INTRODUCTION to CROFTER GIRL

Hello, I’m crofter girl, sending you much love from our off grid cabin in a wild Scottish wood. I’m delighted to be able to share with you how we use resources from the Wilded Family in our home education journey.

Together with my husband and our children, we live completely off grid on a scottish croft. Our home education journey began eight years ago, we learn mostly outdoors, following the seasons, crafts and nature. It’s all about self lead child learning in our family because that’s what works best for us.  I wouldn’t say we have ever fitted into a particular style (or wanted to) but the closest I can relate to is a Steiner home and a very close connection with nature.

Not only is our croft a place where we strive to create a sustainable livelihood, but it’s also our families most precious resource, this is where we home educate our children, every single day; their ears know the sounds of the forest, they grow as the trees grow, they watch, they learn, this is their classroom, as it is ours also.

Over the coming months I’ll be sharing our adventures and showing you how we use the beautiful Wilded Family’s resources in our everyday life. Before now I had found it hard to get educational resources that were appealing to our children, but they are all very drawn to the resources from the Wilded Family. I think it’s the soft colours, tactile materials and meaningful drawings that create a powerful connection with our children.

October is a wonderful month in our woodland, everyone enjoys watching the leaves change from green into a burst of autumnal colours, especially the silver birch which creates an array of orange leaves that have a beautiful soft rattle in the wind, in a sense we are surrounded by natures art and music, and our senses love it. 

After our log burner, the children’s favourite thing in our cabin is our nature table, a special space in our home to celebrate the season, bringing the outside in.  The Wild Autumn Wheel takes center place this month and it’s beautifully framed with brown leaves, mushrooms and woodland animals.   Our children have been very interested in the autumn wheel, many conversations, and many longing glances. It’s a perfect centerpiece for us, helping to guide us all through autumn towards winter, reminding us that Halloween/Samhain and bonfire night is near.

We all feel the slowing of the year, after the long busy days of summer we now spend more time crafting, reading and eating big bowls of hot steaming soup.  It is also a time of reflection and thoughts of what winter will bring.  The Wild Encouragement Cards provide 52 weeks of inspiration, the illustrations are so soft and help to create time for reflection and gratitude. At lunch time this month we lit our paraffin lamp and ladled hot spiced pumpkin soup into bowls, taking time to talk about a different encouragement card each day. These have been thought provoking and have really helped our children to connect with their feelings.  In a world that seems full of busy, I’m so thankful for this slow, beautiful life, a life that is simple and meaningful in every sense.

As the days shorten we spend time drilling conkers, modeling clay leaves, decorating wax candles and baking beautiful tasty treats, hot cocoa, warm blackcurrant, everything that warms that heart, the soul.  Soon it will be Halloween or Samhain, our pumpkins are carved and we look forward to guising and dookin’ for apples, traditions which i did when i was a child and carry on with our own children, in hope that these are cherished for the generations to come.

Let’s finish with the moon.  The moon fascinates our children. The Wilded Family’s Perpetual Moon Calendar has been looked at and played with every single day this month, and it’s no surprise, the calendar is huge, appealing and beautifully illustrated, it’s a magical party for the eyes.   It’s an excellent teaching tool for learning the phases of the moon and has really helped our eldest child to connect with the lunar cycle.    Tonight we will watch for ‘Hunters Full Moon’ and hope that clear skies at our woodland will give us crystal clear views.

And this is where I must leave things, just when they are at their best.  Please join me again next month, as we continue on our journey through the year and share our adventures with you.