and medieval cooking and eating. As evening drew closer everyone gathered around a fire and played music and sang songs. Nothing that we had ever heard, but wonderfully haunting amid the ruins, and evocative of days long gone. That day spawned weeks of learning and reading about the medieval era and was a pattern for how we would evolve in our homeschooling journey over the next ten years.

Back to Florida

All too soon the summer was over and it was back to Florida. Nothing much changed, except we now realized that without having to stick to school times we could explore whatever we wanted, and learn at the library, park or beach, whatever we were in the mood for. We spent hours at the local library with its huge variety of books, helpful staff, fun CD ROMs and DVDs that filled our days with new ways of learning.

Many times we would drag our books and a picnic either down to the beach or to a little park near the house. We explored historic sites all over Florida and learnt about some history greats like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford who had winter homes just a couple of hours from where we lived.

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