What can I expect from my children?

Have *I* Learned Anything?

Depends on what time of the day you ask me. I feel that I am learning daily on what works and what doesn't work for my family. My daughter just completed her biography report. There were many times where we walked the fine line of "critique, criticism, constructive suggestions, brainstorming". Sometimes it went well, other times we fought to where we would come to a creative stand still (that's code for "lots of tears".)

How high can I set the expectations?

I still am not sure how to gauge the quality and level of work to expect from my children. What is age appropriate? I didn't pay much attention to how her past teacher's taught language arts. For example, how many 45 minute sessions did it take the class to write one project? How many minutes were spent on introducing the project, first draft, second draft, final draft, presentation, etc. How often did my daughter complete her daily goal and was just waiting around for the rest of the class to be finished? I have very high expectations, I want them to have attention to details and have pride in their work. However, if I expect too much, will it cause them to feel less than adequate, set up to fail, resistant to doing the project at all? I am still trying to figure this issue, no answers yet.

Dioramas

Animal Habitats

The kids wanted to study animals. So I gave them both the assignment of

1.Checking out 2-3 books on their chosen animal from the library

2. Researching on the internet (at least once source)

3. Writing a report of what they learned (include habitat, are they endangered, if so why?, what they eat, where they live, basic characteristics...)

4. Create a diorama of the animal's habitat

5. Completing a resource page (daughter only)

Scaffolding: My son (6) chose the house cat. This diorama shows the different rooms where a cat might go during the day (master bed, computer desk, tv room, kitchen). He learned about the many ways a cat communicates through various meows. When we came back from a short trip, he cried when our own cat meowed as he interpreted her saying, "I missed you."

I helped a lot with this project, reading the materials to him (even though he can read), helping him with the questions, and mostly, helping create the diorama. They were all this thoughts, ideas and creativity, but he needed help in the execution of it all.

My daughter (9) picked the leopard, a big cat. She did the entire assignment on her own, from finding all her books at the library, to her diorama. I could not convince her to take notes, she stated she had all the facts in her head. She only had to look up one or two facts, so I wasn't able to argue the benefits of note taking on this project. We'll work on that later!

I did get upset at one point, when I noticed an entire sticky notepad used up. I couldn't understand where all the pages went. Then my daughter showed me how she crumpled up the pages, leaving the sticky part to allow her to stick it to her "tree" without using glue. How could I be angry after seeing how genius the method was!

National Parks and Geocaching

School On The Road

We decided to take a longer trip for Thanksgiving. I planned to make the most of it and printed out tons of activities for the kids to do. I didn't bring the math books, but I did bring some mapping activities, word puzzles, writing assignments and more. Long story short, we didn't do most of it. We were too busy doing other

activities. So, I'm not sure how other families study "on th

e road" but it didn't seem to work too well for our family. Maybe our trip was too short (two weeks) to find time for worksheets. We had an activity planned for almost every day, so by the time bedtime rolled around, we were all exhausted. We did look at the maps, to see where we were driving each day, but the rest of our school work grew cobwebs.

School Happens Everywhere

However, part of our new found thinking is that school happens everywhere, not just in books. When we knew we were going to visit Muir Woods, near San Francisco, my husband looked on line and found a great activity for the kids to do while we were there. We printed the pdf Redwood Discovery a Quest at Muir Woods at our hotel and armed each kid with a pencil. When we arrived at Muir Woods, the ranger station had a "junior ranger" program already there. If we hadn't had our quest, I think we would have done their program. It's great to know that there are activities at national monuments to keep kids involved and interested. The junior ranger program was similar to our quest, it asked kids to find things along the way. However, you then turned in your sheets, and later, they send you a junior ranger patch. The quest, on the other hand, gave you a sticker at the end (if you figured out all the clues to be able to open the lock). It was nice to have immediate gratification for our hard work.

Geocaching is World Wide

Geocaching, a GPS based treasure hunt, has been a great discovery for our family as well. Whenever we are away from home (or even at home), and in need of something to do outside, we think of Geocaching. There are thousands of little treasures hidden all over. On this trip, we found ourselves in Golden Gate Park. As we explored the trail system in the park, we discovered three geocaches in 30 minutes!

