Scientific Proof

Science is Amazing

Thanks to another homeschooling mom in our community, we were able to participate in another wonderful field trip. This time, we went to Oregon State University for some hands on experience in microbiology. This field trip was definitely worth the long drive in so many ways. 

First, the kids were able to look at samples using very nice equipment. The college students, who lead our kids, gave instructions on how to keep their work area clean, gave hands on help with microscopes and showed them how to use a bunsen burner. Our kids were exposed to aseptic methods, information on identifying samples and safety rules. 

Second, the group of college students that helped were diverse. Half of them were women and there was a sampling of different ethnicities. I remember being around 10 years old and meeting college students for the first time. They were so tall and so very important. I remember wanting to be one because they just oozed coolness. Now an older, biracial, woman (and mom), I was excited to see my daughter meet her first college student. How wonderful that she was able to see students from various backgrounds working in the science industry. 

Third, the main student who led our group was a very well spoken young man. I figured him for a graduate student, but found out he is an undergraduate for another semester. He not only led the kids in their work, but also gave us a tour of the campus. During the tour, he gave a lot of commentary on what college could be. Not only studies in academics, but also a lot of learning of life skills. He spoke of the mistakes he's made and how it's gotten him where he is today. He talked about the research OSU inspires and that the work they are doing is to affect real life, to make changes, to do something. I am not doing him justice, because in his quiet manner, he really said it well. A lot of what we parents tell our kids, but now it's coming from someone "cooler".

Overall, it was a fantastic field trip. One that will stick in my mind... if only to make me want to go back to college again!

Playing with Pastels

Chalky Experiences

I love art, and wish I could create it all. I wish I were better at more mediums. I've been wanting to work with pastels lately, so today was the day.

For now, we just played with blending options and the difference of a white background and a black background.

I asked the kids to draw something that had to do with the ocean, river, water, etc. as we have been studying those ecosystems. My daughter created a sea urchin with a cannon and my son created a Minecraft dirt block.

I'm just happy we all created art with the pastels.

Standardized Testing

But what about the standardized tests?

The question of standardized testing has come up a lot.

I have recently read a lot about the beginning of standardized testing. Professor J. Kelly invented the multiple-choice test, less than a hundred years ago in response to a national crises during World War I (a flooding of students needing to be sorted quickly). Kelly indicated his test to be a measure of "lower order thinking" among the masses (the lower orders). He had no intent for standardized testing to become so widespread. After World War I ended, Kelly, as president of the University of Idaho, pushed for educational reform saying that the test was only good for testing a tiny portion of what is actually taught. As a result, he was asked to step down, aka, he was fired.

While searching Wikipedia, I found this on the multiple-choice page:

"If students are instructed on the way in which the item format works and myths surrounding the tests are corrected, they will perform better on the test."
Beckert, L., Wilkinson, T. J., & Sainsbury, R. (2003). A needs-based study and examination skills course improves students' performance Medical Education 37 (5), 424–428. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2923.2003.01499.x

What it means to me is that if you study how to take the test, you will get a better score. But that doesn't mean you are educated in anything other than how to take a test. In this model, students definitely have not learned how to be excited about education or figured out how to be life-long learners.

So, when a friend recently asked me, "Aren't you worried about the tests?" I answered, "No!" I went on to explain that part of why we chose to homeschool is that we no longer believe in the public school system's methods of teaching. And part of leaving that paradigm behind, is also leaving behind our belief in the standardized test.  If I truly believe that standardized testing doesn't measure how intelligent an individual is, then why should I worry about it? The world is changing. The communication age is here and there are arguments that the tests may soon no longer be needed.

Of course, I still do worry. In the state of OR, your children have to pass (individual results need to be higher than the 15%-tile) a Standardized test at the 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grade levels. I've seen the tests, this shouldn't be too hard. However, the threat is still there. If I don't teach my children enough of what the test maker puts on the exam, they may fail. It won't mean they aren't smart, aren't intelligent, or haven't learned anything. It would only mean they didn't learn what the test makers wanted them to learn.

Something else I worry about is how it will make my kids feel. They are aware of the tests and what they need to achieve. I still remember the pressure of tests and that I am a very bad test taker. I often panic, forget things I knew yesterday, or get enticed by the many choices in a multiple-choice exam. My grades were always As and Bs. All my school life, I was told I was smart by my teachers. They put me in the gifted program. Yet, my standardized test scores didn't always reflect this. As a child, this was very upsetting to me. I didn't feel smart at all. I don't want this confusion for my children.

