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.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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!!
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!!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Mrs Piggle Wiggle
I know this will be blasphemy to some, but it has to be done. I HATE MRS PIGGLE WIGGLE!! I hate reading it. I hate listening to it. By God wouldn't you know it Zane LOVES the books. Gag! I would rather suck on a dirty gym sock. My husband remembers laughing so hard when his mother read those stories to him and his sisters. My mother in law told me to buy them. When James was 4 I bought a 4 book set. I brought them in, set James down and began to read the most uninteresting dribble I had ever laid my eyes upon. James, the kid that was currently listening to The Hobbit every night, could not stand them either. They were promptly placed on the bookshelf to hopefully rot in peace. My luck held out with Jonah. He did not like them either. Curiousity struck him when he saw the books. With my inability to toss out books, because they are fine and not peed on by the dog, you should keep them no matter what. Zane comes along and finds them as I am clearing out the library. "What's this?" he picks up two of the books.
"Oh that is Mrs Piggle Wiggle, give them here, they will go nicely here." I gingerly take the books and smile and shove them between two larger books hoping they will be lost from prying eyes.
That night the Piggle Wiggle curse fell upon my head. Zane asked me to read the "piggie book" with the "old lady on it." I knew when he said "piggie book." It's that motherly intuition that only mothers have and fathers are clueless, standing in the middle of the room looking down and the weeping babe on the verge of screaming, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT."
Nope, I knew, Mrs Piggle Wiggle. I crinched, but thought, "it will not take long, he will ask for Olivia or Little Bear, maybe even Gloria and Officer Buckle." NO, he did not. I ended up reading half that book, several "cures" before he lost intrest enough to find a new book. I was ready to read the Fudge books for the third time after that.
What does this have to do with Homeschooling? Not sure, it was reading to my child. That is about it. And thank you, God, for helping him see the light, ughm....I mean a new book ;)
"Oh that is Mrs Piggle Wiggle, give them here, they will go nicely here." I gingerly take the books and smile and shove them between two larger books hoping they will be lost from prying eyes.
That night the Piggle Wiggle curse fell upon my head. Zane asked me to read the "piggie book" with the "old lady on it." I knew when he said "piggie book." It's that motherly intuition that only mothers have and fathers are clueless, standing in the middle of the room looking down and the weeping babe on the verge of screaming, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT."
Nope, I knew, Mrs Piggle Wiggle. I crinched, but thought, "it will not take long, he will ask for Olivia or Little Bear, maybe even Gloria and Officer Buckle." NO, he did not. I ended up reading half that book, several "cures" before he lost intrest enough to find a new book. I was ready to read the Fudge books for the third time after that.
What does this have to do with Homeschooling? Not sure, it was reading to my child. That is about it. And thank you, God, for helping him see the light, ughm....I mean a new book ;)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Get off my back!
This is what I feel like saying to people that give me a hard time about James and his education.
I KNOW he's behind. I have talked with people about this. He's has all the traits of a dyslexic kid. I have done a TON of research online and with the state of Ks about available resources. What I found out was the state of Ks will pay for James to have an IEP at a public school. What it amounts too is going slower than the rest of the kids and he's not expected to do the same work. They do not recognize dyslexia as something to treat differently, meaning the style in which they teach, same way but slower. I did more research, I found out that other states AND privately paid tutors that specialize in dyslexia are using the same math program I am ALREADY using. So why sink $500 for 3 months of math when it only costs me $65 each time we move up a level? What am I getting at here? I am getting at the fact I am working with him. Yes, he is behind. No, it is not because he's homeschooled. He got further behind by going to school last year than if he had stayed home with me.
I have found he advances faster with me than when he's being schooled by "professionals." The reason being I see him "drift off" and call him back. He's a chronic daydreamer. He's habitually slow. He's major procrastinator. He's the worst of Sam and I wrapped into one kid. Yet, I swear on my Grandmothers grave, this childis an idiot savant. He's brilliant, but like Einstein, it's hard to see, right now. Just today he took an old broken down, not working in year ancient CB apart and put it back together, it works now. Yet, last night we had the most unusal conversation about numbers. It went like this....
