It turns out homeschool kids play school. Helena plays it with her neighbors (7 and 4), her toys, and me!!!

This has happened before. I go to bed to find a note on my pillow letting me know I have to sign up to some school like activity. I am currently not doing my Science which is making boats. I am not sure I should be modelling only doing the activities I want to do!! Maybe she will sense the frustration I sometimes feel when she is not interested in what I offer.

This is her Sylvanian school… they are all reading their own books written in Sylvanianese which looks like the world’s longest m to me. They even get reports. Lily has a sticker, actually they all have stickers to decorate their pages. “Their report has things they are good at and things they need to work on.”

This is her 7 year old student doing some work, the set by the teacher kind of work. She is helping the 4 year old write ‘I love you’ because he asked – I think they did the capital I in a series of steps until the student decided he had finished. This game has been going on for ages. The 7 year old even has a work book Helena made. I asked what was in the workbook and she said there were 3 different games and they all went differently!! I remember her getting her student to do an alphabet in stamps…. some practicing of writing and maths! Often these games have several stations – for doing a particular activity.

This is a station she set up for me and our cousin to have a go at making book marks and the other station was a picture frame where she made several examples for us to copy….

I have noticed that although the school can be inside or outside the work space is always on the ground and there is usually a defined space for each student… like and yet unlike real school.

There are very few raised voices when this game is played, everyone is really into it and Helena is a particularly kind teacher but she does want the students to do her task! I guess like anyone feeling like they can see the bigger picture.