Japan

Recently we've been on a voyage. It started as a book club, set up by a fellow home educator. We drew ships, planned our voyage and read a lot of books. We made up some unusual undersea creatures and learned about evolution. We've been on quite a voyage if I'm honest.

We also read Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo which I would heartily recommend reading. The book led us to learning about Japan, samurai's and playing Risk!

Today we got a box from the schools resource library which contains a collection of Japanese artefacts and books. George 1 had fun trotting round in wooden shoes - Geta - with special socks and a Kimono. The Geta are slightly raised off the ground to protect their feet from the wet and mud during the monsoon and typhoon Seasons. George 3 has also had a go at shuffling around on them.

We've learned, (from George 1 who saw it on a TV show) that the square buildings in Japan are not only decorative, but also built to be very strong against the thousand earthquakes they experience each year.

Privilege

priv·i·lege
/ˈpriv(ə)lij/
Noun
A special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to one person or group of people.
Verb
Grant a privilege or privileges to: "English inheritance law privileged the eldest son".
Synonyms
noun. prerogative - privelege - charter - franchise - right
verb. privelege

I've thought a lot about this word since I started home educating. It's a word I use often to describe my number 1 joy about the lifestyle choice I've made but I think its more than that. It's about the privilege of being a mother and a wife.

A privilege is a right that one person or group of people have. When I was born, I was born a female. A very privileged situation. I was born with the right to grow up and become a mother. When I got married, I had the privilege of sharing my life from then on with a man who has the privilege of standing on my right hand and becoming my support and guide and love. When I fell pregnant, I had the privilege of giving birth to my son. It was a right reserved only for me. No one else could ever give birth to my son.

Since that day, it has been my privilege and mine alone (DadaSmu has his own rights and I'm in no way trying to diminish those) to help him to grow. To teach him correct principles, to help him learn to walk and talk, feed himself, get dressed, become toilet trained etc etc.

At no point did I ever want to give up that privilege to see him grow and develop. I sent him to school because I didn't understand fully that I didn't have to, but one of the hardest things for me was not being able to witness those little eureka moments, those first steps in learning to read, being able to count in 2s and 5s, learning to swim during school swimming lessons etc.

One of my greatest pleasures in life is have the privilege - the RIGHT - to be a part of those experiences. To see all my children grow and develop. I have had the privelege of witnessing George 2 learn to read. It has been a truly humbling experience and quite remarkable in it's nature. I have loved every frustrating moment of it. I've witnessed George 1 go from refusing to pick up a pencil when he left school because writing was so hated, to asking for spelling tests so that he can write stories based on his dream journal that he's keeping by his bed.

All parents, whether their children are in school or not have the privilege to be a part of another person's life in such a unique way. But I feel that the privileges I have as a home ed parent, outweigh anything that I felt while they were in school.