Fidgets for ADHD Homeschool
One of the benefits of homeschooling a child with ADHD is that you have an almost unlimited amount of freedom to experiment with and utilize the many therapeutic tools that are out there to help such children maintain their concentration on the task at hand.
Fidgets are one of the tools that have been shown to be successful in helping ADHD children maintain focus when they’re doing mentally intense work. If you’re not familiar with them, fidgets are little toys or gadgets that provide children with attention disorders stimulation (tactile, oral, or gross motor, or a combination thereof) and/or an outlet for their excess energy during seat-work. Some fidgets are small, either handheld or for the desktop to keep hands busy while the child is thinking, writing or calculating. Others are larger and provide different types of stimulation and feedback over the whole body, like weighted or vibrating materials; or furniture that allows the child to move more freely than your average desk set-up, like swings, balance boards, mini-trampolines or exercise balls to sit on.
There are some stores/websites that sell fidgets and sensory materials, like the Therapy Shoppe (which separates their fidgets into categories like alert fidgets, calming fidgets, silent fidgets, and tactile fidgets), Fat Brain Toys, Sensory University, and Sensory Edge, and these are great if you can afford them.
But when homeschooling, you’re often on a budget and even inexpensive fidgets can seem out of reach when you’re not sure what things your child might like. Since I can relate to that, I thought I’d put together a list of fidgets that are easily ‘found’ or made at home.
Starting with small fidgets:
- spring/spiral (plastic, taken from an old spiral bound book or notebook and cut into pieces. Those spiral shoelaces also work well as a fidget.)
- Lego tree (round, though I’m sure the conical ones would work just as well – lovely for palming and twiddling)
- velcro dots (sticky-backed ones can be applied to the underside of the desk)
- clothespins (alone or can be used with clip-ins like a bundle of rubber bands, a few bent chenille sticks, yarn or other something to make a ‘brush’)
- soft bristled paintbrushes or jumbo makeup brushes (feel nice on cheeks, over eyes and lips)
- skinny balloons (stretchy and can go onto fingers – but don’t let them chew on them!)
- foam stress ball (often given out free at conferences, fairs, doctor’s offices, the mall…)
- filled stress ball (the dollar store often has squeeze balls; there’s one called a ‘blob ball’ with a net outside that lets the inner part bulge out of that is both disgusting and fascinating; or you can make them from big latex party balloons filled with sand, moon sand, powder, modeling clay, rice, beans, poly pellets, or a combination of things for long-term use (can double balloon and tie for a little extra protection). If you’re looking for other textures, you can fill them with peanut butter, pudding, tapioca, jell-o, etc (but these are, for obvious reasons, disposable after a day or two).
- worry stones made from polymer clay (or air-dry glue/cornstarch clay, also called ‘cold porcelain clay’) or rocks
- aluminum discs (made from the bottoms of coke cans – Use tin snips to cut the rounded bottoms of a coke can out, then put them together, convex sides out and seal the edges by gluing and then burnishing, or with tape on the outside. Use sandpaper to smooth and finish the edges. It makes a lovely palm-sized convex disc that feels good in your hand.)
- butterfly/triangle paper clips (can put several together on a binder ring)
- a long bolt with a rubber band on the open end and loose nut to twist up and down (metal or you can find plastic ones in the plumbing section of the hardware store)
- put a rubber band on a pencil, slide on some metal hex-nuts towards the top end and add another rubber band. The pencil is weighted and the nuts are twistable. Also works on crayons and markers)
- mini rain stick (toilet paper tube or even smaller diameter cardboard tube, nails and rice/beans and masking tape)
- egg shaker (re-use those old plastic Easter eggs – fill with rice, beans, poly beads, BB’s or anything similar and seal with tape. You can papier-mache for extra security)
- bean bag (scrap material and dry beans/lentils/rice/poly pellets)
- poly pellet (single to roll between index finger and thumb)
- teethers (especially gel-filled ones and ones with ‘nubbies’ on them; Sophie the giraffe is fun to chew on as well)
- rubber bands (tie a bunch together, then snip all but one of the loops to make a ‘koosh’ type ball
- tape measure with a button re-winder
- Rubik’s cube
For larger stimulation, we have used:
- weighted lap blanket (I made them from a fat quarter of fabric and filled with poly pellets from the craft store)
- noise cancelling earphones
- foam ear plugs
- vibrating neck pillow
- yoga ball
- rolling pin on the floor (under desk, for feet)
- yoga
- balance board (can be made from a 24″ long piece of 1″x 6″ scrap board with a 1″x 1″ half round piece of molding nailed to the underside. Sand the edges and let your child paint and decorate it. The child stands with feet on the outer edges and balances the board up on the round.)
- weighted hula hoop (can be made by cutting open a regular hula hoop and adding steel ball bearings and taping back together)
- sensory steps (in our version, I made a couple of sheets of 8.5 x 14 paper with eight 4″x3″ squares of sensory material – just enough to ‘toe’ and small enough to fit under the best. Ours include sandpaper, lentils, elbow macaroni, faux-fur fabric, shredded plastic, rubber bands, toothpicks, crinkled aluminum foil, yarn, Easter grass, egg shells, lego bricks, shredded newspaper, terry cloth, and pantyhose.
- rice sock (tube sock filled with rice; can be knotted every few inches to provide more even distribution and/or a different ‘feel’; also can be filled with lavender or other herbs and rice, and heated to make a warm aromatherapy weight)
- meditation/mind jar
- 2lb hand weights (also works to roll with feet on the floor)
- yoga block (for feet to manipulate)
- weighted tube (a paper towel tube with a spent D cell battery in it. Close both ends of the tube with cotton balls (for cushion) and tape. Tilt back and forth gently to let the battery slide from one end to the other. It has a nice ‘thunk’ to it.)
- sensory tubs (usually used for younger kids, but are very useful for older kids with SPD)
- sensory bottle /science bottles
- sound therapy: white noise; thunderstorm; fireplace/thunderstorm are all amazing and vary in length.
- alpha wave sound therapy on low volume over headphones. You can record this video/sound, then put it on an ipod and loop it for however long you need it for. Once is almost 10 minutes. Any sound therapy we use with headphones for maximum effect.
We use or have used most of these (not all at once, obviously). Different things seem to work at different times, and I’ve noticed that even my younger son (who is not ADHD) seems to focus better when allowed an outlet, so even though these types of tools and activities are ‘for’ kids with attention or sensory issues, they can definitely be of use to children without them as well.
What are some of your cheap/handmade sensory tools?
Warmly,
~h
Just DO it.
If you’re unfamiliar with our schedule this year, we have school for four weeks, then take a week-long break, all year long (with a couple extra weeks in December, between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next, which is on Jan 1).
This week, thank all that is sacred in that which was, is and ever shall be, is our off week. We had kind of a wonky schedule over the summer, with a lighter workload and more days off than I’d originally planned. As is wont to happen, I started feeling like things were sliding, so in a fabulous (but misguided) flurry of organization and determination, I announced that we would henceforth be putting our noses to the grindstone and get back on track. Somehow, in my blaze of glory, I decided that the best way to accomplish this was to skip the last break, which put us at 6 weeks straight of school.
Oh, silly young Padawan… there is still much to learn.
The funny thing is, I already knew that this was a mistake. Our schedule last year was 6 weeks on, one off. We only had school 4 days a week, but I realized towards the end of the year that 6 weeks was too long. We all get burned out, and consistently, by the end of week 6, I was seriously struggling to get schoolwork organized and the kids were lollygagging about, doing any and everything but schoolwork. After 5 weeks, max, we all needed a break! This just goes to remind me that, even as a somewhat more experienced homeschooling mom (now that I’m almost through our 2nd year), that lingering ‘school’ mentality still exists.
So, in an effort to maybe have these things sink in (AGAIN), I give you my list of reminders why homeschooling is awesome:
- City ISD school year calendar and State Education Association list of skills by grade: these are not the schedules you’re looking for.
- There WILL BE gaps in their education. No matter where they go to school, or in what style they’re educated, or how many days and weeks they spend learning, there is always MORE to know. No two ideals of what is ‘core knowledge’ will match up, so stop trying to please everyone else! Teach them how to learn, and to love learning that they will be
FINEAMAZING. - For the love of Pete, stop trying to ‘catch up’. Education is a marathon, not a race. They’re going to be ahead in some things and behind in others. That’s okay… they’ll get there when they need to.
- Remember the fun stuff! Education is not just about book learnin’. There are arts and crafts and gluing macaroni and cotton balls to construction paper. It’s creating seed mosaics and painting with food dyes, exploring the world, doing it themselves, and learning at the knee of a seasoned professional with knowledge to share. Revel in the fact that you have freedom from the established norm – the amazing opportunity – to collect these types of learning experiences for your children. Be willing to go out and MAKE them happen for them!
- Breaks are essential to balance. Being parent and teacher is an extremely stressful job. It’s easy – too easy sometimes – to get caught up in the constant pressure and demand for educational excellence that homeschooling parents deal with. It comes from within and from outside – but it cannot rule your relationship with your kids. Take breaks often and enjoy them fully. Laze about and relax!
~h
Observing Without Evaluating – NVC Week 3
So, if you’re just tuning in, my kids and I are working through Marshall Rosenberg’s book, Nonviolent Communication, and Lucy Leu’s companion Workbook . We’re doing this as part of our homeschool curriculum and we welcome your thoughts and companionship on our journey.
We’re taking it week by week, and doing one chapter/workbook assignment per week. This is actually week 4 of our journey, because chapter three has been particularly challenging, so I decided to work through this chapter for another week. After nearly 2 weeks on it, I think I have a better understanding of the concepts and how to put them into practice.
If you’re not familiar with the book, chapter three deals with separating ’observation’ from ‘evaluation. There are a couple of poems in this chapter that have helped me, and especially the kids grasp the difference between the two. Working with kids, obviously, the text of this book is going to fly right over their heads (evaluation). I’ve had to read and then figure out how to ‘translate’ what I am reading into kid-speak. That’s been challenging, but good in a way because in order to explain it to them, I have to understand it. We’ve worked over the last couple of weeks to put this into practice, but also to have practice sessions where we’re role-playing and trying to illustrate and identify the difference between the two ideas (observation).
One of the parts in this chapter that I appreciated was in the NVC in Action dialogue on pages 32 & 33. Rosenberg says,
“… what keeps me in the struggle are the close connections to other people that happen when I do stay in touch with the process.”
It’s comforting to know that even the man with the vision struggles and sometimes even ‘loses touch’ with the ideals he promotes; I think that we all do that at times and it’s hard to admit. Gold star for honesty. I did the exercises on page 34 and was in agreement with the author 80% of the time. As I said, this chapter has been challenging for me for some reason, but I think I am seeing enough progress for myself to move on.
In the workbook, the exercises for Chapter Three begin on page 73. Some of the questions include:
Explain the difference between ‘static language’ and ‘process language’.