Our Writing Class

Getting down with grammar:

I have been very concerned with my ability to teach language arts. I did ok in school, but it has never been my strongest subject. In fact, it was my weakest. So, how am I supposed to school my kids in this area? At my children's ages (currently 6 and 9), I think I can get by with some workbooks and making sure they read or are read to every day. But how far can I go on like this? How do I make sure that by the time they are college age, they are ready to write their thesis?

Take a step back:

I know, don't panic. But I can't help but worry about making sure they get all that they need in this area. I feel fortunate to have come across someone who's teaching a writing course for kids my daughter's age (9). There was an opening and we were able to jump in (a little late). The course very vigorous and I'm not sure how we're going to keep up with the time demands, but I'm finding it very helpful in many ways. Not only is my daughter getting exposed to thought processes, research methods, ideas and more, but I am able to talk with the parents of the other students at the end of class. This part has been a wonderful benefit as I hear what other parents are doing that work and what didn't work for them. I'm an introvert by nature, but am finding that I have missed talking to other parents on a daily basis (I used to do this at pick up time in the hallways.) I get to ask a lot of "newbie" questions and everyone seems more than willing to share their advice and experiences.

Here's my daughter giving her first presentation in the class.

Teachable Moments

Every Moment is a Teaching Moment

Each moment is a teaching moment. Think about this and let it sink in. Each moment is a teaching moment. I know many parents probably already know this sentiment and already live this way with their children. I didn't. I was always busy, in a hurry, too tired, too frustrated and just plain done.

At the end of the day, who wants help in the kitchen when it just makes a mess and I can do it faster on my own? How much easier is it to answer, "I don't know" when your child asks the umpteenth question you can't answer or don't want to answer? How many times has your child, "I wonder what would happen if...?" and you helped them find out?

After thinking about homeschooling, my entire mindset has changed. For example, I almost brushed off the question when my daughter asked, "I wonder how much it would be if you added 1+2+3+4 and so on, until you get to 80?" This was going to take some time, so I could easily have said, "I don't know" and distracted her with something else. Instead, we took out paper and pencil and worked it out. She had a method she wanted to try. I had my method. We compared answers (which weren't the same). Then I went to Google to find out if there is a formula we could use as a shortcut to verify our answers. Voila! n(n+1)/2 is the formula! And now we've all learned something.

Perhaps my daughter won't remember the formula (I didn't, I had to look it up again for this post), but I believe she learned many other things. One, there are formulas that exist to help math problems go more quickly. Two, you can Google (or do other research) to find these formulas. And three, mom cares about what I think, hears my questions and has time for me.

Another example: The kids asked, "I wonder what would happen if you tried to freeze ketchup?" Again, how easy to brush it aside and move on? Instead, we filled plastic cups with different liquids or foods and froze them. As we did this, we made predictions and wrote down what we saw and time intervals to see if our hypotheses were right or wrong.

What did the kids learn this time? Scientific process. Testing hypotheses. Setting up and conducting an experiment. We even learned that if you label the bottom of a plastic cup, it will appear backwards when reading it through your liquid. So, we adjusted our behavior and wrote backwards, so we could read the label forwards!

Last year, I NEVER would have searched for formulas or froze items from the refrigerator. I was always too tired after a day of making lunches, shuttling them to/from school, volunteering in the classroom, etc. Or too busy helping them complete homework, classroom projects, etc. I'm not saying I can do this every time. I still get too tired to answer all their questions or to help them figure out how to find the answers. I still like to cook alone (this one, I'm REALLY trying to change, as it's a life skill they should know!) But my mindset has changed and I'm finding that I brush off fewer questions each day.

Yes, We Wear Pajamas

The Gravity of the Situation:

We completed our study of forces, with a big focus on gravity. At the end of this unit, we made a giant marble run using pipe insulation, plastic bottles, painting tape, and empty tubes from wrapping paper, toilet paper and paper towels. This was a fun project completed on the weekend so we could include dad (or more to the point, so I did not have to do it alone!) And yes, we often wear pajamas beyond breakfast (although, since this was the weekend, I think no one will judge us.)

Toilet Paper (is very important)

I'm finding that many of our art projects, experiments, etc. are a great use for empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls. We used to recycle them at the curb every week, but now, they are a hot commodity and we keep most of them "just in case".

Joining a Community

Pumpkin Pals:

For a few weeks now, my daughter (9) has been asking to join the local homeschooling community. She has been craving company (other than her brother) and misses her old school friends. While we try to have friends over, with fall schedules well under way, it's hard to find time after their school and extracurricular activities.

