Sep. 15, 2008
Posted in education
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It has been hard to get back into the school year this time around. We were excited for school to start, I had so many plans, but it has been harder than usual easing into that routine. One good thing already I see happening this year is my six year old is learning to read. Beautifully, easily, and taking a lot of pleasure in it. I think teaching children to read is my favorite part of teaching my own. Perhaps because books mean so much to me personally. It is a joy to share that with them. She is the seventh child I have taught to read! I am just amazed by that. The first four were rather easy, even though I was not sure of myself at all during the first two. My middle children both are dyslexic, something that comes with gifts and challenges.........mostly gifts I think. But reading is under the challenge part of that. It was a struggle but now, they are both reading so well. Smart, curious, engaged boys. So now, I am teaching my little princess to read. I waited a bit longer with her, mostly because I was still working with her older brothers. I felt a touch of dread, just a touch, wondering how will this one go? Seeing her little face light up with joy as the story continues page after page and she is still reading, still doing well is a wonderful thing. We did have a bit of a field trip last week. Dad had the day off unexpectedly so we headed off into the mountains. Not sure what we were going to do, but knowing that there were more things than we could get around to, we ended up visiting a fossil bed of redwood trees (did you know fossils are more than dinosaurs? lol......wasn't quite expecting that), an old pioneer homestead, a dinosaur museum!, and a chocolate factory, which has become my very favorite place. LOL We tried to visit a wolf sanctuary, but they were closed. We did see some wolves, and a fox through the fence. They howled at us and tracked the movements of the little ones. That was creepy! My goals for today are to have a science lesson/exploration, do the basic math/grammar/reading work, and sit down together to read a good book. And have chores done. And work on the laundry. And clean the kitchen. And subscribe to Netflix and renew our magazine subscriptions. Good luck to me in being ordered enough to finish all that! Start with the schoolwork first though and spread out from there................ |
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Jun. 3, 2008
Posted in education
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I had one of those conversations today at the park. The sort where you try to explain to non-homeschooling moms how and why you homeschool. Why did I do that? I know better, usually I can see it coming and duck. It started as a compliment, as it usually does. "your children are so great. It must be so hard to homeschool all of them with all the different age levels" For some reason, I found myself explaining how learning comes all in forms, how we do not have to be sitting in front of textbooks to learn and all the fun ways we do things. Oh dear. So then, she very cautiously asks me about testing. (there were a group of moms gathered from our church for a park day.......oh that it could have been a random stranger I will never see again) By now, I can sense the mood around me and my shackles are up. I am a good girl but I am a bit of a rebel too. And very stubborn. "No we don't test" "Doesn't the state require it?" said in the tone of "surely the state monitors these people and their weird ways,please tell me the state monitors......." Very stubbornly and with a touch,just a faint touch of arrogance, I say......"Well, if you are teaching your own children you know where they are. You know how their multiplication skills are coming along, you know how they are reading, how much they know about history. You don't have to have someone else tell you those things".  The conversation ended there with just an "I see". Then she and another mom beside her start talking about the "wonderful" advanced school program the other mom's son is in, and how they worry about burn out but they are watching him very closely and wow,with this program it really takes dedicated parents to make it work for the children, and how great it is that they learn so much,so hard and fast. They are "stage whispering" to each other, but all of us are listening. Dead silence. Everyone knows I am getting spanked. LOL but not LOL. Eventually, probably only those eternal two minutes that last forever, the conversation resumes again. We start talking about babies.  Honestly,when she starts talking about "learning so much so hard and fast", I thought "what the ***mild swear word that is found in the Bible*** point is that?" Our gentle sort of rambling ways...........my children know Shakepeare and medieval Europe, they read books like Ivanhoe, Don Quixote, Les Miserables, Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, The Scarlett Letter just for fun. They know American History.....not just what happened but the ideals our country was founded upon. They know what the founding fathers were aiming for and why. They have read the Constituion. We never studied spelling or grammar but they are all gifted writers who mastered the language through literature and writing and being corrected. They know science.......wow,do they know science. They constantly surprise me, their ps taught, college graduate mom with their understanding of the laws of science and how it affects and explains the world. And.......... They know how to cook. They know art. They know music....classical, jazz, 80's new wave and 70's folk (LOL....I have warped them). They know mechanics....how to fix things and create new machines. They all play musical instruments. I know I am getting defensive, but my shackles are still up...........what the heck more could have been gained by pushing them hard and fast? I know much of this is from different lifestyles. I have very deliberately chosen a different path for my family and in so doing, turned my back on many of the things that are so important to them. More than just if my children learn at school or at home. The pace of our life is different, the things we fill our time with are different. Except for the technology buzzing around us, we are living a life from a different time, more like Edwardian England (I am thinking Mary Poppins...........maybe Little House On The Prairie is more accurate) I guess maybe I made them feel defensive too. Which I would not have truly wanted to do. Ultimately it is sad.......at least I think so from my perch. I love our rambling days............ |
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May. 27, 2008
our summer program