I do worry about the standardized tests and what it could do to their self esteem. Therefore, instead of teaching to the test, we are instilling self esteem and teaching them to love learning. In the end, a love for learning, confidence in knowing how to find answers, and the urge to find those answers creatively will be better than a high percentile score on an exam that tests "the lower orders".

Found Poetry

I cut out several words from magazines. Then I put them onto single sided laminating sheets, put colored paper behind it and recut them out to make them durable. I decided to color code the words. This is not part of regular found poetry, but I thought we might want to use the words for something else in the future, and I thought that maybe if the kids looked up the words, they might learn different types of words like adjective, adverb, article, noun, etc. Once the words were created, the kids could play with them, move them about, and make poetry on the spot!

Before I was done with the words, my daughter asked if she could make a poem. I reminded her that we had just gone on a trip to see the salmon run and spent the day at the river. Could she make a poem while thinking about that day?  Here is what she created:

A River

Frost arrived

All sleep

We play

One traveler's favorite voice

The only change my daughter made, was the apostrophe on the word travelers. She wanted to indicate that the children's playing voices were one traveler's favorite sound.

Then, a few days later, the kids and I watched a short video I took of the salmon attempting to jump up the large waterfall. We watched in silence, while we all thought about the sounds, visions, feelings and memories of that day. Then we all dove into the pile of words and picked out what we were thinking about. I asked for a set of three lines from each of us. My daughter gave four. Then we put them into an order that we felt made sense. Here is our group poem:

Wish for a River

natural adventure

open exploration

and great kids

launch area

electric bounce

wet, fresh season

happiness, warm, good

uncommon, extreme, and charming

all unique

we wish for a river 

I love that we were able to make a poem within 5 minutes without fear or hesitation. We had fun. We worked alone and together. The colored words looked pretty. We ended up with a nice poem.

Run, Salmon, Run!

A member of the homeschooling community set up a trip to see the Salmon Run with the guidance of one of her friends. I've read about how this is a perk of homeschooling, utilizing resources close by, but living it has been amazing. So, on his day off, our guide Tim, took us on a fantastic tour of the salmon. 

The weather cooperated very well. It rained off and on during the 50 minute drive, but once we got there, the rain eased up. I was worried I wouldn't be able to take photos, but I was lucky enough to take many, too many to choose from, so there are a lot in this post.

From the road, we were able to see and hear the flowing river. 

Beautiful trees watched us as we continued on our path.

Tim, our instructor for the day, asked that we be quiet as we watched the salmon swim. Loud noises could disturb the fish on their journey. It was extremely difficult to keep quiet. When you see a fish jump 5 feet into the air trying to go up a large waterfall, you can't help but squeal with delight, cheer the fish on, hoping it'll make it this time! We did get to see a few fish discover the fish ladder and make it up to the next level. I have never seen anything like it and was exhilarated by the experience of watching the salmon jump.

Our hike back up to begin the next segment of the trip.

Our next and final stop was a few minutes down the road. 

More beautiful sights awaited us.

The kids loved looking over the bridge to see the calmer part of the river where we'd be spending our afternoon. From the bridge, we did not see any live fish, but a few dead ones were spotted. We learned that scientists come out to count the dead bodies. To keep track of which ones have been counted, they cut off the tail, so if you see a tail, it has not been counted yet.

More beautiful trees surrounding us on this day.

And here is our classroom for the day. Love it!

I am not a fisherman. I have fished, but I am not a fisherman. There are fisherman in my extended family, but I am not a fisherman. I have always found a reason to be somewhere else when the fish were cleaned. Therefore, it was pretty cool to see the gills of this fish. Note: A sad part of spawning, for the female fish, is that after she lays her eggs, she dies a few days later.

This time, no cheers. We were on our best behavior at this part of the river. Giving our respect to the female fish trying to find safe places to lay their eggs and to the males trying to fertilize them. It was a majestic time with the quiet trickling of the river, soft steps of onlookers, and the occasional splash from a salmon.

Here you can see the tail fin and dorsal fin of a salmon near the rocks.

This seems to be a centipede? Seems to have one set of legs per body segment and segmented antennae. But, I'm no bug expert. I do know, however, that there were tons of them on this tree and that the younger boys were enthralled with them.