Be part of our community in Madeira
Hello my dear reader!
I wrote an article a few months ago - or was it an Instagram post? - explaining how I noticed my daughters having a surge of motivation to do things that contribute to our community or family after having been given the chance to do something exciting they asked for:
It was when Lima asked to iron for the first time and I let her total control after explaining what to look out for. She then went on to set the dinner table and prepare food for the whole family out of sheer self-motivation.
Yesterday I noticed something similar. We had been out with 10 families exploring an organic farm here in Madeira. Lima was fully involved in planting seeds, looking after the dogs, showing other kids around as she knew the place, picking strawberries, and asking the farmer questions that weren’t related to what he was talking about but things she needed to know about something she had decided to do on the farm (don’t ask me what as I rarely saw her all morning because she was out and about on the farm premises for 2 hours).
When we came home, the morning activity seemed to have been the catalyst for what was going to come next: Lima decided to tidy, clean, rearrange, help me and I noticed her being calmer and more content than the last few days that she had spent fighting with her sister Bo a lot more than usual.
On the farm there was just one friend of Lima’s that was older than her, the rest of the kids were younger. Maybe it had something to do with this… she felt in charge or a sense of responsibility for being ‘bigger‘ than the rest. I can’t tell exactly what gave her the desire to help out at home without being asked to but for me there’s a definite connection between having spent time with a group of children of different ages in an environment free to explore and taking care of animals, food and other people.
I run the Alternative Education Whatsapp group that gathered yesterday and instead of meeting once a month we’ve started doing trips and little events in the week and especially in the mornings, like yesterday. This will give us all the chance to see what an unschooling community looks and feels like.
More and more families are visiting and moving to Madeira. Almost every week someone contacts me to talk about APTB, homeschooling in Madeira or to meet us. The community is growing steadily and we’re connecting with wonderful people from many different places.
Yesterday there were 4 polish families (one was half German), a few British, a Spanish, an American and some families that I don’t know where they’re from.
If we haven’t met yet and you’re in Madeira, now or at some point, please reach out and I’ll add you to the Alternative Education Group so you can meet lots of like minded families. Looking forward to meeting you!
Sylvia
