Day in the Life….

A type of article home educators often write is a “day in the life” expose, to give those who have no experience with home-schooling a chance to see what we do with our kids. While most of these are based on an “average” day I won’t write about that. Instead, I’d like to talk about a field trip we took & about how doing it as a home-schooling family made the experience a more positive one for us.

Yesterday we met with about half a dozen other families, in a Montreal-area library, to begin a kids’ book club. We enjoyed ourselves immensely! Dojogirl made a new friend, and both the girls got library cards so they were able to borrow books from the library (it was our first time visiting this particular library.) Here are some of my observations on how the outing differed from a public school activity.

Impetus

The book club was suggested a short while after another parent circulated an email warning discouraging us all from taking our kids to see the upcoming movie, The Golden Compass. A few parents replied to the poster, saying that they had personally read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy or that they had researched the movie after receiving the warning. The handful who replied, all said they would keep an open mind & basically let it be known they weren’t keen on anyone telling them what choices they should make for their children.

Here’s where the difference comes in. Shortly after these posts went out, one of the mothers organized a book club. The families were to read The Golden Compass, and come together to discuss it. Once we’d had the chance to finish reading, those who wanted would present a project. Rather than argue back and forth about the book/movie in the void, this mom stepped up & organized a community building exercise that would encourage families to read the book before debating it or the movie. All I can say is, that’s some change from what I’ve encountered in other groups!

Structure

The book club was at once very well structured, and incredibly flexible. The mom who set it up announced dates, times & place in the initial invitation. She also described right away what she saw as the focus of the two meetings (first to simply discuss the book in broad strokes, second reserved for presentations.) This, I feel, gave the families a sense of what to expect. It also allowed us to plan ahead, which is especially important at this time of year.

When we arrived at the meeting, however, flexibility was the watchword. No one was asked to register or confirm they were attending, and some arrived earlier or later than the appointed time. Knowing that the day before had been a city-wide snow day, respecting each family’s schedule was an important consideration! Roads were still difficult to navigate & public transit was slow.

The kids were encouraged to discuss the book and to brainstorm about the kind of projects they might like to do. Moms (no Dads were present this time, but we do have a number of men who participate in the community) discussed our reading progress & shared some resources. We tossed around the idea of going to see the movie together once the presentations were done.

But there was discussion on other topics too – curriculum, siblings not home-schooling, other activities, a possible outing for after the holidays. And the kids soon got bored of sitting with the Moms, so they explored the library and spent time with friends or got to know each other. The Banana discovered a quiet area of the library where she could curl up on a cushion. She marvelled at how large the library’s goldfish were, in relation to ours at home. She asked how the staff could feed the fish, with the tank locked into the surrounding cabinetry. We discussed why the tank would be locked (to keep little hands from trying to grab fishies, to prevent anyone from overfeeding them) and I showed her the piano hinge along the top of the cupboard, that would allow it to lift the way our tank’s lid is lifted to feed the fish.

It felt so good to be able to roam the space with my kids at our own pace! I’ve helped to chaperone a number of public school field trips, and what I remember most from them is the frantic pace we had to adopt in order to get the kids around to all the planned activities. That, and having to divide my attentions six different ways & not being able to share the experience with my own kids. Let’s just say a school trip was never a family building activity….

We stayed at the library after many of the other families left. I took the time to make a new friend of my own, and chat about a little bit of everything. The kids were happy to explore some more & make plans for the next book club meeting (OK Yu-Gi-Oh cards aren’t terribly related to our chosen book, but perhaps we’ll look into a future activity that does!)

On the Way Home

Riding public transit across Montreal in rush hour isn’t generally my idea of a positive experience. Especially in winter. Despite the crowds & the various inconveniences associated with winter garb and lugging books (we *always* lug books!) we were able to enjoy the trip home. We stopped for ice cream, which is de rigeur regardless of the weather. We discussed our plans for the next home-school term, and decided there were some changes we wanted to make to our curriculum.

At the metro station near home we met a man busking. He had an electric guitar, and was playing in a blues-y style. Dojogirl loved it! She stopped to contribute a little something to his kitty, and waited till the end of his song to bombard him with questions. He kindly allowed her to try out his guitar and gave recommendations for a good place to buy starter guitars for kids. He even offered his number, should we later want to look into lessons.

I wanted to shake my head and ask whatever happened to “don’t talk to strangers”? But I held back and bit my tongue. On a public school trip we would never have even met someone like this. In home-school, though, all the world’s a classroom. And even a stranger encountered in the metro can be a teacher. I realized in that moment that my kids will be so much less inhibited than I was. They aren’t afraid to approach an adult they perceive as a resource, nor to ask questions or express their interests. Perhaps that’s a better thing than worrying about “stranger danger,” as long as they have a trusted adult with them.

Montreal Public Libraries

I just wanted to end with a note on the public libraries in the Montreal area. Those of us who live in municipalities that were absorbed into the mega-city are not necessarily acquainted with this resource, and it seems to be well worth looking into.

First of all, if you come from one of the areas where you have to pay for library services or where getting a library card is almost as complicated as getting a passport, “forget that noise”! The Montreal library card is both free and easy to get. Simply ask at the circulation desk, provide your contact information & sign for the card. That’s it! No photo to take. No need for ID bearing proof of address. No forms to fill out. Any resident of Montreal is eligible for a membership, which gives access to all the libraries in the network.

I also wanted to say that the library we visited (Mile End) has a very positive atmosphere, and the kids are free to be themselves. No worry about making noise (within reason,) and letting the younger ones roam is no problem. There are computers and toys/games at their disposal, as well as books, CD’s, DVD’s, CD-ROM’s. The library staff were extraordinarily friendly & helpful, and also positive towards homeschooling.

If you live in Montreal and do not yet have a membership with the municipal library, I recommend you check it out. There are at present 26 libraries on the network, with a plan in place to include all borough libraries. You can read more about Montreal’s public libraries (English or French) or consult the Nelligan card catalogue (navigation in French) online.

This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.