Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
The Dawn Treader by Bernie
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Three Books I'm Excited About Right Now...
Born for Love: Why Empathy is Essential - and Endangered, is written by the same team as The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog.It follows the brain science, interwoven with many personal stories, about how people learn and develop the essential trait of empathy. Empathy is woven into the very fabric of our being, but basically, we learn empathy by being loved by our parents (and other caregivers) from the time we are tiny infants. This tends to happen naturally, as our responses as parents are also practically automatic. The consequences of not receiving this normal loving care (such as those raised in orphanages in Russia and Romania) are serious, but can be addressed to some extent. (Not only empathy, but also things like IQ, immunity to disease and physical balance are related to the nurturing most babies receive at a very young age.)
One part of the book I particularly enjoyed was about a woman who founded an organization that helps schoolchildren learn empathy. Just hearing about how this woman grew up was fascinating.
If we are all born for love, Roots of Empathy founder Mary Gordon was delivered into some of the most fertile ground imaginable. She grew up in Newfoundland, in a multigenerational household that included her three brothers and one sister, both of her grandmothers, and an uncle who was intellectually disabled. Her parents also often took in "strays." Unmarried women who'd gotten pregnant would live with them during their pregnancies, men leaving prison would visit nightly for a free meal. Gordon's father eventually served as the Canadian minister of labor,a dn her mother was an artist. The Catholic family was deeply committed to social justice. AT the dinner table, the rule was that the conversation must focus on ideas - literature, policy, religion, philosophy - not gossip or mundane events. But the table rang out with laughter and spirited debate: this didn't produce sullen resentment.
Her suggestions seem much more manageable than overwhelming. To give you a sense of it, here is a list of "How to Let Your Kid Play" (though, in the book, each item is detailed with information and suggestions):
- Value free play.
- Know your kid.
- Create agreements with other parents.
- Offer materials and equipment that foster imaginative play.
- Let your kid decide how and what to play.
- Work on creating space between you and your kid.
- Develop a capacity to wince but not to pounce.
- Create a culture of free outdoor play.
- Get inspired.
- Encourage change in your community.
- Model play.
I figured that even reading some of the crazy helicopter-parenting stories aloud to my kids would help ensure that I wouldn't imitate such behavior. ;)
I am also looking forward to reading her suggestions in upcoming chapters (I'm about half-way through) on teaching life skills, teaching them to think, preparing them for hard work, letting them chart their own path and listening to them. Good stuff!
Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein's Letters to and from Children just arrived in the mail yesterday. Looking forward to having a little downtime for savoring it. (A girl can dream, right?)
Thursday, March 12, 2015
We don't often make homemade beauty products...
Aren't they pretty cooling in the lovely outdoors that was an ugly zero degrees just last week?
FOLLOW-UP: I'm finding this good for dry knuckles and such (too greasy to totally replace hand lotion), but even better as a lip-balm.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
What We've Been Enjoying This Week..
Watching YouTube videos related to topics that came up in the 39 Clues, like Terra Cotta Army, Amber Room and Catacombs of Paris.
Discovering Music DVD series by Dr. Carol Reynolds (I love how she incorporates art, architecture, history, culture, politics, science, etc. along with LOTS of stories and excellent recordings). Already touched on a few topics from The 39 Clues here too. :)Good stuff!
P.S. An extra motivation for me to finish the series is that the 1st book in the second series, (Cahills vs. Vespers: The Medusa Plot) is waiting for me to read from the Amazon Vine program. Terri's already cruised through that and eager for the next volume (which comes out in December!)
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
A Homeschooling Meme!
Wow, I haven't been tagged for a meme in a very long time. So long that I almost forgot what a meme was! Thank you kindly to Kimberlee of Pondered in My Heart for the generous nudge to write. :)
One homeschooling book you have enjoyed.