"Can you take 9 from 18?"
"Ummmm"
"OK try this, what is 9+9?"
"18"
"OK, then what is 9 taken away from 18?"
"0"
I then stood there staring at him with complete disbelief and ahhh.
Finally after a couple minutes he saw his error and figured out it was 9 after all and not zero.
This is typical math time issues. Add on that to his piss poor spelling and you have an uphill battle on your hands, academically. Yet the kid remembers EVERYTHING he hears. He knows ALL the years of important dates; Civil War, death of MLK, birth years of grandparents, friends, friends parents. He listens and hangs on to everyword people say and files it away. Later he comes back with "hey this is like the time so-and-so said......" and is able to fix a problem by having those tid-bits filed away in his brain rolodex. He got our tractor fixed and working last Summer when his Dad threw in the towel and said he did not know what to do. We sat at the table one night after dinner and heard it roar to life. He then gave Sam a list of things he needed to buy so we could fix it up; belts, tires, etc...
It's just no one knows how much I am working with him. We work on this stuff everyday. I even had a retired (recently retired) Special Ed teacher tell me that public school was not good for a kid like James in this state. I have noticed, and private is even worse, for him.
Have you heard of the library programs where the dogs sit in the room and listen to kids read? Well I have one better, a little brother that thinks James is super cool and James thinks Zane is super little and needs his protection. James, the kid that WILL NOT READ, now reads everynight to Zane. Tonight is was The Magic Finger! It is a start. It's something meaningful to Zane and warms my heart to see. Plus the bonus of James actually reading a chapter books and other smaller books to Zane.
It's getting better. I do work with him. He even has special on-line help. I am covering my butt/bases here.
I just wish people would back off and let us work and trust we are!
He's special. He's unique. He's brain works in such a way that it looks lost to us, it's only because we are much to dull to think the way he does.
It's not easy being an Einstein mini-me! LOL!!!
I KNOW he's behind. I have talked with people about this. He's has all the traits of a dyslexic kid. I have done a TON of research online and with the state of Ks about available resources. What I found out was the state of Ks will pay for James to have an IEP at a public school. What it amounts too is going slower than the rest of the kids and he's not expected to do the same work. They do not recognize dyslexia as something to treat differently, meaning the style in which they teach, same way but slower. I did more research, I found out that other states AND privately paid tutors that specialize in dyslexia are using the same math program I am ALREADY using. So why sink $500 for 3 months of math when it only costs me $65 each time we move up a level? What am I getting at here? I am getting at the fact I am working with him. Yes, he is behind. No, it is not because he's homeschooled. He got further behind by going to school last year than if he had stayed home with me.
I have found he advances faster with me than when he's being schooled by "professionals." The reason being I see him "drift off" and call him back. He's a chronic daydreamer. He's habitually slow. He's major procrastinator. He's the worst of Sam and I wrapped into one kid. Yet, I swear on my Grandmothers grave, this childis an idiot savant. He's brilliant, but like Einstein, it's hard to see, right now. Just today he took an old broken down, not working in year ancient CB apart and put it back together, it works now. Yet, last night we had the most unusal conversation about numbers. It went like this....
"Can you take 9 from 18?"
"Ummmm"
"OK try this, what is 9+9?"
"18"
"OK, then what is 9 taken away from 18?"
"0"
I then stood there staring at him with complete disbelief and ahhh.
Finally after a couple minutes he saw his error and figured out it was 9 after all and not zero.
This is typical math time issues. Add on that to his piss poor spelling and you have an uphill battle on your hands, academically. Yet the kid remembers EVERYTHING he hears. He knows ALL the years of important dates; Civil War, death of MLK, birth years of grandparents, friends, friends parents. He listens and hangs on to everyword people say and files it away. Later he comes back with "hey this is like the time so-and-so said......" and is able to fix a problem by having those tid-bits filed away in his brain rolodex. He got our tractor fixed and working last Summer when his Dad threw in the towel and said he did not know what to do. We sat at the table one night after dinner and heard it roar to life. He then gave Sam a list of things he needed to buy so we could fix it up; belts, tires, etc...
