Media In Ten Minutes

Well, what do you know? Taking a huge breath last month while making our most recent move has really served well for me to brainstorm about how I want to move forward with our next stage of learning. I'm also tying up loose ends in our Main Lesson Books (as best as I can), getting end-of-the-year math assessments done, finishing off our grammar workbooks, as well as enjoying our near-constant flow of audiobooks in the car. Our current choice: Percy Jackson (Lightning Thief).

Our marriage of Steiner MLB's and workbooks has been fairly successful this year, particularly where we've been so busy traveling that, and I'm just being honest here, I haven't had the time and energy to have the children fill in MLB pages for grammar or math. You all know I prefer a more regimented math curriculum anyway, but certainly even if I did prefer to do math in our MLB, we simply did not have the time to do it this year.

I sometimes see those conversations online where hardcore Steiner enthusiasts argue that folks like us are "not really doing Waldorf".   OK, fair enough. They're right; I go against the prescribed recommendations in so many areas, that it's hard to sometimes even justify being Waldorf "inspired". One thing that I have learned by being a member of various groups that are more flexible in their approach to Waldorf is that I can't compare myself to anyone else, and I also don't have to justify our homeschool style, approach, practice or curriculum.

While part of me would love to sit here and list all of the ways in which I feel Waldorf inspires us, I think that for ME, the most important concept that I hold very dear is the idea of Honoring Childhood.  I don't mean this is the sense that we should extend childhood, or that we should be completely hands-off, either. I think it is more of a reverence for the magic of childhood, and the preserving of PLAY TIME in our lives every single day. 

I feel that my children have a very healthy balance of spending plenty of time outside each day as well as plenty of time engaged in creativity-and-imaginative play, coupled with some media and book work. We combine real books with audiobooks. We include both Main Lesson Books as well as workbooks. We have toys made of natural materials as well as toys made of plastic. We are mindful of daily rhythms without being a slave to them. We work with the developmental stage of our children without pushing them beyond what they are ready for, but at the same time gently encouraging them to challenge themselves. We lean more towards simplicity in our home set-up, and we try not to fill our weeks with too much busy-ness. 

So, what is this title about way up there? It's about finding that balance with our media consumption. DS11 is now at an age where he is becoming interested in current events, as well as being more interested in consuming media. After some consideration, we have decided that once a week we would watch an episode of cnn 10 with him. If you have never checked it out, it is a 10 minute broadcast with some (student friendly) current events that touch on history and science (as well as other subjects). 

We can read the transcripts ahead of time if we like to see which episodes make sense for him to view, and then we can watch them with him, discussing them afterwards.

For us, this feels like a much more digestible way for him to get in some "news", without the horror and manipulation that can sometimes come from MSM. 

DD9, being a higher-functioning autistic child, is still more into herself right now, and therefore not only not interested in such things, but also not quite ready to digest them fully yet. Some episodes might be fine for her, but we are currently opting not to include  her for now. We tend to watch these episodes after she has gone into her bed for the night anyway, so it is a nice, quiet activity to do with our son, and makes him feel a little more "grown up" and "special".

As for DD9, she has been interested in checking out Sci Girls (the girl-focused offshoot of Sci Kids on youtube). We watch about one 15-20 minute episode every few weeks or so, depending on our busy schedule and/or her willingness/interest to sit still long enough to watch it. She is a girl who still very much prefers her legos to watching "tv shows", but she does request an episode every so often.

Media doesn't need to be an insatiable monster if you use it responsibly. Yes, I realize this puts me squarely in the "flexible" and "non-conforming" column. We're OK with that. It has to be what works for your family.