Gotta pick at least two. I think my favorites still (partly because of the way they impacted me at the time I happened to read them) are For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum by Laura Berquist. I think I'm really ready for a re-read of that first book especially. I'm also looking forward to reading A Little Way of Homeschooling and The School of the Family, both of which are waiting for me on my shelf!
One resource you wouldn't be without.
Honestly, truly, I would have to say our parish. Not only daily Mass, wonderful sermons and twice-weekly school Masses (today three children in one family were baptized during the school Mass - what a beautiful thing!), but also free musical opportunities (through various choirs my kids sing in), school sports and other school activities like Chess club (which all parish children are invited to participate in) and, on the whole, what has become for us an extension of our family and an essential aspect of our children's education - a loving group of people who have chosen to embrace us as we are (including things like our odd propensity for enjoying ancient music and Marian hymns, which they allow us to sing at Mass as a family on occasion) rather than consider us a threat to their way of doing things. I am so very grateful every day for this great blessing!
And... if you want a more bookish answer, I would say the old Catholic National Readers (basically Catholic versions of the McGuffey readers). They're written for a different era and a different educational system, which is always refreshingly compatible with what we do around here. We don't use them all the time, but when we do (which is generally for at least a few months of each year) I'm always reminded of a one room school house and an era that in some ways was simpler. The simplicity is evident in these books in the way reading, spelling, grammar, dictation and reading comprehension are combined and the students alternate between independent work and some simple feedback from the teacher.
One resource you wish you never bought.
It's really hard to pick on one book, but I have learned over time that I really can't stand scripted curriculum (though I understand that they are wonderful for those who like them) and that I am allergic to teacher's manuals. (Achoo!) I like to be able to sit down with something (like the Catholic National Readers mentioned above) and just start using them without having to read over 5 pages of material just to get started. That's one thing I've always liked about the MCP Math too.
One resource you enjoyed last year.
Our road trip! Traveling makes for wonderful educational opportunities I think partly because we parents are pulled away from the computer and the telephone and a lot of other worries. Our month-long road trip to California last year was fantastic.
One resource you will be using next year.
Next year is toosoon, ahem, far away, maybe we'll talk about this year. Perhaps our favorite new educational resource this year is the fabulous Catholic liberal arts college that Ria is attending. She is completely smitten with TAC, and we really can't blame her. Just last weekend, for example, the "Theologian of the Papal Household" visited TAC, gave a lecture, said Mass and visited with students, etc. You can read more about Rev. Wojciech Giertych here.
One resource you would like to buy.
The new Catholicism DVD series from Fr. Robert Barron sounds fascinating, although we still have so many unwatched DVD resources around here at the moment that it would hardly seem reasonable. One DVD series we have very much enjoyed so far and need to get back to is Dr. Carol Reynold's Discovering Music Series.
One resource you wish existed.
Inexpensive add-on space to our house for more elbow room (and messy project space) especially in the winter. Oh yes, that and a self-cleaning floor (really a self-cleaning anything!). One other thing I have learned about our family over time is that we don't need any of those learning-to-be-creative-as-a-family-type-books. We exude creativity, or at least that's the positive spin I put on the trail of artwork and projects that is generally to be found all over every available surface and overflowing onto the floors.
One homeschool catalog you enjoy reading.
Honestly, I've reached the stage where I really don't enjoy reading homeschool catalogs anymore, though the one I used to enjoy reading the most was Michael Olaf's Montessori catalog, which were part catalog and part book. UPDATE: Upon further consideration, I realized that I do look forward to reading the catalogs from CHC and Ignatius Press when they arrive in the mail.
If you're reading this and haven't yet done the meme, please consider yourself tagged and let me know in the comments box! Thanks Kimberlee!
One homeschooling book you have enjoyed.
Gotta pick at least two. I think my favorites still (partly because of the way they impacted me at the time I happened to read them) are For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum by Laura Berquist. I think I'm really ready for a re-read of that first book especially. I'm also looking forward to reading A Little Way of Homeschooling and The School of the Family, both of which are waiting for me on my shelf!
One resource you wouldn't be without.
