The First Week?

Ok, I'm back..I took a little hiatus but, I am getting back in the swing of things. A year ago we  were embarking on this crazy experiment of homeschooling and we were so excited and energized. This year... not so much.  I am more overwhelmed than ever. Maybe it is because I now know what I don't know, and that is a little terrifying. Maybe it is because we are entering the middle school years....need I say more( eye roll followed by "whatever"). It is likely a combination of many things.

We officially started school Monday, August 13 and the week was a little rocky so, in true homeschool fashion, I've decided that Monday August 20th is our new first day. Isn't it great how I can do that. Where else in life do you get a do over?  Even with the do over, we will still be way above the public school. I figured out today that the middle school up the street only has three and one half hours of academic teaching per day.   I have perused the curriculum on line and I really do not see how they can cover everything. I think the answer is that they don't.  With lunch, gym, music and study hall (you heard it Study hall), there is just so little time left.

My goal this year is to try to be calmer and more relaxed and let Sarah explore her own style of learning.Who am I kidding?  Even I can't read that with a straight face, but it sounds good. This year like all others, I am going to close my eyes and hold on tight and hope this roller coaster ride was not put together by the guy with the face tattoo who took my ticket. I am going to trust and hope and dare I say it...Pray.

So many questions...

Yesterday our Social Studies lesson took us on a detour, as it often does. One of the questions in our lesson was about giving African Americans the right to vote. The question was why did some people want to give them the vote and what did some people fear the repercussions would be if they did vote.  Well, this opened up a ton of conversations and questions. What is a minority? Why were minorities treated differently?  Why is it hard for some minorities to get good jobs or a good education? How does this lead to poverty?  Why are there poor children? Why is it hard to get out of poverty?  We even digressed into what is the minimum wage and how would a person live on such a wage. We figured a person could work full time at McDonald's and make about $1,300 per month. What is the average rent in our town?


I love it when homeschooling takes this path!  Sarah really understands the historical context of certain issues.  It take more than a generation to overcome a century of discrimination. What is the responsibility of the government to help the poor and what is the responsibility of the community? were among the conversations.  At first Sarah just wants to do the lesson and resists some of the deeper lessons but once we get rolling, she begins to really think. We talked a little bit about the plight of the Native Americans and the Japanese Americans in the interment camps.  She realized discrimination crosses ethnic and cultural lines and that over history many groups have faced horrendous civil rights violations. 


These are the days that I love homeschool because we were not restricted by a time period, we could go where the lesson took us. The bell was not going to ring and there was no grade, just plain learning, for both of us.

Are we doing enough?..Yes!

    While chatting with some home school parents today, I am struck by how we all have varying levels of insecurities, myself included. How could we not? Being a parent is full of second guessing, so it stands to reason that home schooling would follow suit. Intellectually, we all know that the schools are not the best model and we are indeed doing better, but there is always that nagging feeling. The buck truly does stop here, there is no one else to blame, and although we will gladly take the credit, credit is less free flowing.  Everyone I have ever talked to feels like there is one area that they have given insufficient attention. For me it is Spanish, I had grand plans in September, I fully expected Sarah to be fluent by June. In November our Spanish program broke..yep wouldn't load..really slow and well..just broken. I don't have to tell you how that went. She barely knows basic vocabulary much less how to  conjugate verbs. For some it is writing or science or religion. We all have our things. For some it may be style or quantity. Are we doing enough school? does my style simply replicate traditional school? How can I make it fun and interesting enough so they will retain this information beyond fifth grade? I take much satisfaction in the fact that I haven't met one homeschooler , new or seasoned that doesn't have the exact same issues.


   In the end I think this fear is what makes a great teacher. I can think of nothing worse than complacency. In every area of my life there is room for improvement which creates room for change and growth. This is the way it should be. Without this nagging feeling that I suck, I would never improve. My accomplishments would not have the same impact and my failures would be devastating. It is comforting to know that I have not peaked and that tomorrow  may be the best day yet.  When your kid says something smart or insightful (preferably in front of other people) you feel so proud you forget all the days they stared at you blankly and said "what Civil War?". As the official school year enters the home stretch, I will focus on how much we did accomplish instead of what we may have missed. At least that is the plan. 

Spring Break Lite

       After a lot of conversation, Sarah has convinced me that she needs a spring break. It wasn't that hard a sell because I need a Spring break too. Of course the weather is Chicago decided to turn back to seasonably March, just in time. We have a busy homeschool week planned with the usual activities but we will forgo our typical schedule. Compromise is becoming my middle name. Until I moved to the midwest, I thought Spring break really just applied to college students in fort lauderdale. Times have changed, College kids go to Cancun and families everywhere take elaborate vacations to Disney world and beyond. We are not a spring break family but this week we may sleep a little later, see a few movies and relax a bit.  


