I am SO glad that you are listening to your own and your kids' cues and taking a break! Real, frequent breaks have been so important in our homeschooling. We cannot get along without them. When we're doing formal schoolwork, I schedule in a week off after every 6 weeks, and often we will take a day off or a couple of days off somewhere in the middle of the six weeks.
I also plan to switch to unschooling around April 1 of each year and finish out the year that way. It doesn't seem to be needed this year, but it's still in my back pocket if we do need it!
As you know, the learning doesn't stop during unschooling and the learning doesn't stop during "breaks," either -- it just takes a different form. You will not regret taking breaks!
I’m not a huge fan of documentaries, to be honest - I prefer reading for learning and watching shows for entertainment- but I loved the documentary “Babies” - showing how babies are raised around the world. It was lovely and also a bit funny at times to see how pampered they can be in the US/ UK compared to other cultures! Highly recommended.
A while back there was also a series, “Becoming You” which follows children around the globe in a similar style. Not sure how much of the neuro science/ philosophy would go over kids’ heads and how much it would bore them.
Last one, a documentary called “Outside the City” was broadcast on BBC as “Brotherhood: The Inner Life of Monks” - it was so, so good and really did a great job capturing what life in a monastery today is like! Nothing inappropriate for kids but definitely be prepared to discuss dying and death (the documentary handles it in a very beautiful and of course Catholic way.)
We’ve been really liking the DisneyNature documentaries—especially Bears and Penguins (apologies if this is where I first saw them recommended!). They do a nice job of being informative and not scary, and the way they follow a particular family of animals to whom they give names makes it much easier for my younger child (4) to be engaged and follow along. Available on Disney+.
Not strictly a documentary, but Max Miller's "Tasting History" YouTube channel is excellent. He shares a dish related to whatever historical era or event (everything from Ancient Rome to the Hindenburg disaster) he covers, along with a very well done summary of said era or event.
Awwww. I applaud you for knowing when the children need a break. There are some moms that just push through even for contents sake. One of the many reasons I left Instagram, haha.
Not sure if they are old enough but ‘The Weeping Camel’ is extraordinary and quite wonderful. Cultural differences and the alternate approaches to problem solving will be great mealtime topics to consider.
Not a documentary, but a good world history resource - my daughter loves Kids’ Animated History with Pipo. It’s American, though, so not sure if you could get it there.
I am SO glad that you are listening to your own and your kids' cues and taking a break! Real, frequent breaks have been so important in our homeschooling. We cannot get along without them. When we're doing formal schoolwork, I schedule in a week off after every 6 weeks, and often we will take a day off or a couple of days off somewhere in the middle of the six weeks.
I also plan to switch to unschooling around April 1 of each year and finish out the year that way. It doesn't seem to be needed this year, but it's still in my back pocket if we do need it!
As you know, the learning doesn't stop during unschooling and the learning doesn't stop during "breaks," either -- it just takes a different form. You will not regret taking breaks!
I’m not a huge fan of documentaries, to be honest - I prefer reading for learning and watching shows for entertainment- but I loved the documentary “Babies” - showing how babies are raised around the world. It was lovely and also a bit funny at times to see how pampered they can be in the US/ UK compared to other cultures! Highly recommended.
A while back there was also a series, “Becoming You” which follows children around the globe in a similar style. Not sure how much of the neuro science/ philosophy would go over kids’ heads and how much it would bore them.
Last one, a documentary called “Outside the City” was broadcast on BBC as “Brotherhood: The Inner Life of Monks” - it was so, so good and really did a great job capturing what life in a monastery today is like! Nothing inappropriate for kids but definitely be prepared to discuss dying and death (the documentary handles it in a very beautiful and of course Catholic way.)
We’ve been really liking the DisneyNature documentaries—especially Bears and Penguins (apologies if this is where I first saw them recommended!). They do a nice job of being informative and not scary, and the way they follow a particular family of animals to whom they give names makes it much easier for my younger child (4) to be engaged and follow along. Available on Disney+.
Not strictly a documentary, but Max Miller's "Tasting History" YouTube channel is excellent. He shares a dish related to whatever historical era or event (everything from Ancient Rome to the Hindenburg disaster) he covers, along with a very well done summary of said era or event.
Awwww. I applaud you for knowing when the children need a break. There are some moms that just push through even for contents sake. One of the many reasons I left Instagram, haha.
Amazon Prime
Not sure if they are old enough but ‘The Weeping Camel’ is extraordinary and quite wonderful. Cultural differences and the alternate approaches to problem solving will be great mealtime topics to consider.
Not a documentary, but a good world history resource - my daughter loves Kids’ Animated History with Pipo. It’s American, though, so not sure if you could get it there.