Honestly, truly, I would have to say our parish. Not only daily Mass, wonderful sermons and twice-weekly school Masses (today three children in one family were baptized during the school Mass - what a beautiful thing!), but also free musical opportunities (through various choirs my kids sing in), school sports and other school activities like Chess club (which all parish children are invited to participate in) and, on the whole, what has become for us an extension of our family and an essential aspect of our children's education - a loving group of people who have chosen to embrace us as we are (including things like our odd propensity for enjoying ancient music and Marian hymns, which they allow us to sing at Mass as a family on occasion) rather than consider us a threat to their way of doing things. I am so very grateful every day for this great blessing!
And... if you want a more bookish answer, I would say the old Catholic National Readers (basically Catholic versions of the McGuffey readers). They're written for a different era and a different educational system, which is always refreshingly compatible with what we do around here. We don't use them all the time, but when we do (which is generally for at least a few months of each year) I'm always reminded of a one room school house and an era that in some ways was simpler. The simplicity is evident in these books in the way reading, spelling, grammar, dictation and reading comprehension are combined and the students alternate between independent work and some simple feedback from the teacher.
One resource you wish you never bought.
It's really hard to pick on one book, but I have learned over time that I really can't stand scripted curriculum (though I understand that they are wonderful for those who like them) and that I am allergic to teacher's manuals. (Achoo!) I like to be able to sit down with something (like the Catholic National Readers mentioned above) and just start using them without having to read over 5 pages of material just to get started. That's one thing I've always liked about the MCP Math too.
One resource you enjoyed last year.
Our road trip! Traveling makes for wonderful educational opportunities I think partly because we parents are pulled away from the computer and the telephone and a lot of other worries. Our month-long road trip to California last year was fantastic.
One resource you will be using next year.
Next year is too
One resource you would like to buy.
The new Catholicism DVD series from Fr. Robert Barron sounds fascinating, although we still have so many unwatched DVD resources around here at the moment that it would hardly seem reasonable. One DVD series we have very much enjoyed so far and need to get back to is Dr. Carol Reynold's Discovering Music Series.
One resource you wish existed.
Inexpensive add-on space to our house for more elbow room (and messy project space) especially in the winter. Oh yes, that and a self-cleaning floor (really a self-cleaning anything!). One other thing I have learned about our family over time is that we don't need any of those learning-to-be-creative-as-a-family-type-books. We exude creativity, or at least that's the positive spin I put on the trail of artwork and projects that is generally to be found all over every available surface and overflowing onto the floors.
One homeschool catalog you enjoy reading.
Honestly, I've reached the stage where I really don't enjoy reading homeschool catalogs anymore, though the one I used to enjoy reading the most was Michael Olaf's Montessori catalog, which were part catalog and part book. UPDATE: Upon further consideration, I realized that I do look forward to reading the catalogs from CHC and Ignatius Press when they arrive in the mail.
If you're reading this and haven't yet done the meme, please consider yourself tagged and let me know in the comments box! Thanks Kimberlee!
Friday, February 18, 2011
7 Quick Takes Friday (from 2/18/11)
1.
Frank finished the Bob Books last night! Funny thing is he accidentally started the last set of Bob Books from the end, so he did the hardest four or five books first and then went back in order. So last night he cruised through the middle five that were left. We called everyone up to listen to the last page, caught it on video, brought the bag of completed books up to the attic and then went to Culver's to celebrate. Yum!2.
I can't believe I still haven't given a Latin Convention update. We're still missing the official transcript of scores, I just have the notes I quickly jotted down during the awards ceremony. (The awards ceremony gives the top 5 placements for each event whereas the transcript goes all the through the top 10). Our Gus had a great first year and we're really proud of him. He's always had some learning challenges (which I wrote about a bit on the old blog) and one that still lingers is that his handwriting and fine motor skills tend to be slow going. There were a total of 12 written tests he could have taken. He was only able to finish seven in the time given. Out of those seven, he placed in the top 5 on four tests! 5th place in Roman History, 4th place in Latin Derivatives, 3rd place in Greek Derivatives and 1st place in Latin Literature! He also tied with one of his teammates for 2nd place in Impromptu Oratory. This is a lovely confidence boost for all of us and has helped me to understand that what we've been doing is really working pretty well on the whole (and more of the same at this point is good)!3.
