Learn at Every Turn - Creative, Enriched Homeschooling

Another Snippet from Our Life

2010-03-09T05:07:03Z

My three year old is becoming facile with surfing the net to certain sites. He is, however, the only member of the family without a computer of his own. Well, I should say until tonight, apparently.

Galen: "Mama, don't deal with my 'puter. Don't deal with my 'puter, Mama."

Me: "It's not your computer. It's my computer."

Galen, with impish grin: "No, Mama, it's OUR 'puter."

Okay, enough with the sappy vignettes already. I promise.

Sort of.

A Snippet of Our Life

2010-03-09T03:50:28Z

You and I may look at this photograph and see an ordinary travel clock.

Kipp, however, takes one look at this clock and says, "Maybe we could take it apart and use the parts to build a robot!"

Why do I sense I'm living with the Hannibal Lecter of the technology world? And where can I hide my laptop?

Disclosure

2010-03-06T16:41:48Z

Disclosure of Material Connections: Some of the links in my posts are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission, although I have yet to do so. In other instances, I receive free books from a book review publisher for whom I write book reviews. I am not required to write positive reviews. Furthermore, I only give my honest opinion of products and services mentioned in this blog. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Digital Photography

2010-03-06T03:42:35Z

It was a glorious day outside today. I sent the boys out to explore on the property and decided to trust Landry with my Canon Power Shot S2 IS for the first time. Evidently, it was love at first click.

See the world through my son's eyes.

Sunny:
Sweetums and Sable:

Augie in his igloo:

A wild drake and hen living in our pond.

Last of all, a landscape.

Warning: Long Post, But It Does Have A Point :)

2010-03-05T05:25:50Z

We have been going through some frustrating times around here. Nothing serious. In fact, our problems stem from having too many good things. Jerry and I have a small company, and we are one of the few that we know that are fortunate to have ample work in these times. I am also lucky enough to have three boys with an overabundance of health and high spirits. Surprisingly enough, they do not wake up in the morning, clamoring to start their studies. Instead, they would prefer to build, shoot imaginary aliens and ride their bikes with reckless abandon. And, unlike many these days, we have a home and a bit of land. That requires some attention as well, although given the predicament many face, I really can't complain.

Still, Jerry and I have been feeling a bit worn thin of late and patience has been in short supply. Again, nothing serious, but laughter and fun have been a bit scarce.

During moments like these, I tend to take my homeschooling responsibilities a bit too seriously. I fail to see the forest for the trees. I see what we haven't accomplished instead of what amazing things the boys are doing, learning and enjoying.

On an only tangentially related note, I have been exploring blogs addressing creativity and gratitude of late. I recently discovered SouleMama. While not a homeschooling blog, Amanda quoted a passage from Peggy O'Mara's The Way Back Home in her post today that struck a deep chord with me as a homeschooling mother. Here it is:

"...understand that to nurture and love others with the grace you desire means taking care of yourself and cultivating your own inner harmony. Inner harmony grows not by finding ways to get away from your child, but by giving yourself the gift of a hot bath at the end of a long day, reading a book of poetry, talking to a friend on the phone, taking a nap, crying, getting a massage, having a day off from cleaning and cooking, staying in your pajamas all day, swimming, going out to eat, or attending a conference. Do something for yourself as you give. Learn to laugh at yourself and not take yourself so seriously."

I think I've become so intensely focused on just keeping up with tax preparation, lesson planning, grocery shopping and the like that I have forgotten to replenish my own energies.

What, you may be wondering, does any of this have to do with homeschooling? Everything, I would argue. The past couple of days prove my point.

Jerry went out of town on business early Wednesday morning, and my Mom has been helping me while he's gone. My Mom brings a presence and order to my house that two busy parents cannot. While she is here, I've had the unheard of luxury of sleeping in till 8:30 in the morning, and I've had more time to cook and eat healthy meals.