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Today is our first day of summer vacation. I decided this year to implement an idea I learned from another homeschooling mom a few years ago. I am hoping this will give our lazy summer days a bit of structure, but not too much. It would be nice if this led us back to more child-led, curiosity based learning which I would like to do next year. This is how it works. The children must earn 100 points every day before watching non-educational tv (they are all addicted to Andy Griffith reruns.....) or playing computer or video games. They can carry over points from one day to the next, so they could earn themselves a free day if they wanted. Here is the list of activities they have to choose from..... Summer points system…. 1. Doing chores 5pts, doing chores well 10 pts 2. Brushing teeth without being reminded 5pts 3. Bathing without being reminded 5pts 4. Making bed without being reminded 5pts 5. Getting dressed in morning wbr 5pts 6. Extra chores for Mom 10 pts 7. Playing outside/being active for 30 min 10pts 8. Playing with siblings (board game or toys) 10 pts 9. Cooking food for family 10 pts 10. Watching educational tv for 30 min 5 pts (2 hour maximum) 11. Doing a math lesson 20 pts 12. Doing a worksheet book 20 pts 13. Art project/making something 10 pts 14. Reading for 30 min 10 points (no maximum) 15. Practicing musical instrument for 30 min 10points 16. Going out with Mom (zoo, nature center, library) 20 pts. 17. Creative writing 5 pts per page 18. Making a full entry in nature journal 5 pts (4 per day) 19. Reading scriptures alone 10 pts. 20. Family scripture reading 10 pts. |
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Apr. 28, 2008
plans for this week
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I sat down last night and made several lists, about this week and how I want it to go. For schoolwork: (the older children do their own thing....I have written before about that. Jennifer is studying Japanese history, Japanese language, algebra and electronics and reading books of her choosing). For Thomas and Joshua this week: daily they will work on math, cursive handwriting and read me sections out of our ED Hirsch book for history and science. For Jessica and Sarah, every day they will practice letters and sounds with me, do some pages in their workbooks (fun workbooks from Walmart) and listen to one chapter in Little House On The Prairie. For extra, enrichment work, I have asked my older children to help me with activities for the younger children . This is going to be our new schedule. Mondays we go to the library, get books for the week. Tuesday an art project with Mom. This week we are "creating colors" with tissue paper. This idea comes out of Hooked On Art, a great book with many ideas I plan to use over the next few weeks. Wednesdays we will either go to the zoo or the nature center. Thursdays Logan is in charge of a history activity, he is thinking about medieval history, his specialty. Fridays Ryan wants to do science experiments. Samantha is going to continue teaching Jessica, Sarah and Levi.......she has some ideas for some fun science things to do with them. I love having my older children mentor along my younger ones. It builds relationships across the age gap, gives the older ones something positive to plan and put their creative energy into and helps me provide the type of education I want them to have.........without driving me to rack and ruin in the process. Chores this week........I have decided this is the week. This house needs to be unpacked and organized by the end of the week. It has gone from looking like something exploded in here to looking like a very very messy house. Progress. I have divided up the areas and not only are they responsible for keeping those areas clean, but everyday they need to have that area more organized and unpacked. At least I have each room headed in the direction I want it to go and the furniture placed. Maybe by the end of this week......a nice looking home? I already have "permission" LOL to buy all new furniture for the living room and dining room. That will get done this week too. We also started a new evening dish routine a few months ago that works very well. We have so many to help in our family, I have divided it up to six chores.........1. wash dishes 2. rinse dishes (I am currently boycotting the dish washer....it never gets anything clean anyway) 3. clear the table 4. clear and wipe the cabinets 5. clean off the stove(important because the smoke detectors are hyper sensitive here....I have been so offended so many times...yelling at the darn things "I AM NOT BURNING ANYTHING!!!". LOL ) 6. sweep the floor and take out the trash. Some jobs take longer than others, but we all get our turns at the easy ones and the hard ones and one person gets the night off. This works much better than the old system of one or two people slaving away. Ever wonder what a family of eleven eats? This is what I plan on cooking this week ( usually I come close but ............) Monday Breakfast.....whole wheat and fruit muffins Lunch....couscous, fried zucchini Dinner....spaghetti, baked cauliflower Tuesday Breakfast....pancakes, peaches Lunch....corn chowder Dinner....roast gravy and mashed potatoes, salad Wednesday Breakfast....whole wheat and fruit muffins Lunch...grilled cheese sandwiches Dinner....sloppy joes, baked potatoes, green beans Thursday Breakfast....hashbrowns, fried eggs, peaches or sliced fruit Lunch.....homemade bread, pumpkin butter, apple butter Dinner....fajitas, cheese quesadillas Friday Breakfast....oven roasted potatoes with peppers and onions, boiled eggs Lunch....peanut butter and honey sandwiches Dinner....homemade pizza, salad Saturday Breakfast ......cereal, or eggs, bacon and pancakes (if dad is home or not) Lunch....tuna salad sandwiches, fruit Dinner....hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, corn on the cob Sunday Breakfast......homemade cinnamon rolls Lunch....sandwiches, whatever is grabbed Dinner....Bourbon chicken without the bourbon (we also call it Chinese chicken), jasmine rice, salad, corn muffins ......................................... Well those are the plans anyway, LOL. Check back at the end of the week to see how it went........... |
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Dec. 31, 2007
Learning plan for the next few weeks
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We are almost ready to leave, the goal is tomorrow at noon. I am printing off learning pages for the next two weeks as I type. I have decided to go back to my favorite subject, geography, to fire back up my interest in creative homeschooling, maybe even fire up my children. With us staying in a vacation condo or maybe a hotel for the next four to six weeks, we will have plenty of time to do schoolwork with fewer daily distractions. So I have a plan ready for the next three months. (for my 10ds, 9ds, and 5 dd....3dd will probably have to do stuff along with us). We are going to study the globe, and each continent. I have a blue ball and with each continent, we will cut out an outline of it and paste it onto the ball. Black marker at the end will mark the Equator, Prime Meridian, oceans and other important features. It will definitely not be to scale but I think they will understand the geography of the Earth better than just looking on a globe. I am intrigued by doing a paper mache globe, but considering where we will be, I think the blue ball will be more practical. We will be basing our history, science, sometimes literature and an art project off the continent or country we are studying. (some continents will be studied for two or three weeks). First will be Antarctica. I have gone to one of my favorite resources www.enchantedlearning.com to print off several worksheets, information pages and books about this. I choose to do for the older boys a printout on the geography of Antarctica with a quiz after, and a fill in map of Antarctica and a worksheet about Antarctic ex;plorers. . Along with a printout of the animals of Antarctica. (this wil be a short week for us with the traveling, so the work will be light this week). For the 5dd, I have an early reader book about snowflakes, and a map of Antarctica to color (she will listen to my reading the printout but not take the quiz). For everyone, I have a craft based on The Mitten, with mittens to cut out and color and animals to stick in them. It is one of our favorite books and appropriately snowy so I was kind of pleased to find that. Second will be Australia. For this one, for the older boys, I choose an eight page book for fluent readers with pages on geography, language, culture, animals, explorers, etc with questions afterwards. Printout about the Great Barrier Reef. We will learn about the Aboringines, play a game I made up in a co-op class once called the Walk About Game (made from construction paper, with pictures of Australian landmarks on some and on others instructions like "you tossed a boomerang and it came back, go forward two squares" or "you were eaten by a great white shark while swimming at the Great Barrier Reef, go back to the beginning". It is quite fun, simple to put together. The children themselves are the "game pieces", you just throw the construciton paper squares down on the floor). We will also make a didgeridoo out of wrapping paper tubes and paint/markers. Jessica will do all this but her book is a simpler, easy reader book. This is only for next week, and I have no idea about the book. I might pick an off subject book that would be fun to read as a family. I do not have them completely mapped out yet, but my ideas for the rest of the month are for Asia, studying probably China and Japan. China we will study famous philosphers, with our reading being The Tao of Pooh, one of my favorite books. We will study desert life, maybe make a desert diorama, or a large mural. For art, I want to do two different things....learning to write some Chinese letters or words, and making homemade paper bowls(since the Chinese invented paper). For Japan...an overview of Asian history, ocean life, origami. I have two different friends who are very into Japanese culture so I plan on pulling some more ideas from them. So far those are my plans. I know it sounds like a lot of handouts, but my two boys need work in reading comprehension and my daughter is learning to read so the printouts are dovetailing necessary reading lessons with learning about various subjects in history and science. I am going to try to plan as many hands on things as possible. I have plans for the other continents but I might change some of them so I will wait to write them. If any one has ideas for Japan....literature or art especially, I would love to hear them. |
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Nov. 27, 2007
becoming an adult or when do we learn?
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I have been thinking lately about education and the cultural expectations and mindset in this culture. Not just are your children homeschooled or formally schooled. The timetable of it all. Even among homeschoolers, not all I realize now that I have begun questioning this inside myself and thinking over all the different types of homeschoolers I have known over the years, we still accept the "start by five, college by eighteen" idea. This has become very relevant to me lately as my oldest turns eighteen Saturday, and though we have blessedly homeschooled in peace for the most part, now it feels like we are stepping out of that protective bubble and into the "real world". And the real world wants to know what she is going to do with her life. I realized through all of this that we as a culture, think of childhood as a time to learn, not just learn but stuff ourselves full of all the knowledge we need to be productive, successful adults. Which is a lot of information! And then we become those successful adults, whatever that means, and fill our lives full with all the bustle that entails. No time for learning there. Oh, maybe the occassional non-fiction best seller or the newest computer program we need for work. But taking the time to develop a skill, to let our mind unfold....it seems so...childish, doesn't it? My daughter is smart, confident, well, I think she is wonderful. She is currently studying for her GED/ACT. As well as other subjects she has taken on this year. She is working two jobs. One a fast food job on the surface, but in a wonderful momandpop establishment with people that are nearly like family. Many practical life skills being learned there. She recently started working for a local business doing filing. She just bought herself a computer. She is saving for a month long trip to England this spring with her aunt. She might start college summer or fall, but she is thinking about taking online classes and has begun researching what that means, how it will fit into her whole college experience if she decides to go to a campus. Which she wants to, just not sure which one. In fact, she is not sure what she wants to study at all. I am thinking over all of this, and .......I think she is doing a wonderful job of becoming a well-rounded, complete, fully educated person. Maybe she will not be in college when she is eighteen. Or maybe she will but stop and start like her mom did. I started at eighteen, but stopped a couple of times. Got married and had three of nine children while finishing. I graduated at 25.....I did not even declare my major until I was 23. What I thought I wanted to do....become a social worker.......would have been a disaster for me. My major in history, with a minor in English lit....perfect for a homeschool mom! And it was only because I needed a class, passed a bulletin board with a class for history advertised needing students, decided to give it a whirl and there I went. Letting my life unfold. Thinking faster would not have gotten me here, I needed to let life happen. There is no way around it. The people who ask do care about her and want her to have a happy life. The questions will come, the expectations will be there. I guess my role will be to be the strong one against them, to give her permission to continue swimming along as she will. She has done well so far. And my younger children....I have always taken a more leisurely pace to "schooling". At first it was because we were so busy being a family, I did not always have time to sit down and do four hours of school like everyone seemed to think I should. By being a family I mean....having nine children, moving every year, the stuff of our family. I realize other women manage this much better than I do. But this particular mom sometimes needs days devoted just to getting the house and home in order. School two or three days a week, given special attention on those days seemed to suit us more. At first I worried that my children were being cheated, then I noticed how high their retention rates were. How quick they were to pick up projects on their own. So we go slow. I know the very people who praise my children for being so bright, talented and happy would be shocked and appalled if they could see our days because they assume it must take diligent, hard work to produce capable adults. Well, being a mother is hard work, but it is also patient work. I think children need to unfold too. In cooking, sometimes you just boil the water, cook the noodles and eat. Other times you need to lower the temperature, simmer, adjust seasoning, simmer some more. Doesn't that kind of cooking bring life and comfort to a home? You anticipate the meal long before you actuallly sit down to it and that is part of the enjoyment. My chldren are not the noodles, they are my homemade sauce made with great care because people I love enjoy it. (By the way, the younger children today are building forts and baking cookies and building with blocks.  With each other. Math can wait! ) |
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Aug. 10, 2007
Posted in education
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Maybe with school starting for us in a week, I will get better about posting. Maybe. This week has been rather unique. My two oldest children have been away on a religious retreat (EFY to you other LDS people) in New York. Awesome opportunity for them, I can hardly wait for them to get back and tell me all about their experiences. My four middle-ish children have been with their dad. Since he is having to work away at the moment, we have been taking turns going down with him so he does not have to be alone. I love that they are having time to spend alone with their dad. So it has been just me and the three youngest munchkins, home alone this week. It has been a sweet week for me. I love toddlerhood. It is a sweet, loving, exciting world to live in. I did not realize how much of it I was missing out on with those big munchkins around to distract me. I can tell you right now who makes the mess and the noise in this house and it isn't these little guys! We will start school in our house the 20th. This is what I have decided to do....for the older ones, for History, I plan on using the Living History books, starting with US History. For Science, I just walked into Barnes and Noble and bought Chemistry and Biology textbooks right off the shelf. Times they are a changing from when I started this adventure. I bought a great compilation of classic poetry, that along with Shakespeare and some classic novels will be their English schedule. That is the core, they can fill in the rest with what they are curious about. My middle daughter Jenny has decided to go to public school. After much prayer and thought, I decided she might be right, this might be what she needs. I am praying that it will be a learning experience for her. Even if the learning is "wow, I prefer being home." I have written up new chore charts. Not so much about assigning rooms as assigning jobs. Morning, afternoon and evening jobs that we all do together to clear away the mess of the day, and have everything orderly and organized and then a deep cleaning day with rooms assigned once a week. This is only the maybe 30th chore system I have come up with since becoming a mom? Hope this one lasts the school year...I think it has promise. So that is us. This summer has been so crazy with going here and there, I am looking forward to starting school. Long days at home, doing work, learning, cooking, being together....that sounds so lovely right now. |
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will be doing a couple of good reading workbooks, Teach Your Child to Read In a Hundred Easy Lessons, math from edhelper, and some fun lessons from Five In A Row. All in all, I am very pleased with our plans. This will be the first time I will be not either pregnant, or nursing, or with a small baby, and I am excited about immersing myself in our school. Jun. 4, 2007
Need help with curriculum choices
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I have no counter.......I have no idea how many people drop by my blog, other than a few nice friends who regularly comment. But....just in case more come by than I think........I thought I would throw this out there. I, the girl who never uses curriculum, is considering using carefully selected curriculum for certain subjects next year. I am not sure I will find something that fits my criteria. One.....it has to be interesting. No dry reading, no busy work, no schooly assignments (the kind that sound so much more interesting to teachers than to students). Two.....I want the perspective to be neutral. I prefer to implant my own opinions in my children. Just present the facts accurately thank you and let me do the rest. So most Christian curriculum, even though I agree with their perspective, would not fit. I remember a certain Science curriculum we tried once. You would never know it was a science curriculum, all they ever talked about was religion. I do not want to have evolution and other scientific theories presented as undisputable facts, but I also want it to be a science curriculum. The same with History......we enjoy other cultures, their beauty and their accomplishments. I do not want to hear more about the missionaries sent to Christianize them than the people themselves. I remember one book in particular was so condescending toward all other cultures than white Christian, it was ........a lot of words that aren't nice. So the perspective needs to be neutral. Or Christian but thoughtful and thorough. 3. inexpensive would be nice. I still have a lot of books on my list, so I want my funds to go as far as possible. All of these need to be for my two middle boys.....10 and 9. I would like a science, a history, and a spelling curriculum for them. The spelling I would rather not be based on grade level, but teaching them how to spell. So that within one year they can get what they need and move on. Maybe a grammar course too with the same idea. Not a piece this year and then some next year. A complete grammar course. Not asking much, huh? I wonder if I will find something out there. I have heard of Delta science units, if anyone else has used them, could you please tell me how you liked them? |
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May. 26, 2007
How I homeschool
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This entry is being copied and pasted from a homeschooling discussion board I am part of . I worked pretty hard on it so I decided to post it here too. Because I am out of time! Too much housework, no blogging time!
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May. 17, 2007
Lately
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I thought we were going to go ahead and have summer vacation..........then I thought we were going to continue...........now I am not sure what we are doing. I have to say I am enjoying the pace of our days though. I made those bookmark folders for internet sites for the two middle boys(8 and 9)....they are studying math, reading, and US geography on the computer. My middle daughter(12) is designing a website for her reports. We have struggled to find an educational style that fits her. She enjoys web design and doing reports so we combined them. She does research and writes the reports online along with graphics. Her report on Norway....she is making a music video of scenes from Norway to go along with the written report. It seems for the moment we have found a nice way for her to learn. My oldest are trying to finish up their math and reading classic novels. My oldest son(15 almost 16) has taken up playing checkers online while listening to classical music. He swears this is improving his brain power mightily. We catch good documentaries when we find them. Sunday was the last week for Bleak House on Masterpiece Theatre. We all loved it, most especially the younger boys. I looked over Net Flix this morning....usually we are instant gratification people so we have delayed joining. They have 161 Imax documentaries! What a summer vacation that could be! We watched the Republican debate the other night and had good conversations over it. My oldest daughter will be able to vote for the first time this election. I came away confused. The person I expected to like ....I did not. Someone I would have sworn I would not....I did. Lots to think about. The boys have been fishing three times this week. This morning, our second oldest son(14) willingly and even cheerfully agreed/offered to take his younger sisters, 3 and nearly 5, fishing as well. They had a great time though so far all I have heard are guppy tales. Just this afternoon, (I even delayed writing this morning so I could write about it) we went down to the nature trail. It is not much, but we think it is charming. Some one set it up long ago and it has suffered benign neglect ever since. So it is a pretty little wilderness with bark trails and signs naming some of the trees. We saw peppermint in the woods, as well as lambs ear and two types of pretty wildflowers though I have no idea the name and the guide books are packed. We saw beautiful brown butterflies with orange stripes (dd3 especially wanted to see butterflies so this was sweet). There was an absolutely beautiful tree called a "Sunburst Honeylocust". It was smaller, had fern like leaves that at the moment are a beautiful yellow. Gorgeous tree, I want one! The children also played by the river bank for a few minutes in the sand. It was a lovely spot....dabbled shade, the sound of the aspen leaves blowing and the river floating along. I could have sat there all afternoon. In fact, next time they want to go to the park, I might just pack the sand toys and take them there instead. On the way home, I pulled over to the side of the road for my son to pick some wildflowers for me to press. I am not sure if that was legal or not.......I know you cannot in a national forest. They sure are pretty though. They will make a beautiful picture. So that is us. Not much. What I really hate is that we keep forgetting to read our scriptures. I hate even admitting that. We used to do it in the morning, as part of school but then dh was not able to be there. So we moved them into the evening and cannot find a good time. We did it for 21 days straight and treated ourselves to Dairy Queen. But since.....some here and then not. I hate moving them back to the morning though. It is so nice having dh with us. Oh, well, we will keep trying! Stephanie |
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Apr. 19, 2007
About living up to our potential
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I have been thinking about this often over the past year. A couple of comments to another of my posts, that our greatest joy as mothers is to see our children walk in truth, sentiments I completely agree with, led me a little bit further down the path. I remember a scripture, Luke 2:52........And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. God of course values our spiritual strength, faith and testimony, but what could Jesus have been doing that would cause Him to increase in favor with man? Did you know that in Matthew 5:48 where it says Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect, that if you take the Greek word originally written as perfect and examine its further meaning, it means something closer to "fully developed"? I think about how Christ, even though He knew His divine mission, still became a carpenter. What kind of carpenter do you think He was? I imagine wood became an art form under His hands. I think about the way God made me, the way He made my husband, my children. It says in James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights....... So God gives good gifts. My children's gift of music, my love of art and nature and beauty, my husband's intelligence and skill at electrical things, the various other skills that are beginning to show up in my children.........they are good gifts from God. While I think our love of Him and our desire to live our lives according please Him the most, I think we have an obligation to use His other gifts to us as well. We need to try to became as developed as possible, in all things. So when I think about what I want, what I hope for my children, first and foremost, I hope to help them develop strong testimonies, to know where the true answers are. I am very pleased that this seems to be the case. I also want to be able to help them find, and begin to develop whatever other gifts God gave them. We know from the Parable of the Talents, when we use these talents, these gifts from God, wisely, more are added to us and we are considered wise stewards. I think this takes quiet reflection, time to let life unfold, Be still and know that I am God. I try to listen and be aware of where my children's special gifts might lie and look for ways to let them develop them. I try to say yes to them as much as I can, while being a wise parent. I think this is one of the traps a world quickly going downhill is falling into.........individual gifts are not being valued as they should. People are contributing less and less to the world as a whole. Striving less for excellence, settling for mediocrity. While I feel fairly certain my children will not become Nobel prize scientists, or anything that will make them famous, I want very much for them to be the best of whatever it is God planted inside them. So we study dreaded Geometry, and read Shakespeare and learn about chemistry. While loving God and clinging to Him, we still search among the things of the world for the best, the brightest, the most inspired. If ever my children have a chance to contribute to these things, I want them to be prepared. Stephanie |
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Apr. 17, 2007
Spring fever
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I have not written about the learning projects we have had going on lately. There would be a reason for that. Either it is boring stuff or it is not happening. We were doing so well.........then the children all clamored for a week off for Spring Break. That was about a month ago. We have done schooly bits here and there, but all the life has gone out of them. Everything we are doing feels so boring! When I wrote about unschooling the other day, I realized that is still where my heart is. Actually, I think what I call unschooling is really more Montessori. Provide a learning environment and let them loose. We are moving soon. I have no idea where,but that is the reality of construction. You build it, then you go build it somewhere else. After we move, I intend to set up a room with all sort of bits in it. Lots of art supplies, because my Jessica cannot go a day without making something. Art posters. Maps, Science bits, like the seashells my Mom just sent us with some books on seashells, nature journals with field guides, rocks and rock books, star charts, whatever.......Math manipulatives and games. Reading books and a comfy chair. I know others have this already so hardly a new idea. In my mind, I feel like I would be creating a mini-children's museum right in my own house. How fun would that be to go into every day! The other day, I was thinking along these same lines.....how bored I was and had this been a good school year? I think it has been our schooly-ist year yet and maybe we needed one of those. But now, it is Spring and I am bored! And if I am bored............ I started slapping myself around a little, because I have not made it to a couple of little museums here in town. Then I started making a list of what we have done..........(remember we are in the middle of cowboy country........the Wild West is a not-too-distant memory) we have toured a 19th century mansion, a cowboy cemetary, watched a Wild West variety show, went through a pioneer museum, attended a pioneer festival, went eagle watching three times this past winter, bird watching a few times, went to Mount Rushmore, have spent a lot of time at a local nature walk looking for signs of spring, attended a rodeo, have seen real live buffaloes....even feed them, ..........I am running out of things, that must be it. Not to mention other little things thrown in. All the cooking and music and books and library time and field trips and co-op. That with all the bookish stuff thrown in..........See, I am sitting here trying to figure out if I have done enough to officially start summer vacation LOL. No, because there is still so much for them to learn. I have to start my thinking though so I can come up with something fun for the next two months. |
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Apr. 2, 2007
Oh, be still my heart!
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It happened today.....the moment we homeschooling moms live for. After forcing my older children to read the Scarlett Letter, my fourteen year old son came to me and said......(take a deep breath)......"Mom after reading that book, all the old books I used to read( Redwall, Eragon, Harry Potter, etc....) just aren't enough for me, I need to start reading more books like that". Jaw dropped to the floor, eyes about to pop out of my head. Oh my. I gathered myself and stammered, "well, there are plenty more where that came from, I will make a list for you to choose from". Oh my. |
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Mar. 6, 2007
Eureka moment
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I have had those moments in the past with my children....where you see their eyes light up and you realize the cloud has just lifted and they understand. It is a sweet thing, one of the reasons I homeschool...I would never let anyone else have those moments instead of me.....but usually they involve reading. Yesterday's involved long division. Long division. My ds9 who only started reading basically this year but has been doing difficult math problems in his head since he was five....finally understood long division yesterday. He was excited, his eyes were glowing, his voice was breathless........over long division. Shaking my head on that one. |
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Jan. 12, 2007
Kenya, and Snuggle Puppies
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As I read over what we do, it seems so little compared to what I did with the older ones at Thomas and Joshua's age. I had so many projects and field trips planned and going. The last two babies have taken away most of my steam(not that I regret having them.....how could I possibly?). I am working on eating healthy, taking some herbs and vitamin supplements to strengthen my digestive systems and hormone levels, working on getting back in shape. I really am a healthy person, I just feel tired and drained. I wonder sometimes if I should put them in school. Even with me running at a slower speed,I think being educated at home is a better experience for them. They really are smart children who love to learn and try new things. When the older ones were younger, it was apparent to me I would not have a bunch of homeschool prodigies on my hands. I was a little disappointed and wondered if it was a reflection of my skills as an educator. That sounds silly to me now, but back then it seemed like so many of those children were in the news and featured in magazines. Having teenagers now though, including two who will be starting college next year......I may not have any prodigies but I have, as I keep saying with too much pride probably, intelligent, thoughtful, ethical children. They know how to think through the issues, how to solve problems, how to learn new skills. Our homeschooling days may not be full of creative unit studies and science experiments in the basement, but they are producing these children that are going to make wonderful adults, the kind I will be so pleased to know and have a part of my life. So with that said, this is what we did this week........ More reading lessons for Thomas and Joshua. Math worksheets. We have been on a board game kick lately. I think they have played chess every day. Might be why Jessica is so into pirates.....it is a Pirates of the Caribbean chess set. Thomas is into cooking now.....which I love because he reads the recipes mostly by himself. Today we had our co-op day.....it was geography...Kenya. Samantha did a presentation on the landscape of the country and the animals. Dawn talked about an uncle of J who also attended our co-op with Dawn's children..who is actually a Kenyan artist and lives in a village there. That was a bit serendipitous. I prepared some Kenyan food....sambosas(meat pastries), chapitas(bread...a lot like tortillas), and vegetable curry. And fresh mangoes. I think the mangoes were my favorite part of the meal. Actually Dawn and Samantha helped quite a bit with the meal. I was in a little bit over my head. It was a good day. The teenagers are steadily working on their stuff. I happen to think teenagers are the greatest thing......why do people complain about them so much? They need to come hang out with mine. Jenny has kept her room clean and done her schoolwork without prompting for a week.....and helped with the little ones and done chores willingly. Ok.....I like Jenny....she is a fun, creative girl but these are not usually her strengths. I like it! I hope this new behavior sticks around! We did not realize until this week that this was to be Samantha and even Ryan's last year of homeschooling (Ryan will be sixteen....he has always wanted to start college at sixteen to have a few years behind him before going on a mission). Wow! I am going to have two homeschool graduates! Scary and exciting at the same time. Jessica and Sarah.....no reading lessons this week.....I have been too busy reading them books. They are insatiable.... I love it. We checked out the cutest, silliest book out of the library....Snuggle Puppies. So sappy, we love it. Jessica likes me to read it campy over the top but Sarah likes it sweet and sincere. Funny how they are different. Very tired tonight. The house has been clean all week, but now is a wreck and I am too tired to care. Walt and I are heading in to town for shopping and maybe bowling tommorow. I need to teach a lesson Sunday. Really I want a nap. I might need to take Monday off to recharge for the rest of the week. I have talked to friends who say that their last babies affected them this way and after a few years of taking care of themselves, they rebounded. I hope so. |
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Jan. 10, 2007
Humpty Dumpty, numbers, and Pirates
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Today was a better day. We had a family meeting and reorganized chores. I talked with the older children to re-emphasize what their course of study was, see how everyone's progression was,and made future plans. I think they are doing well. They are starting "A Midsummer Night's Dream". By the end of the month, they will be done with Grammar and the Constitution and will start Composition and Current Affairs. I want to do a family course in Chemistry over the summer. Samantha and I talked yesterday about this being her last year of homeschooling. She is seventeen, next year would be her Senior year but I think she is ready for college. So of course, we have to start thinking about the tests and filling in the gaps of her knowledge. A bit frustrating since she knows so much more about so many things than the average teenager, but her body of knowledge is not going to be represented on the tests. Just a few things. I think she will do amazingly well. She is going to read through our "Science Encyclopedia", some American History books and finish up her Geometry. I wish she had finished more math, but all in all, she is well educated, articulate and thoughtful. Thomas and Joshua did phonics today, some math exercises(I had been going easy on math lately to allow more work on reading, but I don't want them to fall behind), and we played with their anatomy model they received for Christmas. Almost could not put the darn thing back together! The liver and the stomach would not fit back tightly. Samantha of course was able to fix it. They also played chess. When I finish with this, each of them are also going to read to me from "The Cat in the Hat". It will be very easy for Thomas but I want him to practise not sounding out every word. It is right about Joshua's level though and will be good practise for him. I did read all the library books to Jessica and Sarah! Including a very cute one about pirates "Edward and the Pirates". I was pleased in finding that one because Jessica has been wanting to play pirates every day lately. She loved it. We had also checked out "The Snowy Day" but she was not ready to turn that one back in. She did a little bit of preschool math off edhelper .com After reading with Thomas and Joshua, I will play Battleship with Jessica.....good practice in recognizing letters and numbers. |
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Jan. 5, 2007
Birds, reading, King Lear, and Kinex
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New Year's resolution......be better at documenting our homeschooling! Even the weeks that are nothing to brag about. Monday of course, we had New Year's dinner with some friends, ham, black-eyed peas and cornbread. I may be living in Nebraska, but I am a southern girl. Tuesday.....horrible headache. Though the fog in my brain, I managed somehow to rationalize not starting for one more day. We did have friends come over for a PE activity. We spent a little bit of time doing karate from a tape Joshua received at Christmas and a lot of time playing. Wednesday..... we started back but slowly. Mostly I did reading with the four reading, pre-reading children. Thomas and Joshua(9 and 8) are reading steadily now but still much under grade level....whatever that is supposed to mean. They are progressing steadily though. Jessica(4) is learning her letters and sounds very well and very quickly. The four oldest children were all reading by late 4, early 5 and I am embarrassed to admit how determined I am to have Jessica in this category. Thomas and Joshua are so very smart.....confirmed by people other than their mom. I do feel the sting of their late reading though.....like this is because I have failed then. I know, in my saner moments, I have not. They know so much about everything and are confident and eager learners. Enough of that......I also am working with Sarah(nearly 3) to learn her letters......I know this will not truly click in her brain for quite awhile but she loves doing "homework" with Mom. Not having had lessons for two weeks we had to do a bit of review and this took awhile. I also had Thomas and Joshua write some words from their reading pages. Jessica and Sarah did two pages out of their little workbooks.....Jessica did great at picking out beginning sounds and matching that to letters. Thomas spent some time reading on his own in his bird book(happy mom!). Thomas and Joshua both spent some time putting together their Kinex kit(complete with motor), something I think takes imagination and problem solving which makes it "schoolwork" in my house! We also watched some shows on the National Geographic channel, but I cannot remember which ones. Volcanoes, and something about animals who are not fish but can swim anyway. Thursday....this was much the same as Wedsnesday. The greatest part of my morning was spent doing reading with each of them. Thomas and Joshua had a small spelling test over the words they wrote Wedsnesday....not so much about the words themselves but as a check for me to see if they were learning the sounds and could write them down when they heard them. They did fairly wel. I am not mentioning what the teenagers are doing.....each of them are reading the Constitution, doing their own math work, working through a grammar book, and are preparing to do a reader's theatre version of one scene from King Lear which they finally finished listening to. The great thing about them is that it doesn't not take as much direct involvement on my part. I plan, direct, and gather resources and then leave it up to them. Sometimes they direct themselves in certain areas.....nothing makes me happier than that. We also encourage them to practice a musical instrument every day. I think that part has been slacking in the two younger boys though......good thing I am writing in my blog so I can remember to "encourage" them. I read two books to the little girls, something I am so bad at remembering to do that I have had to make it part of their "curriculum". More science documentaries.....the boys especially love those. More Kinex. Jessica built herself a car. Samantha finished "David Copperfield". I made a mild suggestion to her months ago about reading this book....she did it. How many teenage girls would read "David Copperfield" on their own steam....you just have to love homeschool kids! Friday....this morning we went over to some friends' house to have our little co-op. It is just our two families but the ages of the children are just right. This year we plan to get together twice a week....once for a physical activity and once for a learning activity....science, geography, art, history. Today was science....we did some birdwatching activities....talked about how to do it, made a bird watching report book and a birdfeeder, and played a bird memory game(a beautiful game with photographs of real birds....splurged on it at a state park gift shop....so glad I did). Tonight we are supposed to be treated to a performace of King Lear. Tommorow we are going as a family to a local eagle watching station.....hopefully the eagles have started coming to our little lake to feed. The ranger told us that last year they cited as many as 60 at a time. Wouldn't that be a sight....60 bald eagles at once? I will have to write later about the play and the eagles. |