I really enjoy watching the Oscars every year. Do you? Sure I groan at some of the speeches and other oddities, but I enjoy a lot of the "little guy" moments, I love the tributes to those who have died in the past year and things like that. Also, I simply enjoy rooting for my favorite movies. This year I've seen four of the movies nominated for best picture: The King's Speech, True Grit, Inception, and Toy Story 3. Even among those, The King's Speech is a huge favorite for me. I let my highschoolers watch the Oscars with me and then I call all of the kids (who are in earshot) in for key moments, like Pixar Movie Moments. ;)
4.
A few weeks ago I purchased Secrets of Mental Math from The Teaching Company when it was on sale (all Teaching Company courses go on sale substantially at least once per year - we purchased this set for about $40). I thought it might make a nice break from the regular routine and give the kids a more enthusiastic angle on math. The course has exceeded my expectations and the change of pace has been wonderful, especially in February. All of the kids are interested in it and are following along pretty well. They've been doing each lesson 3 or 4 times to pick up all the details (they also pause it frequently - the guy talks fast and covers a lot of stuff!). Overall an enthusiastic recommendation so far! We also picked up the Joy of Mathematics, but haven't really dug into it yet.5.
We're having a lovely reprieve from the ultra-cold weather this week. It's been lovely and the kids have spent lots of time outside, despite all the mud from the melting snow. During the coldest weather, the kids weren't spending much time outside and the dog wasn't getting enough exercise. She has the run of a bunch of the yard, but without some stimulation from people, she tends to just go outside and bark at the neighbors. So the kids have been making a special effort to keep her busy. She LOVES the snow and will try to catch snowballs in her mouth to the great entertainment of all. They came up with a new form of entertainment this week. They took a snowball and got her attention with it and then smushed it into the top of a very large snowball (about two feet tall). The dog would get up on her hind legs and dig through the big snowball with great excitement. I have to see if I can find the video they took of it. Too funny!6.
I've been meaning to read St. Therese's Story of a Soul for many years. I had a copy of the famous John Beevers translation on my bookshelf at least since college. Last year I ended up picking up an unedited translation from a rummage sale. After the Ron Hansen kick I've been on lately, I decided I needed something completely different (especially after Hitler's Niece, which is a VERY disturbing book). And so I thought of Story of a Soul and I did it, I finally read it. I should do a post on some quotes and thoughts from it, but just wanted to do a quick take for now. I was amazed by her confidence in understanding how God works in her life. I was also particularly moved, as I was by a description of St. Francis of Assisi on gratitude that I've quoted here in the past, at her ability to look upon sufferings, great or small, as a gift from God.7.
I loved this piece on "The Cross of Christ for Marriage" that I read on Ana's Blog this week. It obviously applies to other friendships as well as shedding a new light on the idea of the cross. Beautiful!Thursday, December 02, 2010
The Trading Cards Are Here, Part II
Originally published on Chez VH, December 2, 2010
Above are Bernie's creations (she's 10). We have St. John Vianney, St. John Bosco, St. Gregory the Great, Venerable Pope John Paul the Great and St. Philomena
Below are the ones she received yesterday... St. Therese, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Jesus, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Patrick
Above are Kate's creations: St. Francis of Assisi, Mary, St. Joseph, St. Gertrude, St. Patrick
Below are the ones she received: Mary, St. Helen, St. Edmund, St. Patrick and St. Zita
Above are Frank's drawings. We have St. Michael the Archangel,St. Genesius, St. John Bosco, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Francis de Sales
Below are the ones he received: Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio, St Paul, St. Sebastian, St. Joseph and St. Francis
A thousand thanks again to Kimberlee and family for this beautiful and fun project!
