To be quite honest, T1’s homeschooling journey in February has dwindled from homeschooling to unschooling to just pissing about at home. I’m not sure if that is positive or not. Seriously, if you choose to homeschool your child, you really need to be disciplined enough to monitor their progress and as for me, well, I’m just too busy and cannot be bothered. Do my kids really need to be learning from books all the time? Are they learning anything from their full days of play?
It’s hard being a parent, I tell ya!
If you want to read about our Homeschooling Journey in January, this is how we first started.
Although we started with good intentions, a solid timetable filled with serious stuff just to keep on track and keep up with the school curriculum, all that has gone pissing out the window. T1 spent all of February not following the timetable at all and falling far, far behind academically from her school peers in terms of pages in the text book. The only serious stuff she does these days are attending her language classes and doing some Maths at least half the week. Well almost. I insist. Especially since she detests Math though I’m not sure why. It’s not like she does too bad in it at all with an A for the last 4-5 years of her schooling life.
For T1’s homeschooling journey in February, she performed the following tasks:-
1. Attended a Namaste Market hosted by Sun Yoga KL where kids came together to barter their goods. T1 did not prepare for it at all so at the very last minute, she brought a stack of Lego discount cards that she’d been collecting from old milk cartons for ages to trade. I was so embarrassed because I was thinking who the heck would want these freebies and was annoyed at her for not putting any effort at all into the activity. But heck, the girl shocked me by coming home with a big stash of stuff! Books, jewellery, gadgets, a plant! She even managed to get some stuff for her sister! Hello Kitty packet tissues!! I was amazed and it taught me that truly, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. It was a great experience for her to witness that first hand but now at the 2nd Namaste Market, she is still intending to bring Lego discount tickets! Gosh. I told her she would not get 2nd time lucky.
2. We attended 2 Chinese New Year Open Houses within a day and got into the CNY spirit with Ang Pows and praying to the Gods. Enjoyed her time with my in-laws staying over here in KL.
3. She tested her fingers at planting herbs and vegetables but we are yet to decide if her fingers are green or not. She sprouted some wheat grass successfully all in our tummies now. She killed her aubergine plant by over-watering it. She is now caring for a basil plant and has a host of new pots for new plant projects. Amah’s giant Choy Sum seeds are doing well so far at 3 inches tall *silently praying that it becomes a success so we can have organic home grown veg in our tummies!*
4. She went for a walk in the garden with an agriculturist (my Dad!) and learnt every single plant outdoors in our garden below. They plucked some leaves and brought them home to be viewed under the microscope. Dammit, my girl now knows way more about plants than me. She can even name some of the plants, such as Frangipani without the flowers. First hand lesson from the pro, how blessed indeed.
5. She attended her first History Co-op with a group of fellow homeschoolers and had a ball of a time playing with the boys. She learnt how to twirl a light sabre and learnt how to fight with one – the proper way. Fuah!!! Real proud of my girl, I am.
6. We made a visit to the National Museum with the History Co-op! Seriously, I cannot remember the last time I stepped in the museum and it must’ve been something like more than 20 years ago but because of T1, we got off our asses and went. Well, I’m pretty glad we did because although I expected cobwebs, there were actually some interesting exhibits to observe. The kids ran around, coloured on the floor, chit-chatted with each other, I don’t know how much Malaysian History actually went into their heads but……. …when questioned, T1 did learn something from the museum and that was Malaysian Independence. She’d watched the video of Malaya getting independence.
7. From that museum visit, the kids were made to draw out their visit, how they felt, what they saw, what they thought, etc. In order to be different, T1 built a Lego piece and made a soldiers in war model. She is to present her work at the next co-op meeting.
8. She worked 9 hours helping Aunty Jacq (founder of Sun Yoga) prepare for 400 bottles of pure organic juice for a juice fast. She scraped pumpkin seeds off pumpkin shells, juiced fresh celery, plucked Moringa from their stems, etc. Proud of my girl. She now knows the entire mechanics that goes behind the preparatory works of a juice fast.
9. She read a lot of story books last month since she didn’t do much studying……..Mommy was too busy to kick her ass. Her reading is very good but her writing is not so good. Sigh.
10. She practised how to draw the African and Australian map by heart following on from her first month’s goal to place animals and plants on every continent, which by the way, has not happened yet. Just saying….
11. She went on several playdates and had tons of fun as expected.
12. She baked her first successful butter cake under the guidance of a great friend of mine who bakes THE BEST butter cakes in the whole wide world. You will be remembered for life, Ipoh girl.
I really cannot remember what else she has done over the last month and I cannot find her diary (Ssshhhh…..) so that about sums up T1’s homeschooling journey in February for now. I myself have been very busy planning and researching for our educational trip further along the year. I am also leaving KL for a week this week for work. It has been really busy and I keep coming back to my centre asking myself why I have not slowed down. But I have. It has slowed down by 500 times!!! It’s just that I was even way more crazy busy before!!! I’m actually real good now. Busy but good busy…..which is always better than having nothing to do. Onwards to March, folks!
**************************************************************************Who is Mamapumpkin?
Mamapumpkin spent 7 years in London committing crimes to gain her Bartlett degree in Architecture. She then spent 7 years as a Stay At Home Mom raising her children as documented in this blog of over 15 years thereafter returning to the Corporate World stronger than ever as the Country Director of a British Multinational. She sets out to prove to all, that you can have anything and everything that you want; if you have that fire of desire burning within and the drive to work hard. Even better with much love.
Mamapumpkin has not only grown corporate businesses successfully in the past but has grown not one but TWO network marketing businesses in the notorious MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) industry, achieving success in under 2 years. She believes in the MLM business model but realises the DRASTIC PITFALLS and great stigma attached to it, understanding EXACTLY WHY the majority would shy away (or RUN for their lives) from ANY MLM business. But open your eyes and take time to understand it intellectually, remove your hang-ups, confirm your research, and you may just want to seize an opportunity. She did. And no, she never went about chasing people for sales. She had a sophisticated system work for her through technology and a smartphone.
She now impacts lives authentically with proven strategies amassed through the last decade of her own transformation offering online coaching programmes and always supports the underprivileged. She believes that we can all have a life of our own desires to enable real contribution into the world. But first, one needs to understand what this all means.
A beautiful life without limits.
If you wish to learn some tools to propel your life forward guaranteed, be brave enough to make contact as her life's purpose is to build people. She operates through a discovery call after which she will commit to helping you. Or not.
Most lose out on an opportunity because they are afraid they would be sold to, conned or whatever fear resides in their brain without even trying. And that's on them.
Mamapumpkin is a living testimony that women really can have a lot. Being financially and time free has enabled her to travel the world anytime, anywhere, doing anything, and she spends most of her days with her children, having fun, and supporting others wherever she can. Also having fun.