We chose the pumpkin patch for our first activity. It was the first year in a while without a school scheduled pumpkin farm field trip. The kids had a great time and we met a few families with children the same ages. We even re-met a family who had been to our same public school a few years ago!

Making the Fold

Visiting Teacher

I have read that many homsechooling families find a resource within their circle of friends. However, it can be intimidating to ask a friend for their time. Lucky for us, a friend of ours, who teaches Japanese at a local high school, offered to teach the kids Origami and share her secret (a great website, Origami Club, that has step by step instructions). What a great opportunity for our kids to work with a familiar adult who isn't mom or dad! The kids had a great time folding snakes, samurai hats, pianos and more. Next time, our friend promises to show them how to make sushi!

Comets, Bubbles and More

Can't wait for Halley's Comet?

Then make your own! As part of our first unit study, on the solar system, we learned about asteroids and comets. We decided to end the unit by making our own comets with dry ice, sand, and salt. It was a learning experience for me as well, seeing as I had never purchased dry ice before. The store clerk wasn't too enthusiastic in figuring out how to make 5 pounds out of the small pie

ces they had, so I took a 10 pound bag and we made the most of every ounce!

Hands on experience:

We invited the cousins (yes, my brother and sister-in-law are homsechooling their children too, lucky us!) to join us to help create the comet. Having only four children in our "class", allowed each one of them to really get hands on experience instead of just watching the experiment happen. And because we had so much ice, we were able to do the experiment more than one time, make a giant bubble with soap, and more.

Passion Versus OCD

Following Their Passions

Following your child's passion is a perk of homsechooling. Yes, all parents can support their child's interests (soccer, drama, piano, dance, etc.) but with more time available to us now, I feel it's even more important to pour energy into areas for which they are enthusiastic. Both kids are into Minecraft, a sandbox computer construction game. It is a great arena for creativity and teamwork, but also a time suck. So if you don't want to lose your children to this game, don't investigate. However, if your child is already into computers and these kinds of games, it's actually a really cool one.

So, in trying to support their interests, we decided to make our own Monopoly board game for Minecraft. Sounds more like fun than school work, right? To make this game, the kids had to research of both games, write a lot of descriptions for card and come up with creative ideas for the instructional cards. It turned out to be a lot of work, but we also had a lot of fun! We looked into making Shrinky Dinks with plastic #6, but found that clear plastic #6 is harder to find than we thought. So we went to the local toy store and purchased blank Shrinky Dink sheets to make our moveable game pieces.

Who's doing the project anyway?

Well, I really tried to allow the kids to do as much of the project as possible. But my control issues got in the way. I wanted the game board to be flat, no bubbles under the plastic protection sheets. I wanted everything to be typed neatly, not written. I wanted the cards to be cut in straight lines. The list goes on. So, I did end up doing a lot of the execution. In the end, I'm trying to see this as a lesson for *me* to remember that I need to step back and allow the kids to do more of the work. This is not a forum for me to show off my ow artistic skills. I am finding that I am continually figuring out where my influence needs to end and my kids involvement begins. When to push, when to help and when to back off completely.

Alone at the Museum

Alone at the museum (sort of):

A friend was unable to use tickets, which were about to expire, to the aquarium. We decided to buy the tickets from her and went to the aquarium during the week. It was nice to be there when it was not too crowded. Most of the other kids that were there were younger (probably pre-school age?) We did see one other family there with older kids, but I didn't have to courage to ask if they were a homeschool family or not!

One obvious benefit of being able to go to popular places during the week is less crowds. Maybe less obvious is the benefit of the staff's expertise. I have found on more than one occasion that staff yearn to share their knowledge with you. They are hungry for an audience. In our case, one staff member sought us out to show us the new baby octopi. How cool is that? I imagine it's very different on the busy days when they spend a lot of time handling crowds.

Hiking or Playing Hookey?

Is it hookey?

Today was a beautiful day in town. Warm and full of sunshine. Friends, who are also making the leap into homeschooling, invited us on a hike at a local trail system. While the kids were exploring the shortcuts and throwing rocks into the river, I felt giddy and a little bit guilty. Were we just playing hookey? While the rest of the town's children were sitting at their desks, we were out enjoying what nature had to offer. In the end, we could adjust our schedule to go on the hike when it made sense (sunny and warm!) and do more "bookish" studies in the afternoon as the sun was setting.