Above are Bernie's creations (she's 10). We have St. John Vianney, St. John Bosco, St. Gregory the Great, Venerable Pope John Paul the Great and St. Philomena
Below are the ones she received yesterday... St. Therese, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Jesus, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Patrick
Above are Kate's creations: St. Francis of Assisi, Mary, St. Joseph, St. Gertrude, St. Patrick
Below are the ones she received: Mary, St. Helen, St. Edmund, St. Patrick and St. Zita
Above are Frank's drawings. We have St. Michael the Archangel,St. Genesius, St. John Bosco, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Francis de Sales
Below are the ones he received: Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio, St Paul, St. Sebastian, St. Joseph and St. Francis
A thousand thanks again to Kimberlee and family for this beautiful and fun project!
The Trading Cards Are Here, Part I
Originally posted to Chez VH, December 2, 2010 -
As I mentioned in this post, all of the kids participated in the beautiful All Saints Day Artist Trading Card Swap (click through to get their story on the whole project) sponsored by the good folks from Pondered in My Heart. Our cards arrived today and boy were the kids ever excited! They were checking the mail every few minutes and I got a lovely glimpse out of an upstairs window of the three youngest kids each skipping down the driveway waving an envelope (we sent our cards in batches of two in business-sized envelopes).
Here are both sets of cards for each of the kiddos.
Ria (homeschool graduate and college applicant, age 17):
Here are the cards she drew: St. Edmund Campion, St. Anne Line, St. Adelaide, G.K. Chesterton and Venerable Pope John Paul the Great
She received the following cards: St. Padre Pio, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Monica, St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Josemarie Escriva
Gus (age 15) drew the following: St. Gregory the Great, St. John Bosco, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Pius X, St. Genesius
He received: St. Michael the Archangel, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Martin de Porres, St. Agatha, St. Thomas More
Terri (age 12) drew the following: St. Cecilia, St. Genevieve, St. Philomena, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
She received the following: St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa Benedicta 0f the Cross, St. Elizabeth, St. Maria Goretti and St. Juan Diego/ Our Lady of Guadalupe
to be continued...
As I mentioned in this post, all of the kids participated in the beautiful All Saints Day Artist Trading Card Swap (click through to get their story on the whole project) sponsored by the good folks from Pondered in My Heart. Our cards arrived today and boy were the kids ever excited! They were checking the mail every few minutes and I got a lovely glimpse out of an upstairs window of the three youngest kids each skipping down the driveway waving an envelope (we sent our cards in batches of two in business-sized envelopes).
Here are both sets of cards for each of the kiddos.
Ria (homeschool graduate and college applicant, age 17):
Here are the cards she drew: St. Edmund Campion, St. Anne Line, St. Adelaide, G.K. Chesterton and Venerable Pope John Paul the Great
She received the following cards: St. Padre Pio, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Monica, St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Josemarie Escriva
Gus (age 15) drew the following: St. Gregory the Great, St. John Bosco, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Pius X, St. Genesius
He received: St. Michael the Archangel, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Martin de Porres, St. Agatha, St. Thomas More
Terri (age 12) drew the following: St. Cecilia, St. Genevieve, St. Philomena, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
She received the following: St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa Benedicta 0f the Cross, St. Elizabeth, St. Maria Goretti and St. Juan Diego/ Our Lady of Guadalupe
to be continued...
Thursday, December 10, 2009
A Little of What I'm Up To....
(and partly why the blog suffers these days)
An interview I did (with my sister!) on homeschooling, published in an Italian Catholic newspaper:
Il Sussidiario.net | HOMESCHOOLING/ Educating Across the Generations
An upcoming homeschool conference I'll speaking at in March, 2010:
Blessed Sacrament Homeschool Conference, Memphis, Tennessee
Besides that we're managing to do most of our Advent traditions that I wrote about a few years ago, though I haven't begun to do anything about Christmas cards yet. Last year, I managed to flop on the Christmas Cards right in the middle of the stack and I may just pick up where I left off then.
