Most days we say our pledge to our fully unfurled flag before we start school. (Afterwards, if the weather's nice, Scooter hangs the flag outside; otherwise we roll it up and put it away.) Today we are breaking it down into what it means, because such an important vow should not be relegated to something you say every day but never understand.
Here's what they came up with:
"I pledge allegiance (promise loyalty) to the flag (symbol) of the United States of America (the country where I live), and to the republic (kind of government with leaders we vote for) for which it (our flag) stands, one nation, under God (our Supreme Creator/Being), indivisible (standing together), with liberty (freedom) and justice (fairness under the law) for all (EVERYONE!)."
Great job, kids.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Six Months Later.
In my head, my homeschool would run like a ship. Kids up and dressed, reporting for morning prayers, flag salute, and scripture study at nine A.M. By then their teeth and hair would be brushed, their rooms straightened, and their little spirits cheerfully prepared for another day of schoolin' by Mom.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAAHAAHAAAAAA!
Two words: Saxon Math. Saxon Math was our undoing.
Animal is doing Grade 1 Saxon math. It's tons of fun: flashcards, blocks, rubber bands and pegs to make shapes, teddy bears to represent units, etc. Seriously fun.
Scooter is doing Grade 4 Saxon math. It's no fun at all: here's the lesson, here's 26 homework questions on top of 10 mental math questions and 5 lesson questions. There's an arithmetic test every day, and a unit test every ten lessons. It's boring, and, worse, it TAKES FOREVER each day. Also, there are tears from both of us, along with some yelling, also from both of us. Clearly, it is not for us. Just knowing he has to do math every day is enough to turn him from a cautiously optimistic homeschooler to a rebellious math hater.
I see a light at the end of the tunnel, though. We started his new math curriculum today, and the change was immediate. Using his base blocks to skip count and find the area of rectangles, realizing that he was multiplying without pulling out his hair, and seeing that worksheets have only 8 to 10 questions on them was enough to get him truly excited about math, and homeschooling, again. Phew.
Thank you, Math U See. The DVD is brilliant, and I am contemplating buying the skip count CD of songs, because Animal will be starting Math U See next year.
The philosophy of homeschooling that I follow is all about short lessons: 10-15 minutes per subject. In all other subjects, we were able to pull this off. Now math has joined the ranks of the brief but meaningful.
As for the morning ceremonies, they're up to me. We do them when I'm on my game in the morning. Unfortunately, I like to snooze well past wake-up time. It's a matter of self-discipline.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAAHAAHAAAAAA!
Two words: Saxon Math. Saxon Math was our undoing.
Animal is doing Grade 1 Saxon math. It's tons of fun: flashcards, blocks, rubber bands and pegs to make shapes, teddy bears to represent units, etc. Seriously fun.
Scooter is doing Grade 4 Saxon math. It's no fun at all: here's the lesson, here's 26 homework questions on top of 10 mental math questions and 5 lesson questions. There's an arithmetic test every day, and a unit test every ten lessons. It's boring, and, worse, it TAKES FOREVER each day. Also, there are tears from both of us, along with some yelling, also from both of us. Clearly, it is not for us. Just knowing he has to do math every day is enough to turn him from a cautiously optimistic homeschooler to a rebellious math hater.
I see a light at the end of the tunnel, though. We started his new math curriculum today, and the change was immediate. Using his base blocks to skip count and find the area of rectangles, realizing that he was multiplying without pulling out his hair, and seeing that worksheets have only 8 to 10 questions on them was enough to get him truly excited about math, and homeschooling, again. Phew.
Thank you, Math U See. The DVD is brilliant, and I am contemplating buying the skip count CD of songs, because Animal will be starting Math U See next year.
The philosophy of homeschooling that I follow is all about short lessons: 10-15 minutes per subject. In all other subjects, we were able to pull this off. Now math has joined the ranks of the brief but meaningful.