MBR prefers to avoid even positive or neutral labels of people (for example, ‘a responsible child’, ‘a cook’, ‘a pretty blonde’). Why?
What is the first component of NVC?
Practice exercises include:
Write down 3 observations about yourself. Write down 3 evaluations about yourself.
Next time you’re waiting in line or among people in a crowd, take five minutes to look at the people around you. What thoughts do you discover on your mind? Are they observations or evaluations? What’s the proportion of observations to evaluations?
I thought that these were interesting assignments. It really brought to the fore how much of my inner dialogue is judgemental – both positively and negatively. The quote on our chalkboard in the school room right now is from Gautama Buddha, “Mind is everything. We become what we think.” I am thinking that I need to work on my mind.
Overall, I am glad that we spent another week on this chapter. It was worth it to spend the extra time on it. We are, as always, a work in progress, but I think that we’re moving forward and that makes me happy.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Warmly,
~h
(Disclaimer: This is not a certified or ‘official’ NVC anything. This is my personal journey through Marshall Rosenberg’s book, Nonviolent Communication, and Lucy Leu’s NVC Companion Workbook. I am NOT an expert, nor am I particularly skilled in this process. Please use/follow/apply with those things in mind. When in doubt, please disregard my commentary and refer to the book or workbook. I make no money off of this exercise, nor is any copyright infringement meant by posting a sampling of the questions from the workbook. For best results, I strongly recommend that you purchase the book and workbook for yourself and go through them in their entirety at your leisure.)
Communication that Blocks Compassion – NVC Week 2
If you’re following along or just joining us, we’re working through Marshall Rosenberg’s book, Nonviolent Communication, and Lucy Leu’s companion Workbook . We’re doing this as part of our homeschool curriculum and we welcome your thoughts and companionship on our journey.
Chapter two deals with what’s termed ‘life-alienating’ communication’ – those types of communication which alienate us from our own feelings and needs, and from others. There are four types that are identified: diagnosis/judgement and comparisons, denial of responsibility, demands, and ‘deserve’-oriented language (entitlement).
One of the things I took from this chapter is the admonition to take responsibility for the things that I do. I don’t tend to think of myself as one who shirks responsibility; if pressed, I’d probably gripe about being ‘too responsible’.
I was raised with the idea that your responsibilities are of paramount importance, and if they’re only met halfway, then they may as well not be met at all. My father in particular is very demanding and has little tolerance for ‘half-assing’ anything. I can’t tell you how often I heard that as a young adult and it’s something I don’t tolerate well from my own kids, either.
I see the problem with that, of course – one of my main complaints as a child was that what I DID do was never seen or recognized or acknowledged, only what remained un-done. That’s not true in every instance, and that’s not to say that praise earned wasn’t given wholeheartedly, but we had a lot of responsibilities as children – much more than my own do now, and much less supervision since my mom worked – and it was overwhelming at times.
But this chapter isn’t really about taking responsibility in those terms. It’s more about taking responsibility for your own actions as a result of and connecting them to your own needs or denial of your feelings or needs. One of the examples mentioned is of a mom talking about cooking; how she hates it, but it must be done and it’s her job to do it and so she does; not realizing the effect that fulfilling a job out of responsibility and with resentment is having a negative effect on her family. Better, perhaps, that she not do it at all if it’s going to be done ‘like that’. How directly in conflict with how I was raised!
I said that I was going to take this book a chapter a week, and I am going to continue trying to do that… but just from really putting into conscious practice the first two chapters, I can see that I am going to need to go through this book again to really flesh it out in my own life. Still, it’s got me thinking, so I’m counting that as progress.
If you’re working on your own, here are some of the questions from Chapter Two in the workbook:
Describe the meaning of ‘life alienating communication’.
Why is the word ‘tragic’ used to describe this way of expression?
What happens when people (children) do what we want them to do out of fear, guilt or shame and how does that affect them in the future?
What is the difference between VALUE judgements and MORALISTIC judgments?
Quote:
The horrors which we have seen, and the still greater horrors we shall presently see, are not signs that rebels, insubordinate, untamable men are increasing in number throughout the world, but rather that there is a constant increase in the number of obedient, docile men.” ~ George Beranos
Agree or Disagree?
The workbook goes into the different areas of our lives, the social communities that we operate in, and asks us to identify life-alienating language in them, and how we can re-phase them with giraffe-speak. It’s difficult, I won’t lie. Extremely so – and it feels ‘wrong’ to me. Again, I recognize that this is a process and that my feelings are a product of how I was raised (which is precisely why I am going through this book with my kids), but that doesn’t change the feeling that, especially in parenting matters, by not demanding appropriate behavior or that a task be completed within this time-frame or in this manner – by giving the kids an option… basically to choose not to comply – I don’t see how that will work. And then again, there’s a little niggling voice that pipes up and reminds me how much better they behave when I set reminders instead of demands, and help with chores instead of harangue. I know it works in my heart. It’s getting my head on board that is the challenge.
Warmly,
~h
(Disclaimer: This is not a certified or ‘official’ NVC anything. This is my personal journey through Marshall Rosenberg’s book, Nonviolent Communication, and Lucy Leu’s NVC Companion Workbook. I am NOT an expert, nor am I particularly skilled in this process. Please use/follow/apply with those things in mind. When in doubt, please disregard my commentary and refer to the book or workbook. I make no money off of this exercise, nor is any copyright infringement meant by posting a sampling of the questions from the workbook. For best results, I strongly recommend that you purchase the book and workbook for yourself and go through them in their entirety at your leisure.)
Highlights from our Camping Trip
We spent most of last week on a camping trip. This was our longest planned trip – 5 days/4 nights, and we ended up coming back home early because there was rain in the forecast (and we were just plain ready to be home again). Incredibly, by Monday afternoon, we were unpacked, cleaned up and mostly recovered. We even stopped by the car wash and vacuumed out the van [gold star for mom}. I really thought that it would be later in the week before everything was back to normal.
We’ve more or less been on a mini-break from school this week; mama needs a couple more days before she’s up to full-scale lessons. We’re covering a little Latin and some math drills, and some literature and history. Plus, with our aforementioned spring cleaning and outdoors-y activeness going on, there are plenty of unschoolish ways to accomplish our lessons right now. Next week should be back to our normal workload.
This is our second camping trip with friends PB&JMom and SFK and their kiddos. No daddies again; I’m feeling quite outdoorsy with all this camping experience under my belt now. I might have to look more into the Texas Outdoor Woman program if this is going to continue. We took our first back in October, in the same park, but a different unit. This time, we were a bit better prepared – I think that camping is going to be come a regular thing for us, so I’m all about containerization. My mother was the Queen of Camping – everything in bins ready to go at a moment’s notice. I’m following in those uber-capable footsteps and making up our own containers. So far, I have 2 Sterlite containers (just like this one, only WAY bigger and not clear) that house our camping gear, and the interactive list from Gander Mountain makes packing a cinch. I love those containers. I have them in all sizes to house my crafting supplies, the kids’ toys and all kinds of other stuff.
Contrary to my nature, I left most of the packing to the morning of, which put us several hours later than I’d originally planned on leaving. That worked out well in the end though as PB&JMom and I ended up catching up to one another on the way. We were there and set up by 1PM or so, which was nice. That left the entire afternoon for relaxing and playing. SFK and her girls joined us later in the afternoon.
When we got finished unloading and setting up the tents, the four boys asked to start a fire, and being the responsible mothers that we are, said ‘Sure’ and handed them lightsticks. That kept them occupied for the next four or so hours, and like the heathen children that they are, danced wildly around the fire ring as they finally got it to catch and stay lit.
Friday was off to an early start. My early risers are even more-so when we’re close to Mother Nature. With birdsong, beams of sunlight and the roar of glittering fishing boats on the water, there really was little chance of sleeping in to begin with, yet I always hope and am ever denied. The boys spent much of the morning off and away – biking, fire stoking and wood-gathering, hanging out at the pier and running off to the play area. With their absence, you’d think that it would be very peaceful but you’d be wrong. The girls were much more interested in mommy-convos than in exploring the great outdoors and consequently had to be chased off (often with a huff and a stomp away) multiple times. We did take the kids hiking Friday afternoon, and got some good pictures of our little adventure.
Saturday morning called for a trip into Jasper for some extra supplies. My little air mattress had a couple of pin-holes in it that I repaired before we left, but apparently I missed one and was waking up ass-on-the-ground. That’s extremely unpleasant, so I bought a new mattress (a double height one – yay!) and a cushy mat for PeaGreen (since a mattress will not fit inside his little elephant tent. We have a bee tent like this one, too, for LBB. I found them at Target when the boys were itty bitty and we’ve used them more than I ever thought we would. (I don’t know that I’d pay $40 bucks for them now though…)
We were supposed to have a repeat performance of the SOAR program that we saw a couple of weeks ago, but apparently their plans changed and we got to see Ms. Catherine feeding her snakes instead. The kids all thought that was equally (if not more) fascinating. Look at their faces! When I was little, my dad kept a rainbow boa and a king snake – we fed them live mice. Ms. Catherine’s were frozen, then placed on a heating lamp to warm them up. The kids were both disgusted and enthralled by the whole process.
Our original plan had been to stay until Monday, but with the weather threatening to rain Sunday evening and just plain missing our daddy-shaped person, we decided to pack it up and after a brief stop to visit my much-missed brother, SIL and kidlets, we headed home.
If our camping trips will get easier as we get more used to them, and we can expect an even smoother set-up and take-down next time, then this will get progressively more enjoyable as we go along. This trip was much easier, I think. We planned a little better, and opted for less cooking (more finger foods and sandwiches) and less ambitious activities. The children were largely out of sight, which was both nice and worrisome. I stayed in my tent and read a great deal Sunday, and while I fretted occasionally about them, I made myself trust that they were capable and as they had demonstrated a propensity for following the rules we set, that they would continue to do so. I was in no way disappointed. They all returned safe and sound, and I think better off for being allowed the freedom to play without much adult interference. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.
Warmly,
~h
Happy Texas Independence Day!
I’ve made an effort this year to plan for speical events this year. By ‘special’, I mean things that are outside of our normal curriculum. Today, March 2nd, is Texas Independence Day, and certainly qualifies as a ‘special event’ day. To celebrate, our homeschool group planned a trip out to the San Jacinto Monument Museum in La Porte, TX. We’d oriuginally planned on a picnic lunch and tour of the museum, but I think we failed to take into acount the camping trip that we just got back from on Sunday and the need for recovery from said vacation, so everyone bailed (the lazy bums).
Adventurers that we are, I decided to take the boys and go anyway, and since it was just the three of us, we decided to go ahead and visit the Battleship TEXAS as well. I got the boys patches for their adventure vests for both the monument and the ship, and we also picked up a Passport to Texas History for the three if us. If you collect all the stamps from the historic sites in the Texas Revolution, then you’ll get a free gift from the Texas Independence Trail Region. Not just for homeschoolers, this is a really interesting way to bring history to life. I don’t know if we’ll get all of the stamps by December, but we’ll give it a good shot.
Inside, we toured the ground floor and then went into the theater to watch a film that went over the timeline and details of the Revolution. We’d gone over much of the information already while making our Texas Independence Day Lapbook. I found a short video from 2009 that hits the highlights on YouTube, but it was nice to have the facts reinforced, and portraits of some of the key players. The film also used many of the paintings that are hanging in the museum, so having an explanation and context was helpful.
After the film, we went up to the observation deck.
Normally, there’s a reflection pool in this shot, but I guess there’ having some drainage issues, so the pool is underwater at the moment. You can see the Battleship TEXAS in the distance (the big black ship, top, right); that was our next stop.
I’m claustrophobic and always shudder at the thoughts of being on a submarine – ships like that seemed only a step up, but I was surprised at how much room there was in the belly of the ship. They have almost the whole ship opened up so that you can go up and in and down and around to pretty much everywhere. We toured the bottom two decks - those are some STEEP staircases! – and I even braved the heights so that PeaGreen could get a good look off the towers (LBB sensibly kept his booted feet on the main deck).
It’s been a really long time since I’ve taken just my boys out for a field trip. I’m amazed at how many questions they asked. I think the group setting is distracting – they get so wrapped up in seeing what everyone else is looking at that they can’t focus on what they are looking at. Not that we don’t absolutely adore our group-y friends and have a great time on group trips, but this – being able to focus only on my own two kids – was nice. We may have to go off exploring on our own more often!
Warmly,
~h
I wanted to close with this picture (because it – and the story behind it - is awesome):
and found the ‘Flags of the Revolution‘. My kids are in bed already, but we’re going to go over this tomorrow. I just love the internet, don’t you? ~h
Week 4 Wrap-up
So… you know all that stuff I said in my last post about ‘getting back to normal’? Yeah - you can just disregard that. We’ve been slacking for the last half of this week, though truthfully, it was a much-needed break – not because of our school schedule but because of life in general.
I was looking back at our plans for this year and I have to say that I am pretty happy with what we’ve accomplished so far this year. We’ve been working on several things cooperatively (like history and geography and literature) and the interconnectedness of such lessons makes them so much more interesting. I’d love to add art to that and plan to do so in the coming weeks. I still haven’t gotten the Artistic Pursuits book yet – also on my bossy book’s to-do list (‘bossy book’ is what SFK calls her lesson planner/appointment book – that’s a spiffy little nickname and oh-so-fitting, therefore I am adopting it with kudos to such a clever friend.)
One of our main goals for this year was to have the boys working more independently. That’s going reasonably well. We’ve been using their STARS book to keep them on-task and though we’re not yet using it to its full potential, we’re on the right track. I still haven’t gotten the file folder organizers to start our modified work-box system, but that’s also in the plans. We’ve been planning on doing some major re-modeling/decorating this spring, though how much of that we’ll get to do is in question in light of my FIL’s death and associated expenses, so some of my plans have had to be put on hold regarding school/curriculum purchases. We’ll still get there, it’ll just take a little longer.
Overall, I’m just pleased as punch about where we are right now. We’re actually off next week; the first of our scheduled breaks, and I have yet to decide if we’re going to really ‘break’ or if we’re going to keep schooling since we’ve more or less had a nice break accumulated over the last 2 weeks. I suspect it will be more of a ‘wait and see’ – we always end up with some type of school-related stuff regardless of what the bossy book says for the week.
This week has been a mix of nose-to-the-grindstone productivity and sheer laziness (or maybe mental exhaustion?). Monday and Tuesday were pretty much business as usual though with an admittedly lighter version of our normal workload. Wednesday, we had a treat – our local JASON Alliance had their yearly presentation at Lamar University. We’re pretty new to JASON, but very interested in it. I’ve looked it up several times but since it’s targeted towards older kids, I haven’t had it as a ‘for now’ in my head. This week’s presentation helped me see what it was all about. We’re fortunate to have a pretty active local alliance and several teachers who run Argonaut groups, so hopefully as the boys get older this will be something they can take part in more fully.
I do have to have a mama brag moment though – the JASON program targets kids in 4th grade and up, but my 7-year-old has engineer aspirations, so I thought that even if he didn’t ‘get’ it all, he might still find it interesting. I shouldn’t have doubted – not only was he interested, but he answered questions and grasped much more of the material than I’d thought he would. Now, whether this has anything to do with ’homeschooling’ or not, I can’t say – he may have gotten interested in all this on his own (and in fact, I suspect that he would). The ‘benefit of homeschooling’ comes in because he would not have been ‘allowed’ to participate had he been in public school – not for 2 more years. In that time, his interest in the subject may have waned or been pushed aside in favor or more accessible subject matter. Homeschooling allows me to find projects and resources that deal with things he’s interested in and cultivate his interest in a way that the public school system does not.
I think it would be so very beneficial to kids (and our future civilization) if the public educational system could be modified in such a way as to allow the children access to the subjects that they are curious about or interested in at younger ages and with an eye towards cultivating their interest and direction into future careers. It seems to me that allowing them the freedom to choose the direction of their education and having access to skilled mentors who will help direct their path would create an environment designed to help students succeed, not just academically but in life, and with fewer of the issues we see rampant today. We have that (to a small degree) in the higher-up grades, but there is nothing like that in elementary school, which is when their imagination and dreams for the future makes up such a big part of who they are – before their interest and academic self-esteem is crushed under the weight of not being able to adapt to the classroom setting or failing test scores sending the message that they’re not as smart as they thought they were.
Being back in a group classroom setting also made me see how much more beneficial having LBB out of that environment has been. Much as I might wish it differently, he just does not function well in that milieu. It’s too confining, too distracting, too static – he needs a dynamic lesson with room to move and lots of face time with the instructor. Seeing that in action again was both reassuring and reinforced my thought that kids aren’t cookie dough. Using cookie-cutter educational models is antiquated and unrealistic, not to mention the awkward position it puts kids in when they’re expected to do something that they simply cannot – not because of academic limitations, but because of physical ones – and how that impacts them when there is no one there to advocate for them.
Yes, the basics need to be addressed, but if a child has and interest in science and needs to know the periodic table because of something he’s working on, don’t you think that he’ll learn it because it pertains to something he needs? I love that idea and am working on allowing myself to trust that same principle will hold true with writing, and math and spelling. Homeschooling is definitely an adjustment process – as much for the parent/teacher as it is for the kids; one that is constantly evolving.
After Wednesday’s super science extravaganza, we’d planned on getting some basic schoolwork in yesterday, but mom slept in due to a late night gab session with her soon-to-be-relocated BFF and a bottle of wine. Each … which necessitated a White Knight rescue in the form of a drive home and a much appreciated minimum of mockery by BFF’s loverly husband of Strait Laced Scarlet fame. Not my proudest moment, but considering that this momma has ‘had’ to be driven home after over-imbibing exactly once in her life, I guess that’s not the end of the world. Considering the recent stress in my life and my BFF’s; it is clear that she and I were both due for some R & R. After a leisurely non-schooly Thursday morning, we packed up and went to SFK’s house for some art-journal/crafting goodness. The kids played inside and out, baked and watched movies… it was a lovely day well spent in good company.
Today is a lazy day as well, because who wants to pick up with a full work-load on a Friday?!? Now I’m off to make old-fashioned, on the stovetop popcorn and read a Johanna Lindsey novel clean the kitchen. Oh, if only we had a maid…
Warmly,
~h
Lesson Planning 2011 Part 3: The Extras
I know that from the previous posts about our 2011 school year, it looks like there isn’t much room left in the day for anything else. Let me rest your mind a bit by saying that I often over-prepare to some degree because I know that some of the things planned will end up getting scrapped in favor of something that works better. I blog as much for my own reference as to share; in several instances, I’ve planned on using two full courses of study but of course we’ll only need one. We may use bits from each or focus mainly on one or the other, but we will not complete both as full courses (unless we need to go back and remediate). Our daily schedule, while full, is flexible as is my general attitude. As we get more settled into homeschooling, I think it’s natural to step it up more.
Our extracurriculars for this year will be: Foreign Language, Physical Education, Health, Music/Arts/Drama, Triangle Homeschoolers Adventure Club, Community Service, Robotics, CurrClick’s Lego Club, Home Economics, TX Nature Challenge, Houston Wilderness Program, 4H, Science Fair, Summer Reading Club and whatever other interest the kids have that they’re motivated to look more deeply into. Some of this will be continuous and other things will be seasonal.
Many of these ECs will be in conjunction with a core lesson; TX Nature Challenge, JASET and the Lego clubs, for example, are science lessons. The TXNC may also count under ‘geography’ and ‘physical education’, depending on the activity and location as well.
Foreign Language
We started Latin a few months ago and we’ll continue with it this year. I found a great literature-based YouTube Series called Learning Latin with Virgil. It’s based on Virgil’s ‘The Aeneid’ and it’s been really fun and easy to learn. I don’t speak Latin, I was wondering how to work the pronunciation; this video series eliminates that worry. Since we’re doing this video series, I wanted flashcards for the boys to review in other places (so we’re not continually tied to the computer for Latin review) so I made flashcards for Lessons 1 – 4, and for Lessons 3 – 4. I’ll have more later on. I’m cutting them, pasting onto index cards and laminating them. I also found The Declension Song (lyrics), which we’re learning. I’m hoping that will give us a leg up when we start with more in-depth Latin lessons. I also found vocabulary flash cards at Flashcard Exchange. Eventually, we’ll move in to Ecce Romani (exercises and Teacher’s Lounge are good resources). The video series is quite long though, so it will be a while before we’re ready for ER.
Physical Education & Health
Getting exercise isn’t a problem for my kids. Having a PE curriculum is. Do we ‘need’ one? maybe not, but we’re going to put a little more structure into our PE plans this year. Our homeschool group will have a planned ‘PE class’ starting in January, but that’s only once per month. We’re going to use PE Challenge.org‘s website some, and PE Central for more game-oriented ideas. My friends and I are back on the weight-loss wagon starting now, so having to ‘teach’ PE to the kids is as much for myself as it is for them.
We’re also starting a comprehensive sex ed course this year. I found the FLASH Curriculum that is put out by the Seattle and King County Health Department. From what I’ve looked at, it seems to be exactly what I was looking for. It’s geared to 4-6th grade, and doesn’t skimp on sexual health topics. Naturally, I’ll supplement with other materials or discussions on topics that I find appropriate, but as a spine with good pacing, FLASH looks like it will work well for us. I’ve also added the Kids Health.org link to the kid’s computers so that they can look around and have questions answered. The Young Men’s Health and Young Girl’s Health are a bit ‘older’, but I like those, too. The videos, As Boys Grow and That’s a Family were also recommended.
Music, Art & Drama
The Core Knowledge books have a section on Music, presumably for all of their books. We’ll cover what is there as well as music study with Share the Music (grade 4). I also found a really fun set of mini-books on impressionist artists that we may take a week at a time and do a lapbook over the course of a few months.
The boys began formal piano lessons a few months ago with my grandmother who lives next door. She used to play in church when I was little and has really enjoyed teaching the boys. They spend about half an hour, 3 times a week with her in lessons and practice for 15-20 minutes the other 2 days. When we get a decent keyboard, then they’ll practice everyday.
I am also getting the Artistic Pursuits ( book 3) curriculum. It seems to be very highly recommended, and since I like art but know basically nothing about it, I think this will help me out a lot. We’ll also use bits from Masterpiece Art Instruction; their article, Art & ADHD was of particular interest to me, and countless crafts and art projects that tie into an academic lesson will be used, plus holiday and just for fun stuff from That Artist Woman’s Blog. I’d also like to add more theater into our lives; I found some Drama Links from A-Z Home’s Cool Homeschooling that we might be able to incorporate. Our homeschool group is talking about hosting a play in the spring, so we’ll see about that.
One of the things I am most excited about for this coming year is getting the kids more involved in community volunteering projects. We’ve found several organizations that are (HEARTS.org, 4H’s ‘Community Service Projects You Can Do!’, LU’s Cardinals C.A.R.E. Resource List) targeted towards children and homeschooling families; one of our homeschool group’s moms has volunteered to take the lead in planning on organizing events for this year.
TX Nature Challenge is a program coordinated by the TX AgriLife Extension office and the TX Forest Service. They’ve started posting ‘missions’ each year that encourage families to ‘view native wildlife, dip your feet in creeks, rivers, and draw and write about your observations while learning more about nature and science in your neighborhood!’ We participated last year and the missions for 2010 in our area are still up. Though the competition portion is over, we’ll continue working on them in our own time. The Houston Wilderness Program ties in, but is not connected with the TXNC; we’ve been able to do many of the HWP’s activities on the same day/trip as TXNC’s missions.
4-H offers plenty of learning opportunities; everything from lessons in government and parliamentary procedure to agricultural engineering, animal husbandry, archery and photography. I’m quite sure that we’ll find plenty to do with 4H this year, as well as our usual barrage of homeschool group field trips (we have a trip to Austin planned for the summer, camping) & Co-op. We also have other clubs through our group, like the Adventure Club, which is similar to scouting, and we’ll also be involved with the FIRST Jr. Lego League (ages 6-9) & Lego League (ages 9-14) and CurrClick’s Lego Club.
Texas Regional Science Fair – the boys won’t be competing this year, but LBB will be next year. I found several really neat idea books, so between them and the boy’s natural curiosity, I’m sure they’ll find something that appeals. Our homeschool group is planning a group-wide, informal science fair for June. I think the boys will be excited about it.
Changes to the Curriculum for 2011: I know, we haven’t even started and are already tweaking… such is my life! I have omitted Spectrum Science as a possible resource for us this year. I had the chance to really look at it, and basically, it’s a reading/worksheet assignment that will simply not work for my boys. They need more hands-on, and less lecture. I am going to use the E=MC2 Life Science book (it’s a free downloadable version) and if that goes well, I’ll purchase the next set.
For history, I am going to end up using Story of the World. I found the first 3 volumes at Barnes & Noble and got to look over them. I think that the ‘story’ format will work well for us. We’re using Mosaic to start; if that works well then we won’t use the SotW Activity Guide books. If it doesn’t, then I’ll look into them.
And so, with that, our curriculum for next year is complete. I hope that you’ve found something here that you can use; if you find something that you think I might like, please feel free to link in comments below!
Warmly,
~h
Lesson Planning 2011 Part 1: The Overview
So… it’s that time again… planning for next year! I’ve been working on this for weeks now and I think I am finally ready to start getting it all on paper. I’m breaking this post into parts; this is likely to be quite long and I want to cover each section separately. I’m starting with the overview.
Our calendar for this year will run from January 3 through December 9. We have 40 weeks of school, M-F, in four-week sections with a week’s break between each. That will give us 200 school days. Of course, we’ll have scheduled holidays off (birthdays – no one should have to go to school or work on their birthday) and major (and bank) holidays, so we’ll even out at around 190 or so, which is about average.
I’ve looked at a couple of new things lately, both method and resources. We’ll actually be buying some curricula and other things for this upcoming year, which will be fun. Over and over this past year, I’ve come across pages from Enchanted Learning, so a subscription to their site for this year is on my wish list.
Something I’ve been considering for this year is a better ‘spine’ to keep us grounded a bit better. I know some aren’t concerned with keeping up with the grade level that they’d be at in school, but I am – not so much that we overlook what they’re interested in, but enough so that we have a guide and path from A to Z for the year’s arc. To that end, I consulted a couple of different resources. I ordered the “What Yours X Grader Needs to Know‘ from the Core knowledge series for 2nd and 3rd grade and will probably get the 4th grade book towards the summer. I don’t know how much we’ll use them or need them, but it will be nice to have.
I also looked through the Moving Beyond the Page site, which is a literature-based study program. Using their book lists and outlines, we’ll work on some of the stuff they suggest. Obviously, without paying for the full curriculum, we won’t be doing quite the same things, but I love the literature aspect of this site and if the boys like it then we may consider using their full paid curriculum for Year 3. I’m also still consulting The Well Trained Mind on occasion, though we’ve deviated from their path more than a little at this point. I do like referring to it when I feel like we’re getting too far off track though. We’ve gotten away from CM style in recent months, so I think a shift back towards literature as a base will be beneficial for us.
As for a basic overview, I was considering getting a big workbook; one of the ‘everything for 3rd grade’ kind, and I still may. I spent some time looking through a couple, and I really liked Harcourt’s Complete Curriculum series. I don’t know that we ‘need’ it, but one thing we will be working on this year is ‘working independently’. A friend recommended the workbox system, and I’m considering modifying it to a folder system so the boys can work on certain days or for certain subjects (or reviews) on their own. We’re going to be using the STARS planner for them to help encourage good work/study habits as well. I think the workboxes will fit nicely into that system.
In a slight change from last year, 2011′s school year is broken into five 10-week sections, called ‘mods’ (short for module), and which include 2 ‘off’ weeks. Each mod is one grading period. To some degree, each 4 week section has a theme that we work in; 4 weeks=4 seasons is a natural rhythm, so the first week is discovery (beginnings, spring), the second week is growth (summer), the third week is mastery (harvest, fall) and the fourth week is review and preview for the next section (winter). I like Moving Beyond the Page’s ‘concepts’ but their 3 week set up doesn’t fit our calendar, so I took that idea and tinkered with it to fit.
I have the first mod pretty much planned, and themes set for the year. I’ll be working on the rest, and a couple more posts (one with ‘core‘ and one with ‘extras’) to go up soon. If you’re starting in January, how’s your year’s planning coming along?
Warmly,
~h
Snuggly Mornings
Of all the perks that homeschooling has brought to our lives, I think ‘snuggly mornings’ are probably my favorite. Add wintertime weather to them and life is practically perfect in every way.
This morning has been one such lovely time. We’re out of school until January, and since it’s been cooler the boys are sleeping later. The house is quiet and peaceful until after 10AM, and even then they’ve been pretty calm which is as unusual as it is appreciated.
I made hot chocolate and we’ve been sitting here sipping it for the last little while. They’re playing video games and I’m multi-tasking; writing here, Facebooking (some friends and I got interviewed yesterday for our local paper’s coverage of breastmilk-sharing as made interesting and news-worthy by Eats on Feets groups; we’ve been celebrating making the front page all morning, lol), and researching curriculum for next year (which seems to happen anytime I get in front of a computer).
I got my lesson planner printed earlier this week, and now it’s all marked and color-coded for next year’s schedule, which appeals to the OCD side of my personality and makes me insanely happy. I added a new page here with all of my forms in .pdf format. Feel free to browse, mix-and-match and print for your own use. Mine was about $30 by the time I printed everything and had it bound; if I had planned better it would’ve cost only half that (I mistakenly printing everything out, then had to re-copy half of it so that the pages were front-and-back). I’ve refined my lesson planner every year (the first one was made back in 2004 when the boys were in pre-home-school); as much as I liked this past year’s planner, I think this new one is the best version yet. I’ve added some new pages and changed up the school schedule (4 weeks on, 1 week off instead of 6 on) and we’re going to do a M-F week instead of M-Th. I am glad that we did a lighter schedule for our first year, and while I don’t feel like the boys are behind in anything, I can see a need to be a little more rigorous in our second year.
Even on our ‘break’, we’re still doing drills (math and Latin, a little geography and some language arts flash cards) so that they don’t lose ground. With only a 4 week break, I don’t think they’ll lose much, but better to be safe than sorry. I’ve been letting them drill each other, which seems to motivate both of them. It’s lovely to see that level of cooperation between them.
This afternoon, we’re heading out for a cuppa joe and browsing workbooks and school supplies, maybe some holiday browsing as well. Hope your Wednesday is as pleasant!
Warmly,
~h
Shifting Your Perspective
LillianJ at Mothering.com said, ”The people I knew who loved homeschooling thought in terms of what they got to do that they wouldn’t have been able to do if their children were in school.“
While I can’t imagine anyone not loving homeschooling (because it is clearly awesome based only on my experiences as related in this blog), I thought that I’d share some of the things we’ve gotten to do this year that we would have missed out on had the boys been in school (not that we ‘couldn’t’ have done them; more that freeing up an extra 20 or so hours per week to do stuff in was key).
I am in no way a gardening enthusiast. In fact, on most of my ‘about me’ sections on anything that asks, I mention something about not liking spiders, clowns and gardening. However, since we were homeschooling this year, and I had some friends who were instrumental in starting a local Farmer’s Market in our area, I decided that starting a small garden would be fun and educational for the boys, so we did. And it grew! And we actually got things from it – carrots, radishes, tomatoes and a cantaloupe (that bugs got into before we could harvest, but still…) Had we not started homeschooling, I may have briefly thought that the garden was an interesting idea, but we never would have gotten around to growing our own. Having had a good experience though, we’re already planning for next year’s garden.
This one, we may or may not have ever done. When I was a child, we went camping religiously. My mom had packing down to an art; 3 Rubbermaid bins that were stocked and ready to go. We would get home from school at 3PM on Friday afternoon and be in the car headed to the lease or the lake by 5PM, grabbing dinner on the way. My only experiences camping without my super-capable and responsible mother along to manage things prior to our recent trip was an ill-planned trip to the lake at midnight in July (which, in Texas, has an average nighttime temperature of 283 degrees F). We were home the next day by 4PM.
The next experience was after Hurricane Rita; we were stranded up near Texarkana. My sister and her in-laws were staying at a State Park on Wright-Patman lake, so we met them there and camped for 3 days… it was not an ideal experience. I admit, I was somewhat worried about going camping (without my mother). But it turned out that with planning and foresight, it can be as great as I remember. We had a really fun time and are looking forward to the next one.
- zoo/museums
It’s sad to say, but when the boys were in school, we never made it to local museums. Houston has a museum for virtually everything, and with it being only 2 hours away, you’d think that we would have taken the kids to them. But we were so busy with school, and so tired by the end of the year that we needed to veg out at home for a while to recuperate. We always had the intention of going, we just never got around to doing it.
Since we’ve started homeschooling, visiting museums has moved up on our list of ‘must see’ as a way to supplement our various areas of study. Sure we could learn about how big dinosaurs were from a book, but how much more impressive is it to stand under a 20′ tall skeleton to drive that lesson home?
- hikes
Again, this is something that we ‘could’ have done, but likely wouldn’t have just due to the time factor. We’ve visited our local State Parks, plus made trips to several others in our general area at least once a month over this past year. It’s been really eye-opening to see how much effort our state puts into maintaining our state parks. We have nature centers and classes at most of them, visitor’s centers and well-maintained trails at all of them. We’ve actually had time to enjoy them this year, and it’s been fun.
- Summer Reading Club
Theoretically, we could have participated in this; it’s free and open to all. However, when the boys were in ‘school’, by the time summer rolled around, I needed the 3 month break just to catch my breath. From the week before school started in August (because I was an actively involved parent, and the week before was orientation and book/locker assignments and PTO organization meetings) until the last day of school in May, it was go-go-go-go-go. I dropped the boys off at 7:45, but didn’t usually leave the school until 9, then picked them up at 2:45PM, but if it was a PTO day, or a student council day, or a tutoring day, then we were there until closer to 4PM. And this in addition to whatever other project I was working on. After that level of commitment and constant effort, the summer was a welcome respite from quite such a buzz of activity.
There are other things, of course, but I’ll stop here. In addition to the time/energy factor, I think another change in perspective is that without the walls of a school to limit learning, these types of learning experiences become more foundational in our personal style of homeschooling. My kids learn better through experience than through books; homeschooling allows us the freedom to actually experience something rather than merely read about it. The shift from passive learning to active learning is a huge one, and a worthwhile one, in my opinion.
What have you gotten to do this year that you might have passed on?
Warmly,
~h
Standardized Testing
I don’t usually blog about issues that don’t impact my kids, but this one is different. We’re in Texas, where standardized testing (STing) is not required for homeschoolers… at this time. Who is to say what will happen in the future – but for now, it’s not an issue we have to deal with. Actually, since it is not required, I’m kind of opposed to homeschoolers voluntarily taking them, just because I can see how that might lead to legislation making it not optional in the future.
There’s such a buzz about STing all over the place that people seem to either not realize or forget that they’re really not a good way to ensure a minimum of education or gauge what a student has learned. Let me say right off the bat that I am in no way advocating standardized testing. I really think it’s faulty reasoning for schools to use STing results for making big educational decisions for many, many reasons. But I am curious as to what the alternatives to STing might be for large-scale operations and schools.
There’s a group on Facebook, Parents & Kids Against Standardized Testing that I found recently, and though I tend to agree with the premise, you can’t just take away the only method that institutionalized school systems have for ensuring (attempting to, anyway) that at the very least, all students in X grade know XYZ. It’s not a perfect system (by far) but I do feel that if you’re going to entrust your children’s education to the government, there would need to be some sort of system in place to ensure that at least a minimum of education is met. STing is the method that has become that system.
Is it a perfect system? No. Is it even an adequate system? Not really, no. For one thing, STing does not take into consideration any child who does not learn via lecture. If you have a child who needs manipulatives to really grasp a concept, then in most ISDs he’s just out of luck. The whole process of STing does not allow for children who learn outside the norm.
Another issue is the test itself; I have been on the pencil end of many, many “fill in the bubble’ tests where the question is designed to trick you or mislead you. Now,while some might argue that questions like that are designed to test reading comprehension or to punish you for not paying attention, have seen many that are designed so that there may be more than one correct answer, depending on how you interpret the question. Some even have multi-part answers that are counted incorrect if you only miss part of the question. I’ve even found some homeschool tests that are like that – that’s not ascertaining what the student KNOWS, it’s ascertaining whether the student can take a test. Then there are the children who simply do not test well, or have a harder time with reading comprehension or don’t learn well visually. Such a big deal is made during testing grades that there is an enormous amount of pressure put onto the kids to do well – starting at 8 years old – earlier even if you’re in a school that has lower test scores. As young as 2nd grade, they’re starting to hear about tests and practicing for taking them. I know a couple of parents with children who worried themselves ill – literally – before testing days. How can that be healthy?
I’m really not opposed to assessment tests that actually look at what the child knows. I use them for my kids to keep us on track. I use the state’s standards as a guideline to see what we need to cover each year. We may stray from that as the kids interests dictate, but we do make an effort to stay near the state’s recommendations.
I’m mostly just thinking out loud here. Obviously, in an institutionalized setting, it will function differently than homeschooling will. It’s not practical to have a delight-led class of 25. I just think that there are too many kids who fall through the cracks in the current system.
Warmly,
~h
Why We Homeschool
I have found that few homeschoolers answer this question honestly. Delving into the real ‘whys’ of why one might homeschool requires that the listener be able to hear what is being said without taking the explanation as a personal attack on them or their choices, which are usually wholly different. Though few homeschoolers are casting judgement simply by doing something different from you, letting one explain why they do what they do it gets into a more tetchy area, I think.
For me, homeschooling has to do with my philosophy and outlook as the person who bears primary responsibility for the education, socialization and upbringing of my contribution to the next generation. It has to do with how I perceive the best way to turn our productive members of and for the society we live in. I don’t want mere ‘members’, I want leaders. That doesn’t mean that I want my kids in to politics, or to be corporate fat cats – but I do want them to understand how society and civilization work and to be able to work within that system when feasible, but also to know when and how, and how to inspire others, to buck it when necessary.
I feel that homeschooling is the best way to accomplish that. Not the only way, certainly, and if our situation were different or changes in the future, it may not even be the only way for us, but I do think that homeschooling is the best way, the easiest way to accomplish those goals. Through homeschooling, I am teaching, allowing for and encouraging my children to think outside the box, to stick with something until they’ve mastered it, to explore and expand their interests and follow them until they’re satisfied. I encourage them to learn through all the senses, and to learn through non-traditional (or ultra-traditional if you’re talking about mentoring or apprenticeship) means.
Homeschooling allows my children the luxury of living in the real world versus the artificial world of a schoolroom, where they would be subject to forced segregation by age for most of their formative years. I prefer the real-world setting, where leadership and status symbols tend to be internal markers such as strength of character or higher intelligence instead of superficial ones like wealth or beauty*. My children get to see and hear and interact with people of all ages, lifestyles, income brackets, ethnicities and religious persuasions, learning that there is something to be experienced or gleaned from virtually everyone, and though we certainly could have and would have done that regardless of where they were being educated, homeschooling allows to live without needing to counter the effects of the classroom. Such interactions are the norm for them.
Homeschooling is also what is best for my children, both emotionally and academically. With one child who needs special attention, the only way to achieve that in the classroom is for him to sit with an aide. While that is what is best for him academically, the emotional toll of being ‘different’ in an environment where ‘different’ is generally cast in a negative light was quite high and starting to become apparent. Homeschooling allows for both factors to be taken into consideration. The environment is set up in such a way that his particular needs can be met without disrupting the classroom setting. Lessons can be tailored to his learning style – both learning styles – and individual needs instantly, rather than forcing them into a mold that does not fit.
There is also constancy in homeschooling that is not ensured in a public school setting. I used to work in childcare, and the turnover rate among childcare workers is staggering. Many children saw upwards of 5 ‘primary’ caregivers before they ever started school. Research has shown again and again that children both need and fare better when there is continuity of care. It makes me wonder how much of today’s social issues (like higher divorce rates) have come about with a decrease in continuity of care in young children; if we’re not training them to expect and survive on short-term relationships.
Our decision to homeschool encompasses all of this and more. What factors play a key role in our decision often depend on the day and activities that we’re currently doing. At this precise moment, the fact that I am awake and my children are still blissfully snoozing the morning away is a really important factor! Having time to myself without waking up before the sun comes up definitely has its perks. We’re eschewing ’formal’ lessons today in favor of seeing the Momix Dance Company perform ‘Botanica‘. From the video, its breathtaking, and there is something to be learned from seeing such a thing that cannot be duplicated in the classroom. That’s yet another reason ‘why’ we homeschool.
There’s a whole wide world out there to be experienced, and I think that sitting in a classroom for 12 years teaches one to disregard much of it. While academic pursuits are a grand and wonderful thing, there is more to life than academia, and while we certainly put emphasis on learning, we also put emphasis on living. Homeschooling accomplishes that for us.
Warmly,
~h
*yes, it could be argued that wealth and beauty are status symbols in the ‘real world’ as well, but that’s not true in our lives. I define ‘real world’ as the atmosphere and environment that my children live and grow up in. At school, the majority of their waking hours and thus their perceptions are formed by that cliquish environment, governed by children. At home, the power-structure and relationship dynamic is completely different; more natural and more representative of what life as an adult is like. As attachment style parents, our philosophy is governed by the desire to have an inter-dependent relationship with our children, not control their every move and thought. Homeschooling fits that ideal better than institutionalized schooling, in my opinion.
First Camping Trip!
Well, we made it… there and back again, safe and sound. In a possibly not-well-thought out, last minute plan, we (myself, SFK & PB&JMom) decided to take our heathen crew camping for 3 days/2 nights without the dads.
We all three endured much weeping and gnashing of teeth during the entire first half of the week over the fact that we were not scheduled to leave until Thursday. I must have listened to PeaGreen ask for ‘clarification’ on his dates (his words, not mine) at least 30 times.
My family used to go camping alsmot every weekend. My dad was an avid outdoorsman, so we were roughneck camping in the winter at the hunting lease, and on the lake in the summer (for fishing, skiing and other outdoors-y fun). My kids’ only experience with camping has thus far been in an emergency refugee from a hurricane situation. Loverly Husband and I did not enjoy that, but I guess to babies who barely remember it, it may have been fun…
This was much better all around.
We reserved two screened shelters (we opted FOR water and power) and brought tents as well. With 3 moms and 8 children, we needed the space to spread out. My kids each have their own tents – a bee and an elephant – that I found at Target when they were babes. We never expected that they’d see ‘real’ camping, but the elephant tent is well and truly indoctrinated into camping life by this point! LittleBoyBlue is a mama’s boy through and through, opting to sleep in the big tent with me, while PeaGreen and PuddleJumper shared the elephant tent. There were many complaints from our fellow campers about the noise level from that elephant in the wee hours of the morning… They had a most excellent time though, so it’s hard to complain too much!
