I was at a quilting retreat in the weekend and there was a woman there who had had to put her kids in The Correspondence School because her husband had a job in the middle of nowhere, she was not someone who chose homeschooling, and her kids did regular school before and after this period. She remembers that her, now 30+ year old, kids did not follow what we would recognise as a school time table… They would often choose a subject, eg maths, and do all the work for the week in one session. Their school work was also only a morning’s work and then they were free. I noticed a similar thing in the 9 to 12 year old Montessori classroom I worked in and I certainly notice it in Helena. Today is day 3 of obsessive painting. I like that Helena can do this and I can see that she develops over even a short time of obsession.

We know the sayings ‘strike while the iron is hot’, and ‘seize the moment’ well this is what she is doing and it’s just that ironing always takes longer than you think, and it pays to let it build up….

H just found out she won $60 in an art competition in her age category (which included 12 year olds). Yay encouragement independent from her mother.