As for the morning ceremonies, they're up to me. We do them when I'm on my game in the morning. Unfortunately, I like to snooze well past wake-up time. It's a matter of self-discipline.
Monday, September 14, 2009
School, Interrupted
Friday I woke up feeling tired and a little run-down. The kids were studying their scriptures when my friend K called me. K and I are both beginning homeschoolers, using the same general curriculum, and we are glad to have each other as sounding-boards (and adult conversationalists).
She said she was running a field trip to the zoo to study mammals and would my muppets like to come along? Would they? Oh yes.
They had a great time (and broke our camera, sigh). We only got the minimum done that day (Math, Penmanship, Scriptures, Literature).
This morning we were up early to take Gonzo to his first day of preschool. The local high schools offer preschool programs that are run by a teacher and staffed by students studying early education. It's a good program and the price is unbeatable. The waiting list is usually years long but this year they changed the start time to 7:45 AM and many families dropped out, so we got a spot.
At 9:30 the preschool teacher called to tell me Gonzo'd had an accident: he was riding a two-person trike and they took a bad spill on asphalt. He had a cut that required stitches, so I picked him up and took him to Urgent Care. In all, we were gone from home for four hours. We managed a full school day, but it took us till late in the afternoon (and Scooter is still doing his math problems for the evening). Frankly, I love the days when Adjunct Professor Fozzie runs Scooter through his math. I can handle it just fine, but he has a better understanding of how it ties into Algebra and Calculus and other future maths.
I think this part of homeschool life will be the hardest acclimation for me. I like to finish what I start IMMEDIATELY if not sooner, because if I abandon my work I may never take it up again. I will certainly gain a little consistency in rolling with what the day brings!
She said she was running a field trip to the zoo to study mammals and would my muppets like to come along? Would they? Oh yes.
They had a great time (and broke our camera, sigh). We only got the minimum done that day (Math, Penmanship, Scriptures, Literature).
This morning we were up early to take Gonzo to his first day of preschool. The local high schools offer preschool programs that are run by a teacher and staffed by students studying early education. It's a good program and the price is unbeatable. The waiting list is usually years long but this year they changed the start time to 7:45 AM and many families dropped out, so we got a spot.
At 9:30 the preschool teacher called to tell me Gonzo'd had an accident: he was riding a two-person trike and they took a bad spill on asphalt. He had a cut that required stitches, so I picked him up and took him to Urgent Care. In all, we were gone from home for four hours. We managed a full school day, but it took us till late in the afternoon (and Scooter is still doing his math problems for the evening). Frankly, I love the days when Adjunct Professor Fozzie runs Scooter through his math. I can handle it just fine, but he has a better understanding of how it ties into Algebra and Calculus and other future maths.
I think this part of homeschool life will be the hardest acclimation for me. I like to finish what I start IMMEDIATELY if not sooner, because if I abandon my work I may never take it up again. I will certainly gain a little consistency in rolling with what the day brings!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Thoughts on Week One
Scooter spoke extemporaneously in church this past Sunday. He told a story about our camping trip the day before. After a little preamble about the hustle and bustle of preparations, followed by getting lost on the way to the site, he came to the main point: weather and prayer. The dads built a fire in the pit while it was cloudy, but then it started to rain. Scooter was praying the rain would stop so the fire would burn on, and he mentioned that his prayer was answered -- it stopped raining, but then it started to hail! (Which was, by the way, beyond exciting to him. He was jumping up and down and encouraging all seven children to hurry outside to see the wonder of the hail.) Eventually, the hail turned back to rain, which then turned back to clouds. The fire managed to outlast the weather.
I'd love to just say what a great talk it was, how it made everyone chuckle, and how it impressed all the fathers and grandpas in the chapel, since Scooter speaks clearly and without fear, and was wearing suit-white-shirt-and-tie, complete with handkerchief in the outer breast pocket. Proud and pleased as I am, what I like the most is how his story perfectly describes our first week.