Still, my beloved sons have not been tripping over themselves to see how much time they could spend on their studies, and my irritation has been evident. In a fit of pique, I handed my mom a list of assignments late yesterday afternoon and headed out the gym.

Now, the gym is where I work off tension. Pounding an elliptical gives me an instant, reliable sense of accomplishment that can be elusive with homeschooling. It is my antidote to the sense of pushing string I have at home. However, I haven't felt I could take the time to go to the gym for the past month or so because the boys having been dragging their work out till late in the day.

After taking the time for a long stretch, I drove home, expecting to find little had been accomplished. Instead, I found Landry had decided to write a diamonte, a poetic form we studied months ago, instead of taking the easy route and writing a paragraph. Kipp was completely absorbed in writing music to the point that he had to rig up an extension cord so he could continue working while we watched a movie later in the evening. Little Galen was happily completing tanagram after tanagram.

The awful thing is that I would probably not seen how really neat that moment was if I hadn't gone to the gym that evening. I really would have missed out on how very fortunate I am. I also would not have realized that my intense focus on lesson plans and the resulting frustration was only hindering my real goal of giving the boys a deep and abiding love of learning. The boy are learning and thriving beautifully without my darn schedule!

That leads me to my next quote. This one is from a recent Lenten post by Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts: "We will only see beauty if we practice." By this, Christine means that the beauty we seek is already there. We just have to learn to look for it. I'm glad I took the time to see the beauty in my family last night.

Several years ago, I lamented to a friend that I failed to have a consistent spiritual practice once I had children. My friend immediately responded, "Annie, your life is your practice."

Yet again, my practice has reminded me that my desire for perfectionism and control in the chaos that is my life may only be hindering my happiness and my deepest hopes for my sons. Sometimes, in order to accomplish what you want most, you need to get out of the way and let it happen.

Beautiful Blogger Award

2010-03-04T07:08:24Z

Much to my delight, I found this award in my in-box yesterday. It made my day!

Award Requirements

1. Thank the person who gave the award.

Thank you, Subadra. As I said in my email, it's a true compliment to receive this from you.

2. Pass it on to 15 favorite bloggers you have just recently discovered.

I'm afraid I don't have 15 that I've recently discovered, and many I would choose have already received the award. However, one blog jumps to mind.

Adventures in Cyberschooling Cyber Momma's anecdotes about her two boys go a long way to keep me sane. I am not alone!!!

3. Let them know they got the awards. I will be leaving a comment on your blog.

4. Share 7 things about yourself.

1. I review books for the San Francisco Book Review for fun.
2. I am an introvert who prefers a good book to almost everything.
3. I can't speak French, but I love French films.
4. Since my last son's birth, I have become an aspiring writer with a few small publications to my credit.
5. While five months' pregnant with my first, I waddled my way through pyramids and tombs in Egypt.
6. I love knitting, watercolor painting and piano, but rarely take time for those pursuits.
7. I am hard pressed to find something more delicious than a vegetarian pizza.

Fantastic TED Video Clip

2010-03-01T16:00:00Z

This clip of Ken Robinson is 19 minutes long, but it is so worth the time it takes to watch it. For me, it was a great reminder to encourage the boys explore, to help them to remain unafraid of making mistakes, and to not pigeonhole them into what I perceive in them or want for them.

Please click here.

We Interrupt This Silence. . .

2010-02-28T16:43:03Z

Well, this Lenten break is proving productive. I'm getting a chance for a long overdue rest and to reorganize priorities.

In the meantime, however, I made an earth-shaking discovery about my middle son. This is the same goofy, dreamer son who makes homeschooling a nightmare for me by dragging out every assignment as long as possible.

Today, Kipp was watching a rerun of MacGyver, when he suddenly pops up with this brilliant insight: "Mom, I love MacGyver because he always waits till the last moment to solve the problem."

*ARGH!!!*

So, does anyone know of any shows where the main characters use complex problem solving but pride themselves in solving the conflict well before the end of the show??

