Hands On Science

Today we went on a field trip to the Hatfield Marine Science Center for Homeschool Day. There were several sessions the kids could sign up for and all of them were hands on experiences. It is a bit of a drive, so we did have to wake up early, but it was worth it. We ran into many homeschoolers, which made lunch time a fun reunion of friends.

The first session the kids put together a whale skeleton. After hearing information about different whales, the kids were asked to dive into 2 buckets of bones. They put them onto the table and began to assemble. After the kids were done, the instructor took them outside to see an "already assembled" whale skeleton to see if they thought they were finished or if some changes needed to be made. The kids decided a few changes were in store and went back inside to fix their skeleton. It was fun to watch them fit the puzzle together with team work. 

Our next session was studying rocky intertidal ecosystems. The kids began with an empty aquarium and were asked to introduce one species after another. The last, but not least, was a sea star! Even us big kids were excited at the opportunity to actually hold one in our hands.

The last class of our day was using microscopes to see differences in sand from various places. This was a lot of fun for the kids to see things up close and a reminder to me that I really want a microscope for our home classroom.

My biggest lesson I learned today... to include my oldest when ordering tickets. She was super sad to miss out on dissecting a squid and I completely understand. I assumed incorrectly that it would be too much for her. I stand corrected. I hope we get the opportunity to go back and get that squid!

Doing It Myself

I am trying something new this year, doing it with my kids. That may sound funny, because, of course I'm homeschooling with my kids. What I mean is, really doing the assignments with the kids.

For example, instead of asking them to write for 5 minutes while I go check my emails, I am writing for 5 minutes with them, with pencil and paper. I am finding that the kids are more receptive (duh) when I'm working along side them and actively participating. Instead of asking them to read a book, I read it out loud. My son (7) is a reluctant reader. He can read very well, but he's not interested in sitting still to read a novel. But if the whole family sits together to read a book out loud, he's willing to snuggle under a blanket and listen for a long time.

This year, I've also begun reading poetry to the kids. We have started with Shel Silverstein. The greatest thing has happened. While I read, the kids are jumping in to read the poems too. They take turns with me, reading different poems throughout the book. My son's body squirms with delight as he reads a poem out loud. My daughter (10), who can read a novel or two a day, is forced to slow down while she reads out loud. I've read that reading out loud can help a fast reader slow down and absorb more of the grammar and spelling (of course, this may not help as we're reading poems that defy grammar and traditional spellings!) I'm still excited, as the two of them look forward to reading time now that it is often a group effort.

Somewhere else I am trying to actively participate is when we do anything artsy. I often have a specific idea in my head that I want the kids to create.  Just as often, they have their own artistic voice they want to explore. When my idea doesn't match their idea, I go nuts. I am the mom who says, "but wouldn't it be better if the sky were blue?" or, "what if you tried coloring inside the lines next time?" I hate it as I do it, but I can't sem to stop myself.

The solution has been so simple, I'm bummed I didn't make the realization sooner. Now, when I have an idea, I complete that idea alongside my kids, while they do their own thing. This way, I get to see my idea through to fruition and my kids are allowed to do whatever their creative minds want to do without my nagging voice. I do hope that I never give the message that my art is "better" or "right" but that it's just another interpretation of the task at hand.

My daughter's representation of how many connections neurons can make:

And my son's representation. He is definitely the generation of initialisms and emoticons LOL :)

Take Apart Day

I read about "Take Apart Day" in one book about homeschooling. I forget the book now, but as I search on the internet, I see it's something that kids do all over the country. I liked the idea, so I organized a day within our homeschooling community.

Kids came with items to take apart. We had zip drives, CD players, cassette tape players, computer mice, keyboards, and more. The kids had a lot of fun hammering, prying, and unscrewing the items. They said it was fun to do something that mom and dad usually say "No" to.

We were lucky that one homeschooling dad joined us with his son. The pair of them had strong knowledge of electronics and were able to explain things to us. The day was a success, with many happy kids, and only a few needing bandaids!

Sharing Knowledge

Another thing I am loving about homeschooling, is the fact that peers are not necessarily learning the same things at the same time. Each family is making their own decision on what to learn and when. So, when peers get together, they are able to share their knowledge with each other. Each peer brings something new to the relationship enabling each to take turns being a teacher or a student.

One morning, while we were playing at a nearby park with friends, the daughter of the other family spotted owl pellets. We had seen them before on a tour, but never really touched them, opened one or anything more than just see them. To be honest, it looked like a dust ball or small tumble weed, but our friend knew instantly what they were.

The kids immediately found sticks to pry the pellets open and find what was inside. The two oldest kids were able to identify the different bones inside and got a good idea of the size of the animal the owl had eaten.

Just a few days before, we had seen actual teeth of a beaver, where parts were ivory and parts were orange. This helped us to identify the teeth of the animal found in one of the pellets. I love how each field trip seems to link to something else we do. It makes it "real" for the kids and they are able to connect to what they are learning.

The Wetlands and What Grade Are You?

As we venture deeper into unschooling, I understand more and more why some people do away with labeling their kids in a certain grade altogether. We instantly did away with tests and scores, so why not grades? It seems harder to push aside as we live in a society that asks this question all the time. Sometimes it's just easier to answer with an acceptable grade versus explaining that you don't follow grades, or explaining that you might be a second grader in language arts, but third grade in math and first grade in science.

So, it was funny when we went on a field trip to the local wetlands and the leader asked the kids to yell out what grade they are in. When the leader got to my son, he just looked at the leader, then to me, then back to the leader. I interjected the silence for him and loudly said, "Second!" and we all had a good laugh.

On this field trip, we were able to see a lot of creatures that inhabit the wetlands biome. One of the first creatures we spotted, was this praying mantis eating its wooly caterpillar lunch.

As we walked around, we found lots of bugs to investigate, beaver dams, a controlled burn area and more.

Fun with Colloids

My daughter likes chemistry, so I asked her to pick out an experiment she'd like to do. She picked colloids. We whipped up a batch of Goop for both kids and played all morning. My son refused to get his hands dirty, he hates the feeling, so he played carefully with a spoon.

Recipe: Makes enough for 1 child…..

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
small bowl, tin pie plate, etc.more water
Food coloring (if desired)

Add the water to the corn starch in a small bowl, tin pie plate, etc. Mix it together using your hands. If you need to add more water, add just a couple of drops (especially after playing with it for awhile).

What Day is Today?

“What day is it?"
It's today," squeaked Piglet.
My favorite day," said Pooh.”
― A.A. Milne

There are times when my son comes to me and asks, "What day is today?" I marvel at this question. While he would ask this question before, he seems to ask it much less these days. Why? Maybe because he has learned how to read the calendar, or maybe because our schedule is so different than before. Sometimes we "school" on the weekends or sometimes during the week we'll take a day off. Some days, we're learning and we don't even know it. Sometimes it's even hard for me to know what day it is (which is why I'm thankful for my smartphone's calendar and alerts!)