Minecraft Monday

 A week or so ago I posted a question in response to a video link that Sue had made and this was her response.    As a result of her sharing and words of encouragement I approached this Monday morning with a totally different mindset.

In all honesty since beginning to work on the online shop and all things handmade this past month, I knew that our half hearted formal approach would have to be put on hold and the focus would be on outstanding practical projects such as Meccano models and a wooden Stephenson's Rocket.  All of these could be supervised by Dave and this freed me to work on the crafting, without worrying about lesson plans.

In between all this Pip also had a two week recess from school and we always run to a different rhythm when she is on a break, so it was no exaggeration when I sat down last night and was actually dreading this morning!  Benedict was not the only one not wanting to do school :-)  But I still have this thing about wanting him to achieve and not be left behind when his peers are off at University or work.  I don't want him to turn around and say, "Mum, why didn't you help me?"  So to say it is a dilemma is putting it mildly! 

However, I have been listening to Sue's videos on unschooling, she talks and I knit!  Just like it would be if Sue were spending an afternoon with me, plus plenty of cups of tea and a cake or two!  So buoyed up by her sharing of her own unschooling journey, I decided to try a strewing activity and "streuth" (to coin an Aussie phrase often repeated on Ramsey Street!) it works!

  Benedict is a total Minecraft Geek and so he had ten challenges to choose from and history caught his eye.  With the help of Dad he looked at an arial view of Hardknott Pass and set about recreating that image on his Minecraft world but as it would have been in Roman times.  In addition to history there was some maths in amongst it all ~ working out the perimeter of the arial plan and then translating that into minecraft cubes.  He really enjoyed his work and had a great sense of ownership at the end of the day, a feeling of a job well done and I too had some really productive time in the workshop, a win-win situation: