"but a pupil so inflexibly determined on learning as Anne was could hardly escape making progress under any kind of a teacher." --Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
If you know much about me you know that I'm not an unschooler. There is a minimal level of work that I require from my kids to reassure myself that I'm doing "enough." But philosophically, I believe in letting children having tons of free, unstructured time to play and work and invent and learn all on their own. I had two instances this week of that philosophy at work.
Jake reads mostly comic books. I have mixed feelings about this: on the one hand I'm glad he's reading anything, but on the other I wish he would read something that would look a little better on a resume. I know, he's only 7, give me a break. But anyway I'm always on the lookout for quality books that might interest him. One such gem I discovered at the library is Archie's War by Marcia Williams. It looks like a scrapbook, written by a boy named Archie growing up in London during World War I. It has cartoons, notes, postcards, news clippings, letters, photos, all kinds of things that a little boy might have saved, drawn, or written during this time period. Jake literally sleeps with this book. As you can imagine, he's also been asking lots of questions about World War I! But I was the most impressed when he was standing at the map of the world, book in hand, asking where all of the countries he was reading about were located. Now he knows all about who was on what side and where those countries are in relation to each other. And it made we realize that we need a better map of Europe!
Then there's Grace, who approached me with a poem that she had written with all kinds of "thee"s and "thy"s in it*. But mostly, it didn't make much sense, and she told me that was the point--she just liked the sound of the words and wanted to play with them. Leave it to Grace to make even the English language bend to her will! We had not been discussing poetry at all, though when I read her poem I looked up Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky in about one minute (what did we ever do before the internet?!?) and read it to her. She liked it fine. I'm sure she'll always be more impressed with her own work that with anyone else's!
So at moments like those I feel like I'm we're doing the right thing. Like Anne Shirley's teacher Mr. Phillips, I might not be a very good teacher, but luckily these kids are inflexibly determined on learning!
*Shared with Grace's permission. Copied verbatim, including lack of punctuation and stanzas from her handwriting:
Welcome to thy, thee chaser blow, welcoming thy to thee warm care, and saving thee a sare room. At duth blow it shall send thee away, but in summer hot it shall call for thee to stay
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Sometimes I Win
We listen to a lot of books on tape in the car. With four kids, there aren't enough hours in the day to read aloud to everyone enough, plus my voice can get tired. Books on tape (CD, now, because the new minivan doesn't have a tape player) let us all enjoy a story, especially on days when we have a lot of driving. We've read Peter Pan, lots of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Ramona and Henry Huggins books by Beverly Cleary, all kinds of good stuff.
So, by chance, we started listening to The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett. Grace and I had thoroughly enjoyed A Little Princess by the same author last fall, and I had never read the Secret Garden and found it on the library shelf. We started listening to it in late January, I think.
Now, this winter we have had record snow storms. Two feet all at once before Christmas, and another two feet in January. School kids were out of school for something like two whole weeks (we homeschoolers of course still did school most every day, especially if dad went to work. They still get plenty of play time whether we do lessons or not). So we were all pretty happy to start seeing some grass here and there. In The Secret Garden she talks a lot about things looking dead and waiting to come alive again. She especially talks about the bulbs--the crocuses and the tulips and the "daffy-down-dillies." And the book describes their green shoots pushing their way up through the soil into the late winter sun. And then the invalid boy Colin learns to walk and runs into his father's arms and says that he's going to live "forevah and evah!" It's very touching.
So we finish the book, and the same week the snow is really melting down, and I point out to the kids the tulip shoots near the front walk that we planted last fall. And the kids proceed to run from spot to spot, remembering where they had each chosen to plant their bulbs, SO EXCITED that they were sprouting just like in the book. I couldn't have timed it better if I had tried, which I hadn't. It was one of those awesome coincidences and joyful parenting moments that you just can't plan. So you see, sometimes I win!
So, by chance, we started listening to The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett. Grace and I had thoroughly enjoyed A Little Princess by the same author last fall, and I had never read the Secret Garden and found it on the library shelf. We started listening to it in late January, I think.
Now, this winter we have had record snow storms. Two feet all at once before Christmas, and another two feet in January. School kids were out of school for something like two whole weeks (we homeschoolers of course still did school most every day, especially if dad went to work. They still get plenty of play time whether we do lessons or not). So we were all pretty happy to start seeing some grass here and there. In The Secret Garden she talks a lot about things looking dead and waiting to come alive again. She especially talks about the bulbs--the crocuses and the tulips and the "daffy-down-dillies." And the book describes their green shoots pushing their way up through the soil into the late winter sun. And then the invalid boy Colin learns to walk and runs into his father's arms and says that he's going to live "forevah and evah!" It's very touching.
So we finish the book, and the same week the snow is really melting down, and I point out to the kids the tulip shoots near the front walk that we planted last fall. And the kids proceed to run from spot to spot, remembering where they had each chosen to plant their bulbs, SO EXCITED that they were sprouting just like in the book. I couldn't have timed it better if I had tried, which I hadn't. It was one of those awesome coincidences and joyful parenting moments that you just can't plan. So you see, sometimes I win!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Why you should store your math manipulatives in a shoebox
Today we're sitting down to schoolwork, and Grace is grumbling about it, as usual. She says she's tired of adding on her fingers. I think she finds it tedious. "But you get the right answers," I tell her, "so what does it matter?" I offer her the units blocks, for a change of pace. They are usually even more tedious, so we don't use them much. But they are colorful and she can stack them and maybe goof off some more before getting to her worksheet. They are stored in a shoebox. She gets them out, grumbles some more. Then she stops suddenly, examining the box. She asks, "Mom, was this already written on this box?" I go to see what she means. On the Nike shoebox is written: "JUST DO IT." Yes, dear, that was already on the box when the shoes came in it. "It's like it's talking to me!" She exclaims. She gets down to work. Thanks, Nike.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Honeymoon is Over
Now I remember why I blog so infrequently--when there's something to blog about, I'm busy. When I'm not busy, there's nothing to blog about! That, and the excitement of starting something is what I like, not the follow-through.
So here we are in week three of the not-school year, and the rapturous joy of new books and the high from the smell of new erasers has faded. Last week Grace had an all-out tantrum over. . . I forget. I was proud that I kept my cool, and she did come around. When she saw that Jake got to start his new handwriting book and she still had lots to go in her manual from last year, she sighed and did another page all on her own. I'm taking inspiration from the Charlotte Mason seminar I watched on DVD and doing very short lessons. The kids seem surprised when I tell them they can be done. The point is to keep them interested for the next time, and it seems to be working.
Our Beyond Five in a Row book is The Boxcar Children, and there are so many activities that I want to do for each chapter that it's taking us a long time to read the book. We're on chapter 5 out of 13. They just want to hurry up and see what happens already. I have been asking them to do a narration (probably the most important Charlotte Mason tool) after I read each chapter and they have both taken to it very well. By telling back everything they remember about the reading it forces them to put it in order and really understand it. It's like speaking an essay, and requires a lot more brain power than answering direct questions. Which makes me less worried about not requiring a lot of writing from them. They both write spontaneously anyway.
Map Drill is something new I'm trying, and so far it was a big hit. The kids fill in a blank map (I'm starting with North America) by looking at an atlas. I started with the entire continent, and after a few weeks of filling it in once a week we'll move into the territories and states. I hope by the end of the year to make it down into the Carribean and Central America, both of which are mostly fuzzy to even me. Next year I've already promised them Asia, although Europe or South America might make more sense. But with my sister here they'll be studying Japan anyway, and there's all the WWII tie-ins so maybe we'll just move around the globe to the West.
I still don't know what to do with the little ones while we school. Claire is all fired up for learning, but there's really nothing much that I feel like she's missing. She's going to have her handwriting book filled out in no time. I've logged her on to Starfall.com and I've let her play Club Penguin while we're doing lessons, but it's hard for the older two not to get sucked in to watching her play. My getting up early could be beneficial in this regard, but as I'm typing this at 12:43AM I can assure you this will not start tomorrow! I have started giving her a letter to fill in with things that start with that letter like Grace and Jake did at that age. "A" was apple prints, which didn't come out great but you get the idea. She stayed outside painting long after the others had finished. She went around finishing up the others' paints off of their palettes. "One of these things is not like the others. . ." In any case, we bought buttons today for "B."
At the Nats vs. Dodgers game last night Jim commented that the kids are getting a great Liberal Arts education. I took that as a compliment, since that is basically my goal. It's interesting how much he's thinking about education now that he's a teacher himself. He was also well impressed with Grace's cursive. But I can't really take credit for that, she just works her way through the book. She wants to know how to type but I think that will have to wait until next year. Jake, on the other hand, got frustrated with his math because he had to write out the names of the people in the word problems and he couldn't remember how to make a lower case "a." We had to get out his handwriting book so he could finish his math! He also had a hard time with understanding what the question was asking for, i.e. the name of the person vs. the total number of objects they had at the end of the problem. Just another difference in learning styles between those two.
On the way home from the game, we somehow got to talking about how wars get started. We said wars can get started all different ways. So Jake said, "name 10." Starting with the American Revolution, Jim ticked off all the American wars and why they started. I think we ended up with only 8 total ways they get started, even though there's something like 12 wars. We won them all except for Vietnam, which we lost, and Korea, which we tied. A great history/social studies lesson for 10:30 at night!
We went apple picking last week because Grace wanted to for her birthday, and even though the two families that said they would show up didn't, we had a great time. We were back to crowing about how much we loved homeschooling, because we wouldn't be having such a lovely day if everyone were in school. Really, as frazzled as I feel sometimes I know it would be worse for us with school. Homeschooling is kind of like a marriage. It starts out with all these lovey-dovey, new feelings. Reality sets in, and fights over how things are going to be. Then there's acceptance, and a rhythm develops, and a mutual contentedness when you realize that you really do have it good. That doesn't mean it's all going to be candlelight and roses, but it sure beats being single. Know what I mean?
So here we are in week three of the not-school year, and the rapturous joy of new books and the high from the smell of new erasers has faded. Last week Grace had an all-out tantrum over. . . I forget. I was proud that I kept my cool, and she did come around. When she saw that Jake got to start his new handwriting book and she still had lots to go in her manual from last year, she sighed and did another page all on her own. I'm taking inspiration from the Charlotte Mason seminar I watched on DVD and doing very short lessons. The kids seem surprised when I tell them they can be done. The point is to keep them interested for the next time, and it seems to be working.
Our Beyond Five in a Row book is The Boxcar Children, and there are so many activities that I want to do for each chapter that it's taking us a long time to read the book. We're on chapter 5 out of 13. They just want to hurry up and see what happens already. I have been asking them to do a narration (probably the most important Charlotte Mason tool) after I read each chapter and they have both taken to it very well. By telling back everything they remember about the reading it forces them to put it in order and really understand it. It's like speaking an essay, and requires a lot more brain power than answering direct questions. Which makes me less worried about not requiring a lot of writing from them. They both write spontaneously anyway.
Map Drill is something new I'm trying, and so far it was a big hit. The kids fill in a blank map (I'm starting with North America) by looking at an atlas. I started with the entire continent, and after a few weeks of filling it in once a week we'll move into the territories and states. I hope by the end of the year to make it down into the Carribean and Central America, both of which are mostly fuzzy to even me. Next year I've already promised them Asia, although Europe or South America might make more sense. But with my sister here they'll be studying Japan anyway, and there's all the WWII tie-ins so maybe we'll just move around the globe to the West.
I still don't know what to do with the little ones while we school. Claire is all fired up for learning, but there's really nothing much that I feel like she's missing. She's going to have her handwriting book filled out in no time. I've logged her on to Starfall.com and I've let her play Club Penguin while we're doing lessons, but it's hard for the older two not to get sucked in to watching her play. My getting up early could be beneficial in this regard, but as I'm typing this at 12:43AM I can assure you this will not start tomorrow! I have started giving her a letter to fill in with things that start with that letter like Grace and Jake did at that age. "A" was apple prints, which didn't come out great but you get the idea. She stayed outside painting long after the others had finished. She went around finishing up the others' paints off of their palettes. "One of these things is not like the others. . ." In any case, we bought buttons today for "B."
At the Nats vs. Dodgers game last night Jim commented that the kids are getting a great Liberal Arts education. I took that as a compliment, since that is basically my goal. It's interesting how much he's thinking about education now that he's a teacher himself. He was also well impressed with Grace's cursive. But I can't really take credit for that, she just works her way through the book. She wants to know how to type but I think that will have to wait until next year. Jake, on the other hand, got frustrated with his math because he had to write out the names of the people in the word problems and he couldn't remember how to make a lower case "a." We had to get out his handwriting book so he could finish his math! He also had a hard time with understanding what the question was asking for, i.e. the name of the person vs. the total number of objects they had at the end of the problem. Just another difference in learning styles between those two.
On the way home from the game, we somehow got to talking about how wars get started. We said wars can get started all different ways. So Jake said, "name 10." Starting with the American Revolution, Jim ticked off all the American wars and why they started. I think we ended up with only 8 total ways they get started, even though there's something like 12 wars. We won them all except for Vietnam, which we lost, and Korea, which we tied. A great history/social studies lesson for 10:30 at night!
We went apple picking last week because Grace wanted to for her birthday, and even though the two families that said they would show up didn't, we had a great time. We were back to crowing about how much we loved homeschooling, because we wouldn't be having such a lovely day if everyone were in school. Really, as frazzled as I feel sometimes I know it would be worse for us with school. Homeschooling is kind of like a marriage. It starts out with all these lovey-dovey, new feelings. Reality sets in, and fights over how things are going to be. Then there's acceptance, and a rhythm develops, and a mutual contentedness when you realize that you really do have it good. That doesn't mean it's all going to be candlelight and roses, but it sure beats being single. Know what I mean?
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Book Talk, Wings of Fancy
Today we resumed an activity that we'd tried last year and enjoyed but because of scheduling conflicts couldn't do more than once--Book Talk. It's organized through Lumen Christi, the Catholic homeschool group I joined so I wouldn't feel like the mom with the most kids all the time! They have it once a month at the library. After dividing into two groups by age, each child shares with the group about a book they've read or had read to them. It's great for getting the kids talking with other kids in a formal group, and I like to see what other kids are reading because I'm always on the prowl for quality titles.
Grace wisely chose to be in the older group (the dividing line was 3rd/4th grade) which had 5 kids in it, and lacking a "professional" to lead the discussion, they proceeded to discuss their books amongst themselves. It was really cute. Once everyone had a turn the conversation diverged into comparing scars, scabs, blood stains, and war stories, but I digress.
On Jake's side of the room, some of the kids really didn't have much to say, but Jake launched into a detailed monologue describing the first chapter of the first real chapter book he had read, _Help!I'm a prisoner in the library!_. It amazed me! He put in every detail, and spoke clearly and without ums, ahs, and likes. I was so proud of his CM-style narration, especially since I didn't prep or prompt him except for suggesting he think about what he was going to say on the ride to the library. Maybe he re-read the first chapter! Claire participated, too. She didn't have much to say about _Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy_, but she did answer the leader's questions.
After a guilt-inducing trip to Burger King, we drove up to Wheaton on the northernmost part of the beltway for the Wings of Fancy butterfly exhibit at Brookside Gardens. All summer I'd been wanting to take the kids to see the butterflies, but it just didn't happen. Since the butterflies exhibit closes Sept. 20th, I put a date on the calendar and just did it. Maybe it wasn't the wisest plan to do it on the second day of school (so much for consistency!) but it was really, really cool.
First of all, even before you enter the conservatory there are native species' eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalises on host plants outside. They marked them with a red ribbon to make them easier to spot. Then a volunteer explained each stage of the life cycle (which made me wonder what he told the adults coming through--it was really geared to children) in a screened area before they open the locked door and part the curtains and you are in the conservatory completely surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of butterflies!
Some landed on us right away--Claire had one on the tip of her finger for the longest time. Grace had ones land briefly on her shirt, and I carried one around with me on my bust for a long time. But poor Jake's day was almost ruined while we waited and waited for one to land on him. In the meantime, we walked around the room finding all kinds of different species, observing the ones emerging from their chrysalises, touching a few dead ones that a kind volunteer had on hand. The kid's instinct is always to touch, so it was great to be able to and to see how delicate the wings are and why you musn't touch a live one. At one point a mating couple fell out of a tree right in front of us. The kids had to lean in for a closer look!
I was amazed by the butterflies, but also by the children. I had to ask Gabe not to run a few times, but otherwise he was too mesmerized to get into any trouble. Jake pouted for a long time about the not-getting-landed-on thing. I thought I'd be in for a miserable afternoon if we left before that happened. I suggested he cheer up so they didn't feel his negativity. I started praying, Dear God, please let a butterfly land on that boy! Meanwhile they're landing on Grace left and right. "Oh look, there's another one!" she'd say in Jake's direction. I hissed at her to stop making Jake feel bad and start praying that one landed on him! It seemed right to be praying there, the creatures are so ethereal. So many shapes and sizes, colors and patterns. An amazing testament to God's supreme creativity.
Finally, I said to Jake, "look, every time a butterfly landed on us it was over in that corner. Let's just wait over there and one will have to land on you." I don't know if it was hope, or strategy, or prayer, or just dumb luck, but a butterfly did land on his back. He couldn't see it himself, but I got it on video and a picture. Then we were all satisfied and ready to leave.
We looked around the gardens for a while after that , identifying plants, sniffing herbs in the scented garden, playing pretend house in the children's garden. It would have been an ideal day to make our first nature notebook entries, but I just forgot. We didn't see even half the place, but after about two hours of being there the kids were gardened out. We rounded out the trip with a visit to the mega playground before heading home in the traffic. It was the kind of outing that makes getting through the difficult days worthwhile. I've already promised the kids we'd come back in November to see it with the leaves changing color. I'm sure they're be plenty more we can discover.
Grace wisely chose to be in the older group (the dividing line was 3rd/4th grade) which had 5 kids in it, and lacking a "professional" to lead the discussion, they proceeded to discuss their books amongst themselves. It was really cute. Once everyone had a turn the conversation diverged into comparing scars, scabs, blood stains, and war stories, but I digress.
On Jake's side of the room, some of the kids really didn't have much to say, but Jake launched into a detailed monologue describing the first chapter of the first real chapter book he had read, _Help!I'm a prisoner in the library!_. It amazed me! He put in every detail, and spoke clearly and without ums, ahs, and likes. I was so proud of his CM-style narration, especially since I didn't prep or prompt him except for suggesting he think about what he was going to say on the ride to the library. Maybe he re-read the first chapter! Claire participated, too. She didn't have much to say about _Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy_, but she did answer the leader's questions.
After a guilt-inducing trip to Burger King, we drove up to Wheaton on the northernmost part of the beltway for the Wings of Fancy butterfly exhibit at Brookside Gardens. All summer I'd been wanting to take the kids to see the butterflies, but it just didn't happen. Since the butterflies exhibit closes Sept. 20th, I put a date on the calendar and just did it. Maybe it wasn't the wisest plan to do it on the second day of school (so much for consistency!) but it was really, really cool.
First of all, even before you enter the conservatory there are native species' eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalises on host plants outside. They marked them with a red ribbon to make them easier to spot. Then a volunteer explained each stage of the life cycle (which made me wonder what he told the adults coming through--it was really geared to children) in a screened area before they open the locked door and part the curtains and you are in the conservatory completely surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of butterflies!
Some landed on us right away--Claire had one on the tip of her finger for the longest time. Grace had ones land briefly on her shirt, and I carried one around with me on my bust for a long time. But poor Jake's day was almost ruined while we waited and waited for one to land on him. In the meantime, we walked around the room finding all kinds of different species, observing the ones emerging from their chrysalises, touching a few dead ones that a kind volunteer had on hand. The kid's instinct is always to touch, so it was great to be able to and to see how delicate the wings are and why you musn't touch a live one. At one point a mating couple fell out of a tree right in front of us. The kids had to lean in for a closer look!
I was amazed by the butterflies, but also by the children. I had to ask Gabe not to run a few times, but otherwise he was too mesmerized to get into any trouble. Jake pouted for a long time about the not-getting-landed-on thing. I thought I'd be in for a miserable afternoon if we left before that happened. I suggested he cheer up so they didn't feel his negativity. I started praying, Dear God, please let a butterfly land on that boy! Meanwhile they're landing on Grace left and right. "Oh look, there's another one!" she'd say in Jake's direction. I hissed at her to stop making Jake feel bad and start praying that one landed on him! It seemed right to be praying there, the creatures are so ethereal. So many shapes and sizes, colors and patterns. An amazing testament to God's supreme creativity.
Finally, I said to Jake, "look, every time a butterfly landed on us it was over in that corner. Let's just wait over there and one will have to land on you." I don't know if it was hope, or strategy, or prayer, or just dumb luck, but a butterfly did land on his back. He couldn't see it himself, but I got it on video and a picture. Then we were all satisfied and ready to leave.
We looked around the gardens for a while after that , identifying plants, sniffing herbs in the scented garden, playing pretend house in the children's garden. It would have been an ideal day to make our first nature notebook entries, but I just forgot. We didn't see even half the place, but after about two hours of being there the kids were gardened out. We rounded out the trip with a visit to the mega playground before heading home in the traffic. It was the kind of outing that makes getting through the difficult days worthwhile. I've already promised the kids we'd come back in November to see it with the leaves changing color. I'm sure they're be plenty more we can discover.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
What we're missing
Kids are going back to soon. Mine are not. I would be kidding myself if I said that we are not missing out on anything. We've got the new boxes of pencils, the pink erasers, the crayons, the folders, and this year, for Claire, a new backpack. But there's not a bus to climb onto, no photo with backpack on to pose for, no fresh-smelling classroom with a smiling teacher at the front. There's just the sticky kitchen table, and the boxes of new books and workbooks cluttering the family room, and the car that needs brakes to take us where we want to go. And me. And we don't get to trade any of that in at the end of the year in exchange for new ones in the fall.
But really, aside from those few small things, there is not really much I miss about sending my kids to school. We're missing so many undesirable things, too. We're missing the early morning alarm clock going off, the rush of getting through the morning, the missing homework, the yellow note sent home, the tantrums, the bullies on the bus, the field trips with no siblings allowed, the feeling of knowing your child is (or of being) cooped up in a classroom on a glorious fall day.
I used to think that I would be the mom doing the happy dance after the school bus drove out of sight. But once all-day kindergarten loomed large in our reality, I remember thinking that Summer was going to have to become my favorite season, because watching the children leave for the day, one by one, was just so unfair. Things were just starting to get fun! Autumn seemed like the beginning of 9-month jail term.
But starting our third year of homeschooling (!), this lifestyle seems more and more freeing. Sharing all the fun things with my kids, and learning right alongside them, has been more rewarding that I imagined. I really began homeschooling in order to miss things, so how can I complain when I do? Well, I'm not complaining, really. I'm just admitting that there are trade-offs. You don't get to start fresh every year with homeschooling. You know what you have to work with, and you continually keep working on it, that's all. It's not a new school year as much as it is a gradual progression from childhood to adulthood, from inexperience to expertise.
So we'll ease into our school year gradually. Some math here, a new spelling book there. A tie-dying class, swim lessons, a new chapter book. Hiking with friends, playing in the creek, riding bikes on a new trail, visits to the library. We can start whenever we want, stop whenever we find a better offer. We're missing the schedule, the routine, and the mandatory, but what we have instead just seems like so much more.
But really, aside from those few small things, there is not really much I miss about sending my kids to school. We're missing so many undesirable things, too. We're missing the early morning alarm clock going off, the rush of getting through the morning, the missing homework, the yellow note sent home, the tantrums, the bullies on the bus, the field trips with no siblings allowed, the feeling of knowing your child is (or of being) cooped up in a classroom on a glorious fall day.
I used to think that I would be the mom doing the happy dance after the school bus drove out of sight. But once all-day kindergarten loomed large in our reality, I remember thinking that Summer was going to have to become my favorite season, because watching the children leave for the day, one by one, was just so unfair. Things were just starting to get fun! Autumn seemed like the beginning of 9-month jail term.
But starting our third year of homeschooling (!), this lifestyle seems more and more freeing. Sharing all the fun things with my kids, and learning right alongside them, has been more rewarding that I imagined. I really began homeschooling in order to miss things, so how can I complain when I do? Well, I'm not complaining, really. I'm just admitting that there are trade-offs. You don't get to start fresh every year with homeschooling. You know what you have to work with, and you continually keep working on it, that's all. It's not a new school year as much as it is a gradual progression from childhood to adulthood, from inexperience to expertise.
So we'll ease into our school year gradually. Some math here, a new spelling book there. A tie-dying class, swim lessons, a new chapter book. Hiking with friends, playing in the creek, riding bikes on a new trail, visits to the library. We can start whenever we want, stop whenever we find a better offer. We're missing the schedule, the routine, and the mandatory, but what we have instead just seems like so much more.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Today's Curriculum
I'm especially proud of all the learning we accomplished today. Here is all I can remember, in approximate chronological order:
Read Spiderman to Jake
Read Opposites book to Claire
Observed all three children twirling happily in the yard while I did dishes--I'm so happy I could cry
Grace voluntarily did 1 pg Handwriting Without Tears and hand-wrote a half-page fictional autobiography while she was playing house and pretending she was off at work while Jake stayed home with the kids (I think this has something to do with the fact that we went to Jim's promotion ceremony at work yesterday).
Jake played around with the geoboard
Read Make Way for Duckling as day #4 of Five in a Row--Applied math lesson had Jake making 8 groups of 5 "peanuts" each to "feed the ducklings" with--counting by fives, sorting. Grace determined how many weeks 24 and 27 made. This was a tricky concept for her, counting the 7-day weeks and then figuring how many days were left over. I was proud that neither she or I got frustrated with each other over it.
Went out into the woods and observed frogs and tadpoles in the pond. Couldn't see legs on any tadpoles, even though some were quite large. Check again next week?
Played on the neighbors swingset
Grace to Girl Scouts--earned the sweet shop try-it
Jake made 12 baskets with the kickball on the regulation-height basketball hoop.
Listened to Josephina in the car, 4 chapters. Even Claire understood they were talking about a big storm
Grace and Jake watched a Magic Schoolbus about chickens hatching from eggs--seems I've got a little unit on eggs going. . .
I cooked a new recipe for an easy and scrumptious soup that was ready in 15 minutes.
Jesus Company--Jake knows there are 10 commandments and has memorized the first. Grace even knows that the first three are about our relationship to God, the next are about us and others, the last about us and stuff.
Negatives: Grace's tantrum over the mini bus she didn't want to share--happened during housecleaner's visit. She got dessert taken away and a timeout for hitting. Jake hitting Claire with his duck over I forget what. He got a timeout. My screaming at kids for trying to leave the house without permission--not realizing I was outside and thinking they had to run for help because "mommy's missing." Argh. Claire spilling water on a brand new library book (about eggs, as it would happen) by mistake. Claire regressing into grunts both at home and at church during J.Co. Frustrating.
But overall a really productive day today.
Read Spiderman to Jake
Read Opposites book to Claire
Observed all three children twirling happily in the yard while I did dishes--I'm so happy I could cry
Grace voluntarily did 1 pg Handwriting Without Tears and hand-wrote a half-page fictional autobiography while she was playing house and pretending she was off at work while Jake stayed home with the kids (I think this has something to do with the fact that we went to Jim's promotion ceremony at work yesterday).
Jake played around with the geoboard
Read Make Way for Duckling as day #4 of Five in a Row--Applied math lesson had Jake making 8 groups of 5 "peanuts" each to "feed the ducklings" with--counting by fives, sorting. Grace determined how many weeks 24 and 27 made. This was a tricky concept for her, counting the 7-day weeks and then figuring how many days were left over. I was proud that neither she or I got frustrated with each other over it.
Went out into the woods and observed frogs and tadpoles in the pond. Couldn't see legs on any tadpoles, even though some were quite large. Check again next week?
Played on the neighbors swingset
Grace to Girl Scouts--earned the sweet shop try-it
Jake made 12 baskets with the kickball on the regulation-height basketball hoop.
Listened to Josephina in the car, 4 chapters. Even Claire understood they were talking about a big storm
Grace and Jake watched a Magic Schoolbus about chickens hatching from eggs--seems I've got a little unit on eggs going. . .
I cooked a new recipe for an easy and scrumptious soup that was ready in 15 minutes.
Jesus Company--Jake knows there are 10 commandments and has memorized the first. Grace even knows that the first three are about our relationship to God, the next are about us and others, the last about us and stuff.
Negatives: Grace's tantrum over the mini bus she didn't want to share--happened during housecleaner's visit. She got dessert taken away and a timeout for hitting. Jake hitting Claire with his duck over I forget what. He got a timeout. My screaming at kids for trying to leave the house without permission--not realizing I was outside and thinking they had to run for help because "mommy's missing." Argh. Claire spilling water on a brand new library book (about eggs, as it would happen) by mistake. Claire regressing into grunts both at home and at church during J.Co. Frustrating.
But overall a really productive day today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)