Once we got set up, PB&JMom took the kids to the swimming hole while SFK and I finished setting up and got the grill going. We had hobo packs for dinner and let the kids roast marshmallows over the grill. There was a fire ban in effect, so we didn’t get to have a nice big fire, but it was mostly acceptable. I’d have preferred a real fire, but the fines are heavy, so we opted for rule-obeying and safety.
Day 2 began early, as mentioned before, with noise from the elephant tent. We had breakfast and coffee, then the moms and I had some AM meditation and yoga-ish stretching before heading off for a long hike.
For the afternoons, we lunched, then headed out to the Nature Center with Ranger Stephanie, then biked through the Forest Trail. We should have done the Texas Nature Challenge mission that went with this park, but we were having too much fun elsewhere to focus overmuch on that. We’ll just have to go again in the future {wink}.
Saturday was a pretty relaxing morning with not much on the agenda. We all were pretty pooped by this point and decided to pack it in relatively early. I got home around 3PM Saturday and slept in Sunday in preparation for today’s ‘back to the grind’. We started M7 in truth today (the last 2 weeks have been a mish-mash of school and break) and are looking forward to getting back into our groove.
As a final note, I would like to say how much I enjoyed this weekend. For a spur of the moment plan, it worked out well, and I look forward to doing it again soon! You can read about PB&JMom and SFK’s account of this weekend on their blogs, Enlightened Life & The Adventures of a Domesticated Woman.
Warmly,
~h
Thoughts on Working Independently
Something that I used to struggle with on almost a daily basis was the expectation of what my child ‘should’ be able to do. One of the main reasons we decided to homeschool was because LittleBoyBlue was not able to complete his work independently in a classroom setting. He’s not learning disabled (though the school system and his pedi really tried to stick that label on him); what he needs is for someone to be right there with him to help him stay focused on his task.
Looking back, I think that I was laboring under the impression that homeschooling would ‘solve’ the problem of his inability to work independently at this stage. For months I was struggling and trying to get him to work independently on a worksheet or reading assignment only to com back 20 or 30 minutes later to find that he’d done nothing. This was a completely unrealistic expectation on my part because no matter what the school system’s policy and procedure is, the fact remains that some children just do not fit that model. I knew this, and yet for a while there I was making both of us miserable as I kept attempting to stuff him into this mold and concept of what I needed him to do.
Obviously, I don’t advocate following in my footsteps. Once I examined why homeschooling seemed to be so very challenging on some days, I realized that the problem in the equation was me. The first thing that needed to happen was an adjustment in my thinking. We’re homeschooling, not to fit my needs, but his. Attempting to homeschool in a similar format that wasn’t working in class wasn’t going to work. Even though our feel was different enough that I told myself it was different enough for him, it wasn’t.
Over the months that we’ve been homeschooling, we’ve made some changes that really should have been made in the beginning. Sure, we could go the whole unschooling route, but that’s just not right for us (at least not right now), so there is some desk work, and I do want him to be able to work independently at least some of the time so that I can work one-on-one with PeaGreen. But not all day, not for every assignment, and even now, it’s a struggle some days to shift gears mid-stream when it’s not working. But sometimes, in order for the day to be successful, we need to make a change quickly even if that throws me off. I’m getting better at being adaptable on very short notice.
These days, we’re doing a lot more of his work together (with him at my desk unless I’m working with my other son at my desk), working orally instead of long periods of time where he was expected to write a lot, working on the chalkboard (we have a large one on the wall in our school room) so he can stand and move instead of sitting at a desk, working on the computer – just trying different things for him that meet his needs better than trying to fit him into a mold that he clearly has broken.
It’s really hard to let go of the thought that homeschooling will solve whatever problem our kids have. Well, it can, and does, but not without a learning curve and some adjustment in our thinking as well. Though I am no expert, I’ve learned that what I see or think of as ‘a problem’ probably isn’t – it’s only a problem when I tried to apply the ‘classroom model’ to my child. But realizing that the classroom model didn’t work for my kid is the reason we’re homeschooling. It’s a weird loop and it took me a while to realize that’s where I was.
Since we’ve implemented creative strategies to help meet him where he is, things have been much better. Every day isn’t perfect (today is a case in point reminder of that), but in general his ability to complete assignments and overall enthusiasm for learning has improved, as has his cooperation and attitude. Taking that into consideration, even though we’ve had a few blips and bumps along the way as we settle in, I am thankful that I came to this realization earlier rather than later because seeing him enjoy school again has really made me a happy mama.
Warmly,
~h
My Special lil’ Snowflake(s)
One of the blog/websites that I frequent lately is SizzleBop. I actually found this site years ago, then forgot about it and recently re-discovered it on Facebook. It’s a site for parents who have kids that operate outside the norm. Frequently used terms to describe them are high needs, active alert, highly distractable, out of sync… others as well, but those are the most common.
I have one of these children. Actually, depending on who you ask, I may have two of these children, though they’re very different.
LittleBoyBlue was a classic ‘high needs baby‘. I held him, quite literally, all the time either in arms or worn in the sling. I was okay with that, but it took a lot of energy to defend my actions as a new mom with him. Thankfully, my Loverly Husband was (and ever has been) on board with a more attached style of parenting, so as a united front we pretty much made most parenting topics ‘off limits’ to non-supportive family and friends. Once PeaGreen came on the scene, we got flak from so many people about our feeding methods, sleeping arrangements and discipline philosophy – things that I really tend to feel are NOYFB.
The reason that I particularly enjoy SizzleBop is because of founder Carol Barnier’s attitude towards these kids. She’s constantly reminding parents of ‘sizzlers’ not to ‘miss the gift’ in these children. That message is so very important – one that is so easy to forget when you’re in the midst of a ‘situation’ with one of these intense little people. It is, at times, so very hard to remember that they are not trying to create chaos. They’re not trying to make things more difficult. And most of the time, they’re just as frustrated as you are.
Two of my best friends have a child that is like this as well. They’re all so very similar, and easy to pick out. I can, without hesitation, say that I deeply enjoy these kids. Oh, they’re right little brats at times – probably more often than your average kiddo – but they have so much ‘much-ness’, as SFK often says, that when they’re being charming, well… gosh darn it, you’re charmed! When they’re not though, it’s exceedingly difficult to remember that the gift in these kids is the same thing that cause us parents the most grief.
I got a chart from Kindermusik years ago that had a list of positive phrases to use to describe your child. Instead of ‘argumentative’, you might say ‘opinionated’ or ‘goal oriented’. Instead of ’loud’ you might say ‘vivid’ and so on…it’s a good tool to help re-shape your attitude towards your spunky kidlet. It also makes you much more aware of the phrasing that other people use to describe your kids, and if yours are like mine (super smart and very observant), then they also understand when someone is saying one thing but meaning something else; something not so nice, and it makes your heart simply ache when you realize that your child recognizes that he is ‘different’ to the point that they’re uniquely disliked by an adult.
The thing is, my child has only ever seemed ‘different’ when I start comparing him to other kids, or hold him up to the expectations of people who really don’t matter. That’s not to say that he’s not challenging, because he is – they both are. They’re both intense little people – but that just reinforces something I have always thought and said – children are whole, complete and fully functioning little people, from the moment they’re born. One of the benefits of homeschooling for me is that there is less pressure to compare my child to any others. Yes, the homeschooling community at large is responsible for some of the most fierce competition in accomplishments for their kids, but I don’t usually buy into that mindset. I know that my kids both have unique strengths and with that comes weaknesses as well. Recognizing that has gone a long way towards having the relationship with my kids that I do… that, and having some awesome tools to help me respond in a way that is helpful.
One thing I try to always keep in mind is that the traits that we admire most in Leaders are the same ones that are so challenging to handle in children. Smart mouthed kids grow up into witty and clever adults who can get your attention with a single phrase. Kids who have limitless energy when they’re little are burning the midnight oil on whatever project has their interest as adults. Children who ask a million questions grow up to be those amazing ‘idea people’ who can think 5 steps ahead of normal people… these are things that we envy in other adults. So how do you nurture those traits without going crazy in the process?
Something that helps me is to be conscious of how I think about my kids. I’m not perfect, so obviously, I fail at this more than I succeed, but like the Kindermusick list, I try to give myself positive words and phrases to think about my kids. If I’m struggling for a word to help reshape my perspective, I can type a word that describes my feeling at the moment into Thesaurus.com and pick more positive words to replace them. It’s amazing how much that one thing alone can help shape your outlook.
Another amazingly simple tool I use is the Mistaken Goal Chart by Jane Nelson from PositiveParenting. I printed it out and have it in an easily referred to place because I need it! This is by far one of the best tools I have found that helps me really understand what my kids need and having an answer to the ever-present question ‘what do you want?!?’ makes it ever so much easier to provide them with it, especially when most of the time they are not even able to verbalize what they need.
I do believe that when children feel well, they act well. I believe that children are acting, for the most part, the best they can in that moment. That doesn’t mean that I let my kids get away with being ugly or disrespectful or bratty. It does mean that I try to understand where they’re coming from as best I can and try to make sure that I am not pushing an unrealistic expectation on them.
Warmly,
~h
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge
Our local homeschool group met today for a field trip to the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. It’s been hard to hit the local parks and wildlife attractions in this area; so many of them were severely affected by either Hurricane Ike or Rita – we could still plainly see the effects of Ike. The visitor’s center was closed (destroyed, more or less), and there was debris in the trees higher than out heads – that’s how high the water was after Ike. I wouldn’t have thought that after two years there would still be such visible effects of the storm, but they were definitely there.
I talked to one of the ladies who works out their about the stickers for our Houston Wilderness Passport, and she left them for us since the Visitor’s Center wasn’t open, so yay! We got our stickers!!
We took a hike, longer than expected, along the butterfly trail, using our study guide to talk about leaves and plants and the changes that the hurricane might have wrought, how things might have looked before and during the storm and how plants and animals might have adapted to live in this environment.
On our way back up, we came across a letterbox hidden in a tree. We were looking for birds nests and debris from the storm up in the branches and one of the kids pointed out a film canister. We didn’t plan on letterboxing, so none of us had our stuff, so we took a picture.
We headed back up to the very sad-looking visitor’s center and the kids found owl pellets. I’ve been wanting to get some and examine them, so this was definitely a highlight of the day. They found bones from birds, mice and crabs in the pellets. Who knew poop could be this interesting?
After that, we re-hydrated, sanitized nine pairs of child-sized hands and four moms, and loaded up to head down to the bay where more crab shells and lots of water bugs were found.
Then we went back up to one of the wildlife viewing areas to check out the pools and bogs. We found a lovely little spot that was filled with blue crabs. The kids spent almost an hour fishing for crabs!