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Dec. 6, 2006
How and why we do this
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Recently I was discussing homeschooling with a new friend, also a homeschooler. She was expressing frustration with herself, feeling a bit burned out and wondering if her children were receiving enough. I said the usual things, how one great day of homeschooling was worth a week at school, that we all have these periods, how I work myself out of them. All true, but what she needed me to say was the honest truth. How laid back I am, how we never manage to do more than three, usually two, schooly type days per week. How I am rarely the one with the well-planned unit study. How my science experiments always fail. How wonderful, smart and talented my children are anyway. Not just anyway, but because I have learned something important over the years...... I think one of the most important parts of successful homeschooling, family style(I know that sounds like an oxymoron, I mean as a lifestyle rather than just the place your children sit in front of the books) is for the teacher, the mother, to know herself. Her strengths, her gifts, her weakness. I am all for stretching yourself, giving your children the very best you can. Not settling for mediocrity just because that is the easiest way to get through life. I have found over the years that I need to be true to myself and the way God created me. He absolutely did not make me organized and scheduled. I have learned how to be just enough so that my home functions, that my family is cared for. When I stretch myself too far in that direction however, I become grumpy, stiffled, not much fun. The best parts of me disappear. So homeschooling at my house.....we do have a structure......which we follow mostly. They do study math, reading. Also, art, literature, nature, the Constitution, history, Shakespeare. Another mother would emphasize different areas of study. However, these are my children. They were given to me (and my husband) and I feel I should give to them of me --not what someone else thinks I should be, but who I truly am. So when we do our schooly bits, it is mostly my loves, my interests, the things I want to share with them. My children also have free reign in the kitchen and are wonderful cooks. They all have taught themselves mostly how to play the piano. We have had periods where they took violin and trumpet lessons, but currently they are studying those on their own. Three of my children have taught themselves to program computers. Jenny's website has won three awards, she is also the one who designs my blog templates, including my current one with a fire that crackles. Part of this I know my husband and I can take no credit for. We have been abundantly blessed with sweet, smart, talented, strong children. If we can take any credit anywhere, it is that we have given them freedom......within a warm, secure home. I feel Heavenly Father does approve of what we have done, because of all the blessings that come to us. The opportunities that drop in our lap at just the right times that keep propelling us down this path. So, back to my friend.....what I would have said differently. I would not have put on the brave face. I know I was just holding my own weaknesses back from her, because that is what we do. I would have let her see my weaknesses, so that she would not feel so badly about her own. And then I would have encouraged her to continue being herself, a loving mom who cares about her children. I would have told her that in doing so, her children are receiving enough, more than enough.
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Jun. 8, 2006
He finally did it
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Thomas finally sat down and read a whole book by himself. I am so proud. I asked him afterwards what it was about......he said he has no idea, he was too busy reading to pay attention to the story. That's ok, I am still proud. By the end of the summer, I think no one would ever be able to know he was "behind" the reading curve. Thankf ully he loves books....we have always read books aloud to him.....so he has a great motivation to work on this. |
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Mar. 22, 2006
Day started slow, ended great
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Until about 11, today seemed like a nothing day. Gray and cold. And windy. I had to go to the vet and pick up our kitty. He is doing better, but the bill! Whoa. I spend more on vet bills lately than I do pediatricians. At that point, his future was still a little iffy but he is doing wonderfully tonight. Eating on his own though we are still having to force water. After vet, I drop my daughter off and without even going inside, go pick up a friend to go visit a couple of women who are members of our church. I had made a promise to visit these women every month, to check on them and make sure they didn't need anything, or rather to see if they did, but I have to admit my heart wasn't in it this morning. Yet, I had made the obligation so there I went. It was only an hour to visit the two, yet I realized in the second house, I had not even seen my youngest daughter because she was asleep when I went to the vets. I missed her so terribly at that moment. I sped home and she was waiting for me at the door. It seems she had missed me too.  Cuddle the baby, made my Joshua(ds7) his favorite lunch.....which is rice and beans of all things. Won't eat veggies but loves rice and beans.  And whole wheat bread with pumpkin butter. So, after lunch, have a long, overdue talk with ds8, Thomas, about being good and kind and right even when others aren't and how to make better choices in certain situations. It was a good moment between the two of us. I hope he remembers it later.  Then we had two great lessons in a row....American History and Earth Science. I don't know why they were great, but they asked a lot of questions and wow, I knew the answers. In fact, Thomas came back later with more questions about types of rock and we looked some stuff up and talked more. Even did a science experiment/demonstration on how sediment forms. Nothing fancy, just good learning. We have been slackers lately and I was determined to do some stuff today. Still haven't started helping the older girls' make their skirts but that is what tommorow is for! So the day started slow, seemed like a lost cause, but by tonight, it felt good. |
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