Teacher Dad

I have started going to see my mentor once a week for "help" and advice about my paintings. This is on Monday because Sam has that day off. This means he is in charge of the teacher duties. We have been learning about different states every week. We average about 2 states a week. With this I find words for the kids to write and make sentences from, I write those words on the chalk board. I also write the state and the capital city in different colors to help them remember. I chose words that are unique to that state, like Mormon in Utah. Today Sam was to read the Utah book. I found the words, wrote them on the board, and explained the words to the kids. told them to listen for those words in the book. We are not talking a HUGE book here. A library book about Utah from the kids section. Not even a hard read. Well, Sam failed! He was so bored he fell asleep and read less than a third of the book. He told me it was "Boring" and the kids were asking to stop too. I then think about all the times I talk to him on the phone during the day and he's telling me what they ought to do. I always feel angry because I am doing quite a bit, I do not like the backseat driver without even a permit telling me how to drive. After today I now realize that is his shadow at work there. He has fears I am failing because he KNOWS he would. He proved that today. How did I handle this news? I asked the kids about how they liked their substitute. Zane likes Sam better because he fell asleep while reading, and never told him to be quite, because he didn't know he was noisy because he was ASLEEP!
Jonah likes Dad because he was "easy" and "less bossy." James likes me because I am "not as mean."

There you go, kids like the teacher that lets them fool around, except James, he likes a teacher that is not as "mean."

I think it's funny that when I read about the different states everybody wants to visit them afterward, but when Sam reads about them they want it to end. Oh, this is all too funny.

The beauty of homeschooling...

It was brought to my attention by a fellow homeschooler today about the beauty of homeschooling, flexibility. We can have school anytime and anywhere. She said this in response to the fact I told her we finally got around to Science and History at 9pm last night. You would think that this would be a "bad" time to do this, but it's not. Children retain bedtime stories, right? You read them a story before bed and the next morning they babble endlessly about it, or draw pictures about it, or act it out with their friends or siblings. some might argue that reading history is a bit heavy, even science. "What ever happened to fairy tales?" was one comment.

Fairy tales are horrid. They are gruesome. They are scary. Want you child to have rip roaring nightmares read a REAL fairytale to them. Learning about how Julius Cesar was kidnapped and held for ransom money is not so bad. Learning about butterflies before you close your eyes are delightful. Do we read fairy tales at all? I tried, the kids were bored. In my opinion fairy tales are like a lot of other traditions; completely over rated and ran into the ground.

I do think it is necessary to read fairy tales, I also think it is necessary to read the bible and learn history. You will being to see a pattern emerge. My children now "see" those patterns. They jump up at the story of Moses and say, "Hey didn't that same thing happen to Sargon? Wasn't Sargon pushed out into water in a basket?"

That is besides the point, my point here was flexibility. We can have math class at 4pm, Science at 8pm, and History at 9pm. We wake up at 7am but we need time to wake up the brain, eat, do chores, and get some energy out first. We get it all done, but not like the schools do. Life is becoming less rigid. Public schools were based on work schedules most Americans had. These days schedules are something people make a week in advanced, not something they adhere to day by day. Our school system does not reflect the changing times. Homeschooling does, which is why you see a lot of people doing it today. You can be flexible and "hang out" with your kids more.

Not to mention they are not nearly as jaded and snotty as the PSK's. There are a lot of benefits here. I highly recommend this to many people, some though I am sure glad PS is there for them and their kids. Sometimes being with strangers is better for the kid than the parents.

Field Trip!

I would normally say that going to a movie is NOT a field trip unless it was to watch a documentary on the big screen. Today was an exception. Due to lower than usual funds, higher food prices, etc. We take few trips. Museums are not free, neither is gas, and then there are tolls to pay. It is too cold for free outdoor adventures, so what does one do for fun? We usually head off to homeschool group or open gym time, but my kids are snotty and coughing. I knew very few people would not be at the movies on Wednesday at 11am. I was correct. There was one older lady, a woman with her small child, and a man with his son. That was it. We sat in the back and watched Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. It's a great movie, I just love Adam Sandler. It is funny, we are close in age and our humor seems to be developing about the same. When I watch younger Sandler movies I roll my eyes, but at one time I thought they were hilarious. Funny how your taste change with time and experiences.

This was not exactly learning experiences, but it was a nice family time, which is usually teacher/student time.

We are progressing nicely with our state studies I started in January. We started late because Sam kept forgetting to pick up the books from the library. The kids now want to visit so many states to see all the wonderful museums and natural wonders. The first on the list is Connecticut.

I am holding the vision that money will pick up around here for us and we can afford to take trips to all these fantastic places together. Sounds fun to me!!