Lets catch up- homeschool

So, as time as gone on I have home schooled little B for First Grade but now he is full time at a Waldorf inspired charter school here in Northern California. However I did really enjoy that time homeschooling but he really needed to be in a classroom for 2nd and now 3rd grade. I am homeschooling Little F with the same curriculum for 1st grade but waiting for a spot at the same school.  Age seven is such a special time and children really seem to do well staying a little closer to home as they transition developmentally into the second stage of childhood development. Biologically they have cellularly regenerated, which is a big stage unto itself.
With the first stage of development being directed by will  ages 0-7 now 7-14 is the big Feelings development.

"After age seven, a child’s world expands beyond the self, and with this expansion, they develop a great subtlety of feeling. Gannon explains that children’s feelings dominate their world in this stage as they move between joy and sadness and learn to manage these different emotions within the greater, more expansive world now open to them. 

The healthy feeling life of the child is supported by providing a context of beauty for all things, from simple movements to complex ideas. By appealing to their natural imaginative capacities, children can be encouraged to use these active feelings to connect to learning as a process.

It is at this time that children are ready for academic instruction, as long as it continues to appeal to social and physical realms and, even more so, the realm of feeling. This is why Waldorf grade school lessons are taught through engaging stories of trial and triumph. Children who sympathize and relate to a story in these years are moved to carry the information and process it in a deep and meaningful way that persists as they grow into a more conceptual and thinking way of being."

-http://blog.sgws.org/waldorf-perspective-on-child-development/

I realize now after learning this information that I was unaware of this development but it certainly played a huge role in the events that brought me to home school. This was our move to Alaska time frame and uprooting and experiencing life with uncertainty was a result. I wish that I had been informed on this stage and could understand and support in a more comprehensive way. I don't regret this precious time with the Little's but feel very ready to see them on their way to independence and feeling sure of themselves and safe to make choices with guidance. Also that its OK to feel sadness and as Brene Brown says in her latest book Rising Strong, its how we pick ourselves up and continue and learn from our challenges that matter most!