OT: Lenten Pause

2010-02-18T03:25:55Z

It's odd how events come together at times. I've been busily working behind the scenes on my blogs, moving away from Google. I've replaced all but one feature fairly easily.

While transitioning, however, I've been a bit cut off from my virtual world, especially my blog reader. The break has been surprisingly refreshing.

While I describe our homeschooling as secular because our religion does not affect how I approach science or other academic subjects, we are Catholic. Today is Ash Wednesday, which is the start of Lent.

I happened to read today that the Bishop of our diocese suggests that we attempt a virtual fast for this season, taking a break from our computers and tech devices to turn toward God, our friends and family. He does not suggest a ban, but moderation.

Given my earlier experience this week, I've decided to try the fast. I do not intend to stop posting on my blogs. However, I will try to spend less time on the net generally, and I probably will not keep up with my blog reading and commenting.

For someone who considers her laptop to be an extension of her body, this should prove to be an interesting experiment.

OT: Temporarily Under Construction

2010-02-13T16:39:49Z

For some time, I've questioned the wisdom of investing too much personal information in any one large web service provider. Thanks to this article in the New York Times, I've decided to stop using Google services. I do not want any company that demonstrates such a cavalier attitude toward the privacy of my information to have access to that information.

(Lest you think that Google simply made a programming oversight, please read the following article. This lastest business with Buzz potentially put people's lives in danger from abused spouses to political dissidents to those who may refrain from seeking suicide prevention help out of privacy concerns. Furthermore, professionals with ethical confidentiality obligations who use Google services such as gmail need to think through those obligations before using those services. But, I guess according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, those individuals shouldn't be living their lives or engaging in their professions anyway.)

As a result, I will need to work behind the scenes on Learn, and my time to post will be limited for a bit. I will also be unable to keep up on some of my favorite blogs. Rest assured, I will be back both as a writer and reader shortly.

However, I just woke to the start of a lovely three-day weekend, which I plan to spend enjoying my family and life in general. I hope you intend to do something similar.

Interesting Article

2010-02-03T05:24:22Z

Susan Engel has written a thought-provoking op-ed piece for the New York Times on how we should reform our current educational approach and curriculum. She has given me food for thought in terms of my homeschooling approach. Suffice it to say, I may think twice before I demand Kipp drop his endless building to recite the months of the year or the continents. He's probably learning something far more valuable.

Playing to Learn

Small Triumph, I Think

2010-01-30T01:29:01Z

For the longest time, I've been concerned about Kipp's reading. I am not referring to his ability to read, but rather his interest in reading. I cannot keep Landry supplied in books. Indeed, I can't even keep his shelf on the blog up to date because he finishes book too quickly. Kipp, by comparison, shows no interest in reading independently. I know he can read above grade level, but simply doesn't want to read more than he must for school.

I have been wondering if Kipp's disinclination results from his need to be different than Landry. It seems healthy to me that Kipp and Landry have different interests, and I'm happy to encourage that. However, I think Kipp is shooting himself in the foot if he chooses not to read simply to be different from his brother. Indeed, I can't think of too much that would make me feel as though I had failed as a homeschooler, but raising a child who didn't love books on some subject would do it. (Mind you, it might still happen despite my best efforts, but it will really trouble me.)

I've been watching for any possible way to ignite a fire for reading in Kipp, and I finally found one today. It happens that Kipp needs two books of his next literature unit in MBtP that use the graphic novel format. I got them from the library today and left them laying on the sofa. The next thing I notice, Kipp is happily curled in a pile of pillows, reading these books. At one point, he claimed one of the characters made a particular statement. I said I doubted it and asked him to show me the text. Without a pause, he showed me the statement he had quoted.

Suffice it to say, I spent some time on my library's webpage, searching for graphic novels that I thought might interest him. I explained to Kipp that these books will be his alone, and Landry may not read them unless Kipp says he may. Kipp is very excited.

So is his mother!

Well, shoot!