Last week was one of those weeks where everything converged all on top of each other - First Reconciliation for Kate, an amazing Vivaldi Concert with some families from our homeschool group, SAT IIs for Ria, the National Geographic Bee, Catechism discussion, a language workshop for the kids, dance, and several choir and Shakespeare practices. Now suddenly, with the all the snow and activities tapering off before Christmas, we're having a rather peaceful lull.
A Blessed Advent to you all!
An interview I did (with my sister!) on homeschooling, published in an Italian Catholic newspaper:
Il Sussidiario.net | HOMESCHOOLING/ Educating Across the Generations
An upcoming homeschool conference I'll speaking at in March, 2010:
Blessed Sacrament Homeschool Conference, Memphis, Tennessee
Besides that we're managing to do most of our Advent traditions that I wrote about a few years ago, though I haven't begun to do anything about Christmas cards yet. Last year, I managed to flop on the Christmas Cards right in the middle of the stack and I may just pick up where I left off then.
Last week was one of those weeks where everything converged all on top of each other - First Reconciliation for Kate, an amazing Vivaldi Concert with some families from our homeschool group, SAT IIs for Ria, the National Geographic Bee, Catechism discussion, a language workshop for the kids, dance, and several choir and Shakespeare practices. Now suddenly, with the all the snow and activities tapering off before Christmas, we're having a rather peaceful lull.
A Blessed Advent to you all!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Contemplating 25 Years... Part Three (Very Rambly!)
First, I wanted to say a little more about that "It's about the family" thing. It concerns me that this concept is easy to misunderstand. What I mean is that the family's faith, attitudes, culture, habits, personalities and whatnot have a stronger influence on the child's educational outcome than their general educational choices. For example, a family with lots of engineers (ours falls into this category) will probably tend to have strong math students whether those students go to public school, private school or are homeschooled. Also, though our society tends to think that everyone should be strong in Math, the reality is that each person (and each family) has their own unique gifts to be developed and appreciated.
The second thought swirling around in my head today is another educational concept that I started thinking about in high school and still have a similar belief today. I think there are some that will disagree with me, but perhaps if I explain it clearly, some of the disagreement will turn out to be just a misunderstanding.
The way I thought of this in high school is that children sometimes need to be "pushed" (I'm sure a nicer word would be required or even encouraged, but "pushed" is what made sense to me at the time). What I meant by this might best, perhaps, be explained through an illustration I had in my head at the time. I remember having trouble understanding certain math concepts until I had completed a number of problems and then suddenly the concept became clear. While I was wading through the problems, I would sometimes be frustrated, but knowing I had to get through a certain number (even if it was simply to turn in the homework assignment the next day) or sometimes having a parent or teacher encourage me to do a few more was precisely what I needed to get through just a few more until I understood it.
This is part of a tricky educational concept of keeping a balance between freedom and non-freedom (whether that be limits, respecting authority, fulfilling certain requirements, etc.). I've spoken a bit about the freedom aspect of things and I think it's something often underappreciated by society today - particularly in the realm of education. And yet, I think it's possible to go to an opposite extreme too. I always loved Montessori's concept of "Freedom within limits" because it helped me make sense out of some of my questions about whether or not children should sometimes be "pushed".
I don't have a final answer on this, but I've seen some things that work with myself and with my children. The parts with affecting my children are a lot easier to explain.
It seems that my children are more eager to learn when they have some reasonable requirements and some structure to get them interested in things and perhaps keep their brain moving. This plays out in different ways. I've noticed that the freedom of unscheduled days after Christmas actually leads to some wonderful days of learning, but I strongly suspect that this still relates to some requirements on other days and the joy of having time to freely choose what to do. It also seems that if we have a few strong hours of formal school, the rest of our day tends to be used in good ways too.