It's just no one knows how much I am working with him. We work on this stuff everyday. I even had a retired (recently retired) Special Ed teacher tell me that public school was not good for a kid like James in this state. I have noticed, and private is even worse, for him.
Have you heard of the library programs where the dogs sit in the room and listen to kids read? Well I have one better, a little brother that thinks James is super cool and James thinks Zane is super little and needs his protection. James, the kid that WILL NOT READ, now reads everynight to Zane. Tonight is was The Magic Finger! It is a start. It's something meaningful to Zane and warms my heart to see. Plus the bonus of James actually reading a chapter books and other smaller books to Zane.
It's getting better. I do work with him. He even has special on-line help. I am covering my butt/bases here.
I just wish people would back off and let us work and trust we are!
He's special. He's unique. He's brain works in such a way that it looks lost to us, it's only because we are much to dull to think the way he does.
It's not easy being an Einstein mini-me! LOL!!!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Holes
I am growing increasingly aware of holes in James' knowledge. He has had some holes in education, and he also has difficulty retaining some things, so he has more holes than I like to think of.
I discovered yesterday one of his holes. Something I thought he would have naturally picked up on. A subject so common in our life and everybody's life it seemed like he would have grasped it along the way from being around it for 12 years. My newest discovery has taught me something.
1) Never assume they know
2) Free Range Parenting needs to be monitored more closely (as to what they ARE learning vs. what they are not)
3) Unschooling should not be allowed to be used on children unless they are absolutely hungry for knowledge, which my son is not.
This new realization for me is great, but it also means I have a lot of work to do.
I have more holes to fill in than I thought.
This means though Zane and Jonah will benefit from learning at an early age what James missed, again and again.
What I really want to know is how such a bright boy can be so damn forgetful about so many everyday subjects and know things that are not mainstream? He knows about so many things, but not things he needs to know about living in the world.
I will not fret. I have 6 years to whip him in shape and fill in those holes!
Off to school now!
I discovered yesterday one of his holes. Something I thought he would have naturally picked up on. A subject so common in our life and everybody's life it seemed like he would have grasped it along the way from being around it for 12 years. My newest discovery has taught me something.
1) Never assume they know
2) Free Range Parenting needs to be monitored more closely (as to what they ARE learning vs. what they are not)
3) Unschooling should not be allowed to be used on children unless they are absolutely hungry for knowledge, which my son is not.
This new realization for me is great, but it also means I have a lot of work to do.
I have more holes to fill in than I thought.
This means though Zane and Jonah will benefit from learning at an early age what James missed, again and again.
What I really want to know is how such a bright boy can be so damn forgetful about so many everyday subjects and know things that are not mainstream? He knows about so many things, but not things he needs to know about living in the world.
I will not fret. I have 6 years to whip him in shape and fill in those holes!
Off to school now!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Challenge Air
This past weekend my children were part of the volunteer family at Challenge Air.
What is Challenge Air?
Challenge Air is a place where kids with disabilities, mental or physical, and any other medical condition that is chronic, may come to the airport and literally fly planes. The pilot gets the plane to 2,500 feet in the air and lets the kids take the controls for a bit. It's a blast. My children waited around all day while Sam and I loaded kids into the planes and back out. At the end of the day one of the pilots let my kids go up. My oldest was allowed to fly the plane. He was so happy.
Austen, the pilot, is way cool. He's great with kids. I sure hope he comes back next year. He was much loved. He was one of two pilots that stayed the longest. Tom, from Minnesota, was probably the last pilot to take a Challenge child up.
I went up but have decided that I prefer the Earth and my feet upon her :)
Besides, my when James banked it to the left, my body felt very ill after that! LOL!!
I was ready to come down to the ground then.
I will work this event next year, and take my kids with me.
It is a good education for them!
What is Challenge Air?
Challenge Air is a place where kids with disabilities, mental or physical, and any other medical condition that is chronic, may come to the airport and literally fly planes. The pilot gets the plane to 2,500 feet in the air and lets the kids take the controls for a bit. It's a blast. My children waited around all day while Sam and I loaded kids into the planes and back out. At the end of the day one of the pilots let my kids go up. My oldest was allowed to fly the plane. He was so happy.