2010-01-27T05:11:03Z

I was looking forward to posting tonight. Last week, we had our first "hands-on" day. It wasn't a Friday, but a Wednesday because the storm knocked our power out for a couple of hours. Still, I was excited to post pictures of the results.

Then, I realized that my camera is in my car, which is down a long, dark flight of stairs. Did I mention how cold it is? Yes, I am a wus.

So, I will content myself with descriptions and web links for tonight.

After much anticipation, Kipp and I finally completed the Edge Robotic Arm kit!!

(waiting for virtual applause to die down)

Now, I must admit that it wasn't really that difficult to build. Half the time, Kipp figured it out without the directions and really only needed me to tighten some of the screws. However, because we left the project out so long, we lost some loose screws. It took a bit to get them ordered and for them to arrive. By then, we were on to other projects. Last week, however, we finished it! There is a small glitch with one motor, but it works well otherwise. I would recommend the kit to others, but if you do purchase it, I would immediately count all of the screws and contain them carefully.

We also completed the Journey to the Earth's Core jigsaw puzzle, and it was really fun. It's amazing how many details the boys noticed in the layers of the Earth because they were absorbed in fitting the pieces together. As an added bonus, it also glows in the dark.

So, that was it for our first "hands-on" day. Since I can't dazzle you with gorgeous color photos, I'll tell you about a few more happenings here.

We belong to a group of parents and children who like to build things. We've just started on a series of electricity experiments. The group kicked off that series with a tour of the Folsom Powerhouse, where the children saw the hydroelectric turbines. This past week, the boys made electromagnets. It's great to see so many parents interested in getting in a building with their children.

Of course, we can't shortchange the arts. To balance our activities, we took the boys to listen to an abbreviated performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Shereherazade performed by the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra this past Sunday. It was a wonderful performance well designed for children. Shereherazade herself spoke between each of the four movements about the story and explained the concept of themes representing characters. The conductor, dressed as the Sultan, introduced different parts of the symphony between in movement as well.

I was surprised at my boys' reaction. Well, Galen wandered among our seats, heartily enjoyed applauding, and announced loudly when the lights were turned out. That was expected. Kipp and Landry, however, listened and enjoyed the performance. So, my artsy genes are not completely lost in all those dominant science and engineering genes after all!

A New Approach: Hands-On Fridays

2010-01-15T06:04:29Z

As we complete our second week of this semester, I remain pleased with the results of our decision to be more discerning about our excursions to permit more consistency in our days. The boys are thriving. Tempers flare in frustration less and less often, and, if they do, the storm passes more quickly. Furthermore, the boys both are more focused and moving through their studies with ease.

These results led me to some new thoughts. First, consistent effort deserves some reward. Second, I do not want to gain consistency by sacrificing fun or creativity. Last semester, outings and activities left just enough time to get through our texts. Little time was left for projects or fun activities at home, and I think the boys did not benefit from that.

An idea occurred to me this afternoon. Starting next Friday, we are going to reserve the last day of each week for hands-on activities unrelated to the texts. Scientific experiments, building projects, art activities, educational computer and board games, documentaries and audio books are just some ideas. Furthermore, Kipp and Landry will choose what we pursue to encourage them to follow their interests.

Is it Friday yet?

New Venture: The Homeschool Break Room

2010-01-11T15:00:00Z

Recently, I decided to start a new venture. I blog seriously about homeschooling here on Learn. My goal is to record what we are doing in the hopes of helping others who might be in a similar place.

However, there are times I just want to let my hair down and write about what's frustrating me or what the boys did to make me laugh. Sometime, it might be nice to compare notes with other homeschool moms.

I've decided that I need the homeschool equivalent of the teacher's break room, where my own teachers used to go to hide and commiserate between classes at my elementary school.

For this reason, I've created the Homeschool Break Room group at Blogher.com. So, please feel free to join me there. I'll be the one with my feet propped up on a chair and a large mug of hot coffee in my hands.