By then it was well past lunch, so we went back to SFK’s house and ate, then put the kids in the yard while we moms put another layer of papier-mache on the maracas we started earlier in the week. When they were dry, we brought the kids inside in shifts to paint them.
Then we fed the kids dinner and put them in front of a video for a bit – they were exhausted!
We made it home at 10:40 this evening. It was a long, tiring, amazingly satisfying and throughly enjoyable day. At some point next week, my boys and I will be notebooking our trip. They drew a few pictures to add to their Nature Journals while we were crab fishing, and we’ll fill in the rest of our study guide. We’ve been so busy today that I haven’t really had a chance to sit down with them to hear about what they learned. I know the owl pellets will feature in big – on the way home they were telling me all about what they planned on telling Daddy when we got home.
After days like this, I just can’t imagine ‘school’ ever being our norm again.
Warmly,
~h
Play Attention!
There is something about the beginning of a new month that makes me very happy and optimistic. I have to enjoy this kind of mood when it strikes because it never lasts long and is quite outside my usual nature.
But today, the first of September (isn’t that a Dr. Seuss book – nah, that’s Octember. Anyway…) has been a lovely day in so many ways!
One of the doors on my minivan has had a broken hinge and it’s been a complete PITA to try to get it fixed. Now, almost 2 weeks after the original ‘take it in to the shop for a look-see’, I have my van with both doors in complete working order. When they were checking it out, they caught one of the side panels on a lift and tore it off, so they’re replacing it – it’s actually in and they’re matching the paint, so that’s nearly done as well. Yay!
We spent most of the morning in their very nice waiting room doing school work. They had a table so we could spread out a bit and a train table that the boys were motivated to play with enough to finish both math and handwriting fairly quickly. While they were playing, we did our grammar/LA lesson (nouns, proper, singular & plural review). I asked the same question a couple of times and tried to tell them to pay attention, but I mis-spoke and say ‘play attention’. They thought that was super funny. After some discussion, we decided that it was rather appropriate since they were playing while we did the lesson orally, and so that became the phrase of the day.
We hit the library to stock up on books for the next week’s lessons, and to see if they had anything on the coastal marshes ecosystems, and they did so we snagged those since we have a field trip with our homeschool group tomorrow to the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. We’re doing the Houston Wilderness Passport program, and trying to visit all of the eco-regions in Southeast Texas, and we’ll get our ‘coastal marshes‘ sticker tomorrow. The boys have their Big Thicket and Other Places stickers (two each of those, actually). Yay!
After the library, we went next door to the park, which was delightfully deserted (have I mentioned how much I enjoy school being ‘in session’ – the parks and libraries are EMPTY – it’s SO nice!!), and the boys got to run around for a bit. They found some little mushrooms growing in the mulch, which led to a discussion and some YouTube surfing for time-lapse mushroom growing. I didn’t think about there being ‘magic mushrooms’ on there, but there were. We skipped over those lest Mommy have some ‘splaining to do… (Mommy, what’s a ‘head shop?’)…
I have to say that I’m super proud of my kiddos. Their first inclination when they found the mushrooms was to take pictures of them and go home and look them up. I’m so glad to see this excitement for learning in them.
After the mushroom madness sidetrack, we read over some of the books we found on marshes and found some of the native plants that we may see tomorrow. Of course, the most interesting by far were the carnivorous plants (venus fly trap and pitcher plant), so we YouTube’d some more and learned all about how they trap food.
And, the icing on my cake – September means that I get to have a new folder for pictures. Yay! I keep my picture files organized by year, then by month and special event. It always makes me happy to have a new folder to fill with pictures.
Warmly,
~h
Houston Museum of Natural Science
I was raised in a Christian faith that believed and taught that the earth was young; only 6,000 years old or so. As you can imagine, dinosaurs didn’t really fit into that picture being that they’re millions of years old. So naturally, the dino bones at the Houston Museum of Natural Science have always held immense fascination for me. I am so pleased to be able to pass that fascination along to my children without the challenge of fitting scientific fact into religious dogma.
We went with our homeschool group yesterday, and even though we were not ‘technically’ in school, they certainly took a lot of information in. We had lunch in the courtyard, which was lined with statues. We had the kids go read about a statue and come back and tell us 2 interesting facts about their statue, then we went ’round and checked them out.
Inside the museum, we discovered that they were previewing a new IMAX film, so we got to see a free show, ‘Legends of Flight‘ which will be released this Friday. The film is a documentary about the design and making of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet. LittleBoyBlue is all about being a pilot when he grows up, so that was right up his alley.
Inside the main gallery, we got the info for the Texas Nature Challenge mission and their stickers for the Houston Wilderness Passport, then went fossil hunting. All of the boys except PeaGreen were totally into the fossil hunting exercise. PeaGreen was very into the dinos, so he and I took a quick trip around to see the parts that were of interest to him. The TNC mission was about ‘predator and prey’ in the TX marshes, but we expanded that to all of the galleries and he found quite a few on his own in other sections of the gallery. He was really into it and I was impressed with his enthusiasm.
We spent some time in the 3rd floor gallery, which was South American cultures (Maya, Aztecs, etc) and by the time we were through, the boys needed some outside time. We got some fun pictures and walked across the street to horse around under the statue of Sam Houston for a bit, then we re-joined the girls for a tour of the 2nd floor gallery, which was gemstones, aquatic life, marshes and African animals.
After we filled out our TNC paperwork, we trekked outside for a few last shot pictures of the kids outside the museum (you’ll have to check SFK’s blog for that; I didn’t get a shot) and then headed back in a homeward direction. We didn’t get home until 10:07PM, but it was so worth the trip! The kids all had a fantastic day – no meltdowns or upsetting moments – and the moms did, too.
If you get a chance to visit this museum, I highly recommend it! We spent the day there, with plans only to visit the main galleries, and didn’t really get to see everything. Thanks for sharing a peek into our field trip!
Warmly,
~h
Halfway There
You ever have one of those days where you feel like on the one hand, you began so long ago and you’re just now reaching the halfway point; and on the other hand, it’s going by so fast that you’re amazed that you’re already halfway through? Well, that’s how I feel about this mod.
For one thing, we’re doing a short mod; only 5 weeks instead of 6, and tomorrow begins what would be week 4. It doesn’t seem like we’ve done much by way of actual school work, but when I look in our records, we really have. We’ve had several long days, and several short ones, plus 2 out-of-town trips – and still managed to complete all of the lessons I marked off up till now. I’m kinda impressed that we’ve stayed mostly on track. We have slowed down a bit – taking a couple of weeks for LittleBoyBlue’s much longer spelling lists and multiplication is harder for PeaGreen – I love having the flexibility to really go at their pace rather than rushing through just to get done with a book.
I suppose that some will read this and scratch their head considering that most schools will start a new school year in a few weeks, but since we school all year long (we just take more breaks at regularly scheduled intervals than other schools), we’re only halfway through our school year. Since my boys do associate with some of the kids that they were in school with, I did go ahead and close out their previous grade and move them into the next one (not that it matters to me) so they don’t ‘feel’ different from their peers. That did cause some confusion for LittleBoyBlue the other day when he was complaining to Dad that Mom just switched him to 3rd grade without a party or anything… because we were so going to have a party?? o_O
They have expressed vehement opposition to going back to school, but only if I bring up going back. Apparently I missed the memo that said it was fine for them to say they wanted to go back, but definitely not okay for Mom to suggest it. I’m not sure if I find that amusing or annoying.
I like how the farther and deeper into homeschooling we get, the more it’s becoming ‘how we live’ instead of ‘something that we do’. It’s exhausting at times, always being ‘on’ to find the educational value of an activity, but I think it’s worth it. Though the boys do resist sitting still to do a lesson at times, they’re all about sitting still to watch a video about spiders or bees or whatever it is that they want to learn more about.
This week includes 3 playdates of sorts – one with a homeschooling friend I’ve recently re-connected with and her kiddos, another with a local mom’s group and our homeschool group’s park day is Friday. We’ll hit the library at some point, and I am newly resolved (again) to start the Couch to 5K program and/or 30 Day Shred DVD. Or at least do something exercise-ish every day. We’ll see how that goes.
Warmly,
~h
Thoughts on Accountability in Homeschooling
One of the great things about homeschooling in Texas is the freedom parents who choose to educate their kids at home have. We don’t have to register with anyone if we choose not to enroll in Kindergarten. We don’t have to ask permission to pull our kids out of public school. We don’t have to be evaluated or take tests or hand in reports or samples of work to anyone. Homeschools are regarded as private schools, and like any private school, we’re pretty autonomous.
For those of us who have been indoctrinated into the public school system, it’s a bit hard to shift from the mindset that there will be some sort of testing going on to assess where your child is at the beginning of the year and again at the end of the year to see how much he’s progressed, to realizing that there really is no system for tallying accomplishments and improvements that gets handed to you when you decide to homeschool. Sure you can go look at the TEA website and get an idea of what your child would/should be learning in public school, but you have to look for it – it’s not handed to you.
On the one hand, that’s great. I think that standardized testing is a crock to begin with; though I realize and agree with the thought that there should be some kind of system in place to ensure that students in an institutionalized educational setting are getting a minimum set of skills and/or knowledge base, there has to be a better way of determining that information than the testing that schools (in Texas, at least) do periodically. It would also be nice if teachers had the autonomy to make decisions about the method of testing for their students based on their knowledge of the student’s ability without having to go through the red tape of having a 504 designation and IEP* if your child is a special-needs child. If you don’t have a special needs child, but do have one that just doesn’t perform well on written tests, letting the teacher assess the information orally or in some other format than the formal “test” would be a huge benefit to the student.
Aside from that, teachers spend half their time teaching kids how to take the test (dealing with trick questions and absolutes, etc), which means that there is less time spent on teaching the material they’re being tested on. Even on off years when there is no testing, they still do mock tests so the kids don’t forget how to deal with testing. Then there’s the level of importance that is placed on test scores. If you’re not a good test-taker, then you’re pretty much screwed, even if you know the material. I always got hung by trick questions – ones that used absolutes (always or never) or phrased things tricksy, and so I scored much lower than I would have if the question assessed my knowledge coherently.
On the other hand, there’s a certain reassurance in the testing. With it, you have a concrete starting point and yardstick with which to measure. It’s easy to look at the scores and see where your weak points are and where you’re good to go. Without it, there are no guidelines to go by, no system of checks and balances to help guide a parent/teacher or show her that she’s doing a “good enough” job in setting and reaching educational goals. There’s no one to have a conference with and ask how he’s doing and get tips and pointers on how to help shore up the weak areas. There’s no set list of skills or knowledge that must be learned “this year”. In a way, that’s bad. It means that WE (loverly husband and I… well, me) have to pour over websites and through curriculum outlines and decide what all needs to be addressed this year. WE are solely responsible for making sure that our kids are not lagging behind their peers.