Austen, the pilot, is way cool. He's great with kids. I sure hope he comes back next year. He was much loved. He was one of two pilots that stayed the longest. Tom, from Minnesota, was probably the last pilot to take a Challenge child up.
I went up but have decided that I prefer the Earth and my feet upon her :)
Besides, my when James banked it to the left, my body felt very ill after that! LOL!!
I was ready to come down to the ground then.
I will work this event next year, and take my kids with me.
It is a good education for them!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Break time.............
The kids are busy with lunch and French lesson. Since I do not know French we invested in Muzzy. The kids love Muzzy, but they found out they could watch movies in French and learn a few things or two along with their other French studies. They are watch an early 90's movie about some men that kidnap a rich family's baby for ransom. I remember the movie, but cannot remember the English title.
I thought I would slip away and have my lunch also. It seems Sam left me mostly tofu and he ran off with all the yummy veggies from our stir fry last night.
We are plugging right along with school. James was struggling big time with his spelling so I dropped him down a grade level and now he is getting it quite well. This is a child from his father's father side of the family. Where someone there spells Lettuce (letus). He will get it. I have him also using a program from All About Spelling. It goes through all the different phonic combinations. I think this school year will prove to be his turn around. He's moving along in math. He would rather do French and geometry all day.
Jonah is beginning to remember what he did last year. He's upset with me when we go over it again. I laugh, I remind him that 2 days before he did not remember it. That is why I am teaching it again. We are going through these areas quickly, as not to bog him down and bore him.
Zane is disgusted that I am not teaching him to read yet. With the Waldorf process you wait. The point is they do get disgusted and bored then they WANT to learn it. He's almost ready. We are finishing up our form drawing this week. He's totally ready to move on into learning letters and numbers next week.
Jonah brought home a necklace he made with a knitting mushroom in his enrichment class. While we were there Zane was proud to show me the one he's working on.
James leaves tonight for his friends house to learn how to build a shed. The Hindu Priest that was going to teach him while he's there on Friday's has decided to go on the road for 6 weeks playing drums in a Kirtan band with a monk. James in the meantime will learn building with his friend's dad, an ex-monk. James is very excited.
OK, I must take care of my duties. I need to grind some corn and feed the chickens, AGAIN.
I must figure out how to make the burnt taste leave the beans we have for super.....someone turned the knob to high. I need to switch out my laundry and finish the cleaning I began before lunch.
Tootles.
I thought I would slip away and have my lunch also. It seems Sam left me mostly tofu and he ran off with all the yummy veggies from our stir fry last night.
We are plugging right along with school. James was struggling big time with his spelling so I dropped him down a grade level and now he is getting it quite well. This is a child from his father's father side of the family. Where someone there spells Lettuce (letus). He will get it. I have him also using a program from All About Spelling. It goes through all the different phonic combinations. I think this school year will prove to be his turn around. He's moving along in math. He would rather do French and geometry all day.
Jonah is beginning to remember what he did last year. He's upset with me when we go over it again. I laugh, I remind him that 2 days before he did not remember it. That is why I am teaching it again. We are going through these areas quickly, as not to bog him down and bore him.
Zane is disgusted that I am not teaching him to read yet. With the Waldorf process you wait. The point is they do get disgusted and bored then they WANT to learn it. He's almost ready. We are finishing up our form drawing this week. He's totally ready to move on into learning letters and numbers next week.
Jonah brought home a necklace he made with a knitting mushroom in his enrichment class. While we were there Zane was proud to show me the one he's working on.
James leaves tonight for his friends house to learn how to build a shed. The Hindu Priest that was going to teach him while he's there on Friday's has decided to go on the road for 6 weeks playing drums in a Kirtan band with a monk. James in the meantime will learn building with his friend's dad, an ex-monk. James is very excited.
OK, I must take care of my duties. I need to grind some corn and feed the chickens, AGAIN.
I must figure out how to make the burnt taste leave the beans we have for super.....someone turned the knob to high. I need to switch out my laundry and finish the cleaning I began before lunch.
Tootles.
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