On the other hand, some of our requirements are very basic, more like "limits" within which we require them to work for a time. For example, this year the kids have six "essential" subjects that I want them to work on a little each day (this applies primarily to the four older children - grades 4-12, though Ria, in grade 12, makes quite a lot of these sorts of decisions for herself at this point).
The different subjects have different kinds of structure, for example:
Reading is required for an hour a day. They get to choose the book, but I have to approve it (the requirement being mostly that I want it to be something at their reading level, somewhat worthwhile for school). So this has a double structure of time and parent approval.
Math varies according to the student and the particular material they're studying. It's generally a certain quantity of math (like a lesson or two pages), but can sometimes be based on the amount of time.
Music - They're supposed to work on a musical instrument for about 20 minutes each day. They get to pick the song and the instrument (piano and recorder are the basics). Though most of them are reluctant to either take lessons or work on it on their own (with another huge exception with Ria who is a completely self motivated piano student), having a little nudge is really motivating for them. After two weeks they're starting to enjoy playing again and are getting back into working on learning how to read music.
A general thing I've learned about myself is that if my expectations are too high, things fall apart quickly because I get overwhelmed with the size of the list. I've found that a balance of requirements and freedom works best for our family and keeps us the most productive. The balance point is affected by things like personality and learning style.
The second thought swirling around in my head today is another educational concept that I started thinking about in high school and still have a similar belief today. I think there are some that will disagree with me, but perhaps if I explain it clearly, some of the disagreement will turn out to be just a misunderstanding.
The way I thought of this in high school is that children sometimes need to be "pushed" (I'm sure a nicer word would be required or even encouraged, but "pushed" is what made sense to me at the time). What I meant by this might best, perhaps, be explained through an illustration I had in my head at the time. I remember having trouble understanding certain math concepts until I had completed a number of problems and then suddenly the concept became clear. While I was wading through the problems, I would sometimes be frustrated, but knowing I had to get through a certain number (even if it was simply to turn in the homework assignment the next day) or sometimes having a parent or teacher encourage me to do a few more was precisely what I needed to get through just a few more until I understood it.
This is part of a tricky educational concept of keeping a balance between freedom and non-freedom (whether that be limits, respecting authority, fulfilling certain requirements, etc.). I've spoken a bit about the freedom aspect of things and I think it's something often underappreciated by society today - particularly in the realm of education. And yet, I think it's possible to go to an opposite extreme too. I always loved Montessori's concept of "Freedom within limits" because it helped me make sense out of some of my questions about whether or not children should sometimes be "pushed".
I don't have a final answer on this, but I've seen some things that work with myself and with my children. The parts with affecting my children are a lot easier to explain.
It seems that my children are more eager to learn when they have some reasonable requirements and some structure to get them interested in things and perhaps keep their brain moving. This plays out in different ways. I've noticed that the freedom of unscheduled days after Christmas actually leads to some wonderful days of learning, but I strongly suspect that this still relates to some requirements on other days and the joy of having time to freely choose what to do. It also seems that if we have a few strong hours of formal school, the rest of our day tends to be used in good ways too.
On the other hand, some of our requirements are very basic, more like "limits" within which we require them to work for a time. For example, this year the kids have six "essential" subjects that I want them to work on a little each day (this applies primarily to the four older children - grades 4-12, though Ria, in grade 12, makes quite a lot of these sorts of decisions for herself at this point).
The different subjects have different kinds of structure, for example:
Reading is required for an hour a day. They get to choose the book, but I have to approve it (the requirement being mostly that I want it to be something at their reading level, somewhat worthwhile for school). So this has a double structure of time and parent approval.
Math varies according to the student and the particular material they're studying. It's generally a certain quantity of math (like a lesson or two pages), but can sometimes be based on the amount of time.
Music - They're supposed to work on a musical instrument for about 20 minutes each day. They get to pick the song and the instrument (piano and recorder are the basics). Though most of them are reluctant to either take lessons or work on it on their own (with another huge exception with Ria who is a completely self motivated piano student), having a little nudge is really motivating for them. After two weeks they're starting to enjoy playing again and are getting back into working on learning how to read music.