The first day was covered with the clouds of uncertainty; like motherhood, one can read dozens of books about homeschooling, but until you call your children to order on the first day, you have no idea what it will really be like. It was in no way a bad day, just like cloudy weather is not bad weather.
Our second day was a little rainy. Scooter was struggling with this new kind of education, which relies heavily on reading the best books ever written, and which refuses to dumb down either vocabulary or concepts for children. They take out of the stories what they will at each age, and learn more and more as the years go on. Personally, I adore this method, Animal's doing really well with it, and I believe Scooter will come to at least appreciate as time goes by. But Tuesday definitely saw a bit of rain.
Wednesday's hail? Let's just say there was a bit of arguing, and a lot of whining.
I call Thursday rainy because we were recovering from Wednesday's hail. We all came to the table a bit wary of each other, wondering if another storm awaited.
Friday's clouds were fatigue. I tend to be a lazy person and I haven't worked this hard since I was holding down three jobs the summer after my freshman year of college. Even then I didn't have a household to run and maintain on top of my jobs; my mom was running that end of things and dinner was always available if I was home to eat it.
I know this will be the best work of my life -- honestly, what work could be more important and worthwhile than raising your children to be phenomenal adults -- but it makes my life 100% different than it was before. Still, I know that first sunny day can't be far off. And stormy weather isn't necessarily bad, especially if you're like me and you love rain.
I'd love to just say what a great talk it was, how it made everyone chuckle, and how it impressed all the fathers and grandpas in the chapel, since Scooter speaks clearly and without fear, and was wearing suit-white-shirt-and-tie, complete with handkerchief in the outer breast pocket. Proud and pleased as I am, what I like the most is how his story perfectly describes our first week.
The first day was covered with the clouds of uncertainty; like motherhood, one can read dozens of books about homeschooling, but until you call your children to order on the first day, you have no idea what it will really be like. It was in no way a bad day, just like cloudy weather is not bad weather.
Our second day was a little rainy. Scooter was struggling with this new kind of education, which relies heavily on reading the best books ever written, and which refuses to dumb down either vocabulary or concepts for children. They take out of the stories what they will at each age, and learn more and more as the years go on. Personally, I adore this method, Animal's doing really well with it, and I believe Scooter will come to at least appreciate as time goes by. But Tuesday definitely saw a bit of rain.
Wednesday's hail? Let's just say there was a bit of arguing, and a lot of whining.
I call Thursday rainy because we were recovering from Wednesday's hail. We all came to the table a bit wary of each other, wondering if another storm awaited.
Friday's clouds were fatigue. I tend to be a lazy person and I haven't worked this hard since I was holding down three jobs the summer after my freshman year of college. Even then I didn't have a household to run and maintain on top of my jobs; my mom was running that end of things and dinner was always available if I was home to eat it.
I know this will be the best work of my life -- honestly, what work could be more important and worthwhile than raising your children to be phenomenal adults -- but it makes my life 100% different than it was before. Still, I know that first sunny day can't be far off. And stormy weather isn't necessarily bad, especially if you're like me and you love rain.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Intangible
In our school we study math, phonics, literature, Shakespeare, poetry, penmanship, geography, art appreciation, music appreciation, nature study, science, handicrafts, and history -- standard elementary school subjects.
We are also learning to school our actions and conquer our wills. I likened this to a train track. Scooter has been a train fanatic for six years, and understands the principle that a track must be laid level and even so the train will run easily. Each good habit we adopt (train track) makes our life (train) run more easily. To this end, we study our scriptures each day and choose bad habits to conquer/good habits to adopt. I'm positive this track will be years in the laying.
I think the process of learning should be as tear-free as possible, and should build a child up. One way to do this is to ask him to do something that's just a little beyond what he's been able to do before.
Recently, Scooter found a Netflix movie I'd lost, complete with return envelope. I was profoundly grateful and joked: "Now if you could only ride your bike up to the post office and mail it for me!" In my mind I was picturing the mailbox on the corner of Broad and Walnut, just around the corner and one block north of my childhood home, on quiet streets.