Or do we?
Who’s to say that the way the institution has laid out their year and the subjects/skills the “right” way? The “best” way? Does my 1st grader really NEED to know Roman numerals this year? Or can that wait until we start studying the Roman Empire? Does my 2nd grader HAVE to study ‘whole language’ style (sight words), or can we omit that altogether and learn phonics instead? Or what if I have one child who does better with whole language and one who does better with phonics? Shouldn’t we do both in that case?
I think that’s another benefit right there – lacking the ‘paperwork’ to tell you about your child, you actually have to (get to?) focus on your child. You’re also not limited to the lowest common denominator when you’re homeschooling. In the classroom, rather than bringing the students all up, they tend to drop everyone down. That means that if your child is excelling, unless real effort is made in the classroom to tailor to that child to some extent, their potential goes untapped. At home, there’s no cap on learning.
Next year would have been our first foray into standardized testing. There’s a small part of me that would kind of like to have LittleBoyBlue tested – and I’m not ruling out buying the test-prep/mock TAKS book at Manning’s even though I am philosophically opposed to standardized testing. It’s expensive though, so I may not. And by that time, we may be on a whole different homeschooling agenda page by then. Who knows? I honestly don’t think that he would do very well on the test if he were to take it the way they give it. If I gave him the test, it would be piecemeal where we could and orally, I’m sure – my goal would actually be to assess his knowledge, not trick him up and see how well he tests.
I don’t really have a goal with this post. I’m still new enough to homeschooling that I can see the benefit in the way that institutionalized schooling operates. It must function the way that it does to meet the goals they have, and though they fall short and are in drastic need of a complete overhaul, there does have to be some form and structure there. Institutionalized schooling cannot mimic homeschooling without… well, so much is lacking to even come close. I really do feel that home should be the standard and everything else should measure up to that and not the other way around. Only when I can’t provide what my child needs should I start looking for someone else to help me provide for my child.
Warmly,
~h
* As I understand it, 504 is the designation in TX for students with handicaps or learning disabilities that allows modifications and accommodations to be made in the classroom for them to help learning/functioning. IEP stands for “Individual Education Plan” and outlines to modifications and accommodations that will be made for the child that the teacher must follow. That may not be entirely accurate, but it’s close.
A Week in Review (with pictures!)
One of the best things about homeschooling is that when you wake up and KNOW that if you try to follow the prescribed plan for the day you will accomplish nothing, you can change the day’s plans on the fly and without a problem. Our Tuesday this week was one such day.
I chart my fertility cycles, so it is rare that something happens with my body that is unexpected. Yesterday, I woke up to a surprisingly unexpected visit from “aunt flo” if you know what I mean. In light of recent events (including a surprise pregnancy last April and tragic miscarriage last June, plans to TTC again put on hold due to gall bladder surgery and now unsuccessful TTCing for the past few months), this visit was not a pleasant event, and did not bode well for Mom’s patience and ability to focus on “doing school”…
So, we took our homeschooling selves on a field trip. Completely unplanned, and not really related to anything we’re studying right now, but that’s okay. I took the boys to the Texas Energy Museum and we learned all about how crude oil is manufactured into gasoline, and about the history and founding of our city. One of the coolest features about this museum is that they have mannequins at various places throughout, in period dress, outfitted with a holographic projector that makes it seem as if there is a person standing there talking to you, telling their story. It’s really, really neat and kinda disturbing at the same time.
This museum opened during the years I was homeschooled, and my mom organized a big homeschoolers field trip there. The holograms made a lasting impression, so I was keen on the idea of my boys seeing them. Unfortunately, all but one of them were non-functioning. Grr… Not a big deal, since we can go back anytime, but still.
We had lunch and went to Goodwill to scrounge through there books (I get a lot of books from there) and then made our way back home for some Wii entertainments. Overall, it was a much better day than I had anticipated, and I am very glad that we are in a position to adjust the day’s plans and activities to meet our needs.
Wednesday was more “on track”; we had a super early school day and then went to playgroup, lunch, the library and to visit some friends to welcome their new baby. Thursday was the last day of our school week, so we had spelling and math tests, art appreciation and a trip to the dentist in the afternoon for teeth-cleaning, and then to the grocery store.
Thursday evening, I spent cutting fabric for quilts for the boys’ beds – well, soon to be. we’re getting bunk beds and need decor. Unfortunately, it’s expensive and none of it seems to “grow” with them that we like, so I’m making bed-spread quilts for them both. I have made quilted blankets before, but this is my first (and second) real patchwork-pieced quilt. I’m excited about finishing them. I’m working on both of them simultaneously and have no idea how long it will take. So far, I have this:
I’ve also been working on some homeschooling-related sewing projects. One of the things I wanted to have was a wall chart with clear pockets for words and sentence construction (kinda like this one), but they’re expensive – $20 or more, depending on size. I found black nylon at Joann’s yesterday for $2.00 and got clear vinyl for $4.00 and made this:
I also wanted a place value chart like this one, but again, didn’t want to pay that much when I knew I could make one, so I did. This is made from leftover vinyl from the pocket chart and a scrap of fabric that I had lying around, and I made all of the cards from sentence strips and index cards.
In effect, for free! I truly enjoy making “stuff” more than clothing. I never could get into making clothes, especially for myself, but craft-sewing – I am all about craft sewing!
Warmly,
~h
The Return of Imagination
Television robs children of imagination and creative thinking. That’s not just a theory, I know this. I have seen it in action. That doesn’t mean that I am going to ban or that I support an all-out ban (or war) on TV. But that also doesn’t mean that I am blind to the differences in my children based on less or more TV-viewing.
When the kids were little, we severely limited their television time. As LittleBoyBlue hit a year or so, he watched A Bug’s Life and fell in lurve. He had to watch it at least once a day. And in the morning. And at nap time. And in the afternoon. And at bedtime. So, we started letting him. Bad move? Maybe. But he didn’t ‘sit in front of the TV and stare at it’ watch it, it was just on in the background while he went about his daily routine. I was sort of fine with that. Then I was pregnant and sicksicksick and so I let him watch more and more, interacted with him less and less (because in all honesty all I wanted to do was sleep) and finally PeaGreen was born. For a long time, we didn’t watch much TV. I am not a homebody by nature (or wasn’t until recently) and so we were gone every day – park, bookstore, library, visiting – anything we could do that was not at home.
As they grew though, we got more and more lax about allowing them to chill in front of the boob-tube when we were home, especially during the Dec-early March when the weather here is cold and wet and gray all the time. Then summertime would hit and I would banish TV, kick the kids outside and open up the house to let the sun in.
When I started paying attention, I noticed a correlation between their behavior and in the tones of their interaction with each other and the amount of TV they were watching. The more TV they watched, the whinier and crabbier they were. I noticed more fights, more picking on each other. When they weren’t allowed to waste the day away in front of the TV, I watched I creativity bloom. They worked together, were more of a team than adversaries. They collaborated on projects – even if the entire project was completely invisible. Heck, they had projects that were invisible!
My theory? Television robs children of the ability to think outside the box – literally. If they spent a lot of time watching TV, then even when they were away from the TV, their mind was on what was on TV. Constantly, I was fielding the question, “Mom, can we watch TV?”. If it wasn’t that, exactly, then it was some variation of it, and always related to getting done with whatever we were doing so that they could get back to watching TV. Even if they were playing without watching TV, their topic was usually related to a show or movie. If I sent them outside, they couldn’t think of anything to do. There was a lot of sitting on the porch, moping and ticking the minutes by until they could get back in front of the television, and if they missed a show? Pouting, tears, attitude… ugh.
When we banished TV (or severely limited it), then after maybe a week of de-tox, they miraculously were able to think of things to do outside or in their room that had nothing to do with television shows. They wake up and PLAY, and everything doesn’t revolve around what’s coming on next. They get engaged in physical activities that require planning and forethought and teamwork, and even if they miss out on a show, it’s not that big of a deal because they were having fun. I like that.
I am seeing this lovely shift into creativity again. I have been a lazy mama, I can admit that. During school (“school” school, not our new and improved homeschool) it took all my energy to get through homework when we got home from school. By the time we were done with that, I needed to get dinner on, make sure laundry was done for the next day, take care of whatever work I still needed to finish for the day – and we all needed to relax. Sometimes, that was accomplished in a “whole family” kind of way, but more often, it was either “Daddy Time” (which usually means video games) or we would all watch a show. Granted, it wasn’t always mind-numbing ‘crap TV’ – we’re big fans of Discovery Channel, Science Channel, NGC, and the History Channel, so we often watch intellectually stimulating programs by choice.
But weekends, weekends were a problem. My husband and I are night owls by nature, so if we don’t have to get up early in the morning, we’re prone to stay up super late and sleep in the next morning. Once the boys got old enough to let mom & dad sleep in, they’d get up and turn on the TV, grab some grub and their morning was set… which translated into a few hours of TV all in one stretch.
Since we started homeschooling, it really hit just how much TV they’d been watching. I was talking to another homeschooling mom in the park last week and she was talking about how her kids argued way more when they were in public school. It kinda hit me then how much my boys were arguing and made me remember how much nicer it was when we had more strict TV time limits in our house.
Last week was kind of our de-tox week. There was a lot of grumping about not being allowed to watch TV, and a lot of me snapping and making unreasonable threats, “If you ask me again, you may never watch TV again!” – that kind of thing.
But this week, it’s almost magical, how the shift from more TV to less TV just gives them back their imagination. They’ve been mining in our yard. It looks more like “digging a knee-deep kid-sized hole”, but they’re calling it mining and I’m encouraging it. They’ve discovered layers in the soil – clay, fine sand, fertile topsoil. They’ve found roots from a tree halfway across our yard. They’ve found grubs and earthworms, made squishy mud pies (did I mention that they’ve found that adding water to the hole makes it easier to dig?) – there’s a part of me that knows that this is unschooling at work, and I am reveling in it. But they still had a spelling test and a math test this morning. The part that I love is that yesterday, they didn’t get to go dig; we had a playdate and library day which they enjoyed as much but in a different way. This morning, that’s all they have asked to do – to go dig. So I cut short lessons – only math, spelling, reading, art appreciation (Raphael’s “St. George and the Dragon” – it’s a freakin’ dragon!) and the geography that they asked to do (Paddle to the Sea), which led to online explorations and discussions about canals and shipping lane locks. That, in addition to their digging discoveries, covers science.
This is the part I am loving about homeschooling. Yes, we still have lessons we need to work through, but there is an opportunity to learn that is self-directed. They can experiment and make discoveries for themselves, on a subject that they are motivated to explore and we can skip the pre-packaged lesson on science in favor of what they want to learn about. We have yet to crack open the science textbook (not that Charlotte Mason advocates textbooks, but I have several and figure we may as well get some use from them, when it suits us) and yet they’re learning just fine.
Warmly,
~h