Learning goes on ALL THE TIME, not just between 8am-2pm!

But even if we hadn't done any "schooling", would the kids have learned something that day? Would they learn math from a book? No. Writing complete sentences with proper punctuation? No. But would they have learned anything at all? Socializing with children of different ages? Treating nature with respect? Learning to enjoy the beauty of trees along a river? Learning why the river level was so high compared to the last time they were there? Yes. Yes. And yes!

Slow down!

The best thing we're doing as a family is slowing down. We still rush from time to time for one reason or another. We still get frustrated when the kids don't put on their shoes until the fourth time we've asked. But overall, we're changing our lifestyle to fit our newfound schedule and we're slowing down. So, on this hike, I found it nice to not compete with other families for space on this beautiful day. We adults had no other agenda, so we were not pushing to "get there". We were able to go at the kids' pace as they touched curious items along the way, asked questions, walked alone, walked together, and explored in general.

Thematic Units

What is the Thematic Unit?

I took this definition off of the "interdisciplinary teaching" wiki page: "The most common method of implementing integrated, interdisciplinary instruction is the thematic unit, in which a common theme is studied in more than one content area (Barton & Smith, 2000)."

Why did I choose Thematic Units?

I really like the idea of studying one subject from multiple angles to reach a more in depth understanding of that subject. I also think this type of teaching will allow me to scale the work for two individual levels, while teaching the same concepts to both of my kids.

Our first unit:

We started with the Solar System. We had fun learning about the planets, the sun, comets, moon cycles, and more. Here you can see one of the art projects (a hanging mobile) we did at the end of the unit.

First Project

How to Begin? As for our first task as homeschoolers, we decided to paint a mural on one of the walls of the room we would be using as our classroom. The kids traced themselves onto paper, cut them out and then taped them to the wall. After tracing their bodies on the wall, they painted in their shapely shadows. Three days later, we completed the mural and our first project was under our belts. The best part of this project, was going to the paint store during "regular school hours" and answering our first set of "why aren't you in school?" questions!

Homeschooling for Dummies

Where or how to start?

September is coming fast. The first day of public school displays on my calendar. I've been wondering if I should start homsechooling on the exact same day as our district, or do I decide to start on another day? If I do start on another day, is it because it's the right thing to do for our family's schedule, or is it just because I can, now that we're no longer on their schedule?

Whatever I decide, and it really feels like "I" and not "we" as my husband is working a lot and I'm doing most of the research and planning, I need to decide how I'm going to start. What am I going to do with the kids all day? What curriculums do I use? How do I teach two different kids, two different ages/levels, at the same time...?

I have never read a "...for Dummies" book before. I borrowed the book from my sister-in-law. I found Homeschooling For Dummies very easy to read, sometimes repetitive, but overall, it was worthwhile. Parts of the book confirmed our decision to homeschool, which was beneficial to my growing anxieties about our choice. Most of all, the book was helpful in pointing me to resources for most of my growing concerns. E.g. What are the top math curriculums? What do people do for history? What are good, kid friendly websites? I took notes on company names I found interesting, games I wanted to try, books to read later, and links I thought would come in handy.

The book is not a complete resource, but it's a great beginning to get your feet wet. The big concept I walked away with (I can't remember the exact quote at this moment) is that most people felt it is better to jump right in, make mistakes, learn from them and go forward versus agonizing days, weeks, months trying to figure out the best curriculum, path, or method. This book won't be the answer to all your questions, and definitely doesn't have all the resources listed, but it's a great starting point to help you jump right into the homeschooling life.

The Homeschooling Option

Why Homeschool?

Our district is in financial trouble. Three elementary schools are closing after the end of this semester and ours is one of them. The children from these schools will integrate with those elementary schools lucky enough to remain open. Class sizes are predicted to be large, PE specialists are in jeopardy of being let go, and there is a general sense of economic doom. This is not the end of budget cuts. These are some of the reasons we first thought of homeschooling as an option.

Before the trouble in our district, to be honest, we never thought of homeschooling as a solution for our family. We were fully in support of public schools, thinking they were the best option no matter what. However, after considering homsechooling more seriously, researching what it would mean for us, and talking to family, we realized it was a valid option to consider.

We read Lisa Rivero's book 'The Homsechooling Option" and began thinking about homeschooling in earnest.