         This week Sarah will go to science club where the topic is organic chemistry, Cooking club where she will present her project on Ireland, take a maple syrup field trip and  participate in an Archery lesson. She will serve Mass twice. Between this busy schedule we will try to visit with friends and take a little break from school .


     We are also on day 5 of our Gluten free experiment. I think it is making a difference with Sarah but I oddly enough feel worse..maybe I am intolerant to corn or rice...if so, I am screwed. The good thing is we haven't eaten out in a week, which is good because gluten free food is crazy expensive. Come on!!..8 oz of pasta for $5.00. Of course, the smart way to do it is just eat healthy fruits and vegetables instead of a bowl of Chex cereal and a diet coke for breakfast...I can't understand why I don't feel better.  

Project Based Learning

     I have been researching project based learning lately. It is basically integrating your curriculum into a real world project or theme. For example, students design a new product or solve a problem in healthcare or investigate the causes of racism. All this is done by incorporating English, History, Math and Science. The project spans some time and concludes with some sort of report or presentation. I am curious how the schools are able to do this with all the time and budget contraints. For homeschoolers it seems perfect, except for the fact that it really is designed to be done in groups with the exchange of ideas.  Perhaps some sort of co-op is on the horizon.


     Everyone speaks of creativity and critical thinking but how do we really teach it?  How do you get a child to  take initiative and be take chances on an idea when it may not come naturally to them (or us)? Are the great innovators accidental or were they nurtured by a teacher or parent?  I Find this challenging with Sarah. When I say write a report on anything you want she becomes very overwhelmed and literally shuts down. If I give her a topic, she resists. I think it has a lot to do with confidence and fear. She is afraid she will pick the wrong topic or she wont be able to finish it. I completely understand that fear and it can be paralyzing. How do we overcome this in our children when as adults we struggle as well?


     Back to PBL, this could be a huge shift in how we home school.  If done correctly, it could make sense out of school. The age old question, "when am I ever going to use this?" may actually have merit. Are we raising test takers or great thinkers.   If we open the walls of education and embrace failure as a natural part of learning we may uncover some amazing ideas.   This is such a great time in their life, free of pressure and responsibility. This is the perfect time to explore without having to achieve. Now, onto picking the first project.....

Home school rock climbing

   Today is what I like to call a wash. Our Cooking group was postponed until next week, so I thought great, we can catch up on some school work. Not so much..After some unexpected errands in the morning, I realized some days you just have to give up the dream of it being a productive academic day. At around noon, I realized how it was going and just decided to take Sarah to Homeschool Rock Climbing. 2 hours for 10 bucks, you cant beat that except that I bought a $6 smoothie from the gym cafe..so I guess you can beat it. This is a sport that Sarah loves! She climbs up that wall like a little monkey with no fear. It is two hours that I get to catch up on phone calls or read.  Not much learning today, but there is always tomorrow. When I feel guilty, I remember that the public school will only go to school 12 days of a possible 22 in March. I guess you could call today a teacher institute day.

No more Gluten, maybe

I think because we have had this little burst of summer, our brains have decided that summer is actually here....unfortunately it's not and we still have full time school for over 2 more months. I know if it is hard for me, it is quadroopilly hard for Sarah, (I know it's not a word, that's why I made the spelling extra fun).

Luckily we started early in the day so we were able to get a lot done. Around 1:30 we decided to go the Trader Joe's.  I have been entertaining the idea of a gluten free diet for years but have never really committed to it. I have no doubt that we would be healthier, exercise wouldn't hurt either but I don't want to go all out crazy. It turns out Trader Joe's has a lot of Gluten free items and they are only about three times the price of the regular things. How come every time you take something out of food, the price goes up, sugar, fat, salt, caffeine, and gluten? I think to compensate, a bag of sugar and a carton of salt should be given away free with every order. 


Sarah had a great time at the store, she had her list  of gluten free items and read all the labels. My fear is that she will end up living on Chex cereal and Fritoes. Turns out..snacks are not the problem when going gluten free.  I have to roll my eyes a little to think I am one of those Moms, just last week I heard myself saying..I could be Vegan.  


Through the homeschool community, I have met many people with varying opinions about diet and how it relates to behavior. I think much of it is valid, but also individualized. What works for one kid has little effect on another and what one parent perceives as an impact another can barely recognize.  I think it can all be summed up by one statement. 
                               
                  Don't let your kids eat crap and make them run around. 


If that involves chasing them to pry the Oreos out of their hands than so be it.