Here, the post office is 1.25 miles east, on my busy city street, complete with one major intersection (six lanes of traffic) and two minor (four lanes).*
"I can do that for you, Mom!"
Ohmygoshnoyoucan'tyou'retoolittlewhatifyougethitbyacaryouwillbesquashedlikeabugandIwillneverrecover.
"You know what, Scooter? I think you can. Go ahead."
Helmet on, mail in his pocket, Kermit's traffic warnings in his ears, he set off. I spent a nervous 20 minutes cleaning out the car and cocking my ear to hear him return.
When he did, he burst through the door, ablaze with triumph. You could feel the self-confidence in his voice, see it in his carriage. It was a successful experiment. Next up, "I'm out of (eggs/bread/bananas). Can you ride to the store and buy some, please?"
*It might cross some mother's minds that the child would get lost. Of all the scary scenarios in my head, that one was missing. Scooter is possessed of an excellent sense of direction and amazing capacity to remember how to navigate around a city. He routinely tells me how to get to places I should know how to get to but kind of don't, like the zoo. These mental gifts are courtesy of his father and maternal grandfather, who made me read maps for him all the time without success.
We are also learning to school our actions and conquer our wills. I likened this to a train track. Scooter has been a train fanatic for six years, and understands the principle that a track must be laid level and even so the train will run easily. Each good habit we adopt (train track) makes our life (train) run more easily. To this end, we study our scriptures each day and choose bad habits to conquer/good habits to adopt. I'm positive this track will be years in the laying.
I think the process of learning should be as tear-free as possible, and should build a child up. One way to do this is to ask him to do something that's just a little beyond what he's been able to do before.
Recently, Scooter found a Netflix movie I'd lost, complete with return envelope. I was profoundly grateful and joked: "Now if you could only ride your bike up to the post office and mail it for me!" In my mind I was picturing the mailbox on the corner of Broad and Walnut, just around the corner and one block north of my childhood home, on quiet streets.
Here, the post office is 1.25 miles east, on my busy city street, complete with one major intersection (six lanes of traffic) and two minor (four lanes).*
"I can do that for you, Mom!"
Ohmygoshnoyoucan'tyou'retoolittlewhatifyougethitbyacaryouwillbesquashedlikeabugandIwillneverrecover.
"You know what, Scooter? I think you can. Go ahead."
Helmet on, mail in his pocket, Kermit's traffic warnings in his ears, he set off. I spent a nervous 20 minutes cleaning out the car and cocking my ear to hear him return.
When he did, he burst through the door, ablaze with triumph. You could feel the self-confidence in his voice, see it in his carriage. It was a successful experiment. Next up, "I'm out of (eggs/bread/bananas). Can you ride to the store and buy some, please?"
*It might cross some mother's minds that the child would get lost. Of all the scary scenarios in my head, that one was missing. Scooter is possessed of an excellent sense of direction and amazing capacity to remember how to navigate around a city. He routinely tells me how to get to places I should know how to get to but kind of don't, like the zoo. These mental gifts are courtesy of his father and maternal grandfather, who made me read maps for him all the time without success.
Welcome to class.
I'm going to blog here about our homeschool, which was established September 1, 2009, and has two official students:
Scooter (9), doing a mix of Year 3.5 and Year 4 from amblesideonline.org
Animal (6), doing Year 1 from amblesideonline.org
This is just a setup post, as I'm very busy this Labor Day. Hopefully I can post more later today, or tomorrow at the latest.
I hope you enjoy!
Scooter (9), doing a mix of Year 3.5 and Year 4 from amblesideonline.org
Animal (6), doing Year 1 from amblesideonline.org
This is just a setup post, as I'm very busy this Labor Day. Hopefully I can post more later today, or tomorrow at the latest.
I hope you enjoy!
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