Sometimes, the Village Has to Help with Homework, Too. 🤭

There's a saying we particularly like: “It takes a village to raise a child.” And since we actually live and work in a village, we figured we should probably take on some of that responsibility, including the homework part. 🤭

At Dumbrava lui Patrocle, our activities with children started with the idea of giving them opportunities to discover new things, experiment, learn and spend time together. We've organised creative workshops, sports activities, trips, intergenerational gatherings and all sorts of other experiences that we hope help children explore the world around them.

We never intended to become teachers or turn Dumbrava into a school. And yet, somewhere between all those activities, homework found its way onto our schedule.

Sometimes we wonder who has learned more from this arrangement, the children or us. 😅

We Don't Have to Know All the Answers

Some of the things we learned at school are now hiding in rather inaccessible corners of our memories. Others have changed over the years, and a few things we probably didn't understand particularly well ourselves at the time. So sometimes we have to look things up, check explanations or try several approaches before we manage to understand an exercise.

We think it's useful for children to see that adults don't know everything and that there's nothing wrong with admitting you don't know something. What matters is being curious, looking for information and making an effort to understand.

Sometimes we explain things, sometimes we figure them out together, and occasionally the children end up explaining things to us. Which, admittedly, can be quite entertaining. 🤭

Homework Is Only Part of the Activity

Our goal isn't simply to get exercises completed and notebooks filled. We want children to understand what they're doing and, as much as possible, become more independent in the learning process.

And, perhaps surprisingly to some, the children actually enjoy coming to Dumbrava to do their homework. Nobody forces them to participate, and we're certainly not trying to turn our time together into an extension of the school day. It's simply that doing homework alongside friends, in a more relaxed environment, seems to make things a little different.

Sometimes everyone works on their own assignments, while other times they discuss things, explain what they've understood and help their classmates or friends when they get stuck. We particularly like this part because it means we're not the only ones who have something to offer. The children also get to discover that they can help each other. And sometimes an explanation from a friend makes more sense than one coming from an adult. 🤭

At the same time, we try to help them learn how to organise their time, read instructions carefully, look for information, ask questions and not give up immediately when something seems complicated. And, of course, to discover that sometimes you need to try more than once before getting something right.

It's not always easy. There are days when concentrating is difficult, when absolutely everything seems more interesting than the notebook in front of them, or when a problem manages to confuse everyone around the table. But we're making progress at our own pace, and we try to maintain an atmosphere where questions and mistakes are a normal part of learning.

Why Get Involved If We're Not Teachers?

Because we don't believe education happens exclusively at school, or that you need to be a teacher to contribute to a child's development.

That doesn't mean we're trying to replace schools or families. Quite the opposite. We believe things work better when different people contribute what they know and what they can offer.

Teachers have the training and experience needed to teach, parents know their children and play an essential role in their education, and we can contribute time, attention, patience and, sometimes, a different perspective.

There's also another benefit: when children do some of their homework with us, it takes one thing off their parents' to-do lists at the end of the day. We know that between work, household chores and everything else that needs doing, there isn't always enough time or energy for everything. If we can offer children a few hours spent doing something useful while their parents have a little more time for other responsibilities or, why not, for themselves, that's another good reason to keep doing it.

Spending time together also gives us the opportunity to get to know the children better, discover what interests them, what they find difficult and where they might need additional support. And all of this helps us when planning our other activities at Dumbrava.

A Whole Village, Not Just a School

The idea that it takes a village to raise a child fits rather well with what we're trying to build at Dumbrava, not because every adult should become a teacher, but because everyone has something to contribute.

A neighbour might show children how something works, a grandparent might share stories and experiences, a volunteer might organise a workshop, and someone who hasn't solved an equation in twenty years might try to remember how to do it alongside them. 😅

We like the idea of a community where children have opportunities to interact with different people, learn from their experiences and discover that there are many ways to approach and understand things. Just as we like the fact that, through our activities, adults also get plenty of opportunities to learn from children.

So, Why Do We Help with Homework?

Because we can help. Because sometimes an additional explanation, a little patience or simply having someone sit beside you and help you concentrate can make a difference.

We don't always have as much time as we'd like, and we certainly don't have all the knowledge, but we try to make good use of what we can offer.

Sometimes that means a trip, a workshop or an activity with the animals. Other times, it means spending an afternoon surrounded by textbooks and notebooks, learning a few things ourselves along the way.

And while not every activity is equally entertaining, we believe they all have their place.

After all, if it takes a village to raise a child, someone has to help with the homework, too. 🤭❤️