A general thing I've learned about myself is that if my expectations are too high, things fall apart quickly because I get overwhelmed with the size of the list. I've found that a balance of requirements and freedom works best for our family and keeps us the most productive. The balance point is affected by things like personality and learning style.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Contemplating 25 Years... Part Two
Funny, I thought this series was going to be so easy, but it's really hard to sort out thoughts and ideas in a chronological way. The thing that comes to mind at the moment is something I thought would make an ideal homeschool situation back when I was being homeschooled.
I remember specifically thinking that more formal work in the morning and more relaxed work in the afternoon (reading, field trips, outdoor time), etc. would be an ideal balance. I still pretty much think of this as an ideal. I was fascinated years later, when I met my friend Ana, to learn that in Brazil, the norm for schooling is to go to a school in the morning and spend the afternoon with your family. That background was a part of her own family's decision to homeschool. Makes a lot of sense to me!
And a slightly tangential note relating to my earlier thought on how it's easier to follow a schedule someone sets up for you than to hold yourself accountable... To me this partly involves giving our children enough freedom to take responsibility for themselves.
I've mentioned before that my 14 year old son has struggled with reading to some extent, though audio books and read-alouds are fabulous! We've put a lot of effort into helping him read through works of literature for study groups and such (and those things are SO motivating for him!). It's partly a focus difficulty for him as he reads clearly and smoothly out loud (and also the fact that he's a very strong auditory learner - really the opposite of his mom!).
Well, this summer we read Pope Benedict's book on St. Paul for our catechism discussion group. We missed all of August and had 5 chapters to finish discussing last night. Gus had quite a bit of reading left yesterday afternoon when I was reading to myself, so I offered to read it out loud to him. He politely declined because, he told me, he was aiming at reading the entire book to himself. It took a great effort and quite a bit of his time before the class started, but he did it! (I'm so proud!)
I remember specifically thinking that more formal work in the morning and more relaxed work in the afternoon (reading, field trips, outdoor time), etc. would be an ideal balance. I still pretty much think of this as an ideal. I was fascinated years later, when I met my friend Ana, to learn that in Brazil, the norm for schooling is to go to a school in the morning and spend the afternoon with your family. That background was a part of her own family's decision to homeschool. Makes a lot of sense to me!
And a slightly tangential note relating to my earlier thought on how it's easier to follow a schedule someone sets up for you than to hold yourself accountable... To me this partly involves giving our children enough freedom to take responsibility for themselves.
I've mentioned before that my 14 year old son has struggled with reading to some extent, though audio books and read-alouds are fabulous! We've put a lot of effort into helping him read through works of literature for study groups and such (and those things are SO motivating for him!). It's partly a focus difficulty for him as he reads clearly and smoothly out loud (and also the fact that he's a very strong auditory learner - really the opposite of his mom!).
Well, this summer we read Pope Benedict's book on St. Paul for our catechism discussion group. We missed all of August and had 5 chapters to finish discussing last night. Gus had quite a bit of reading left yesterday afternoon when I was reading to myself, so I offered to read it out loud to him. He politely declined because, he told me, he was aiming at reading the entire book to himself. It took a great effort and quite a bit of his time before the class started, but he did it! (I'm so proud!)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Contemplating 25 Years...
It occurred to me tonight (while I couldn't get to sleep) that it's 25 years ago this month that I first became a homeschooler. Well, really it was a few months before that, when my mom pulled my two younger brothers out of school and my sister started the three of us on an intensive Lit program, even while I was still finishing up 8th grade and preparing to graduate. (It was a great lit class, by the way. I still have some of the study questions around and posted on Love2learn (they're not all hers, but quite a few are).
I want to always remember a few of the things that happened when we first got started. Especially those lovely, funny little things. One that stands out happened on the first day that my brother didn't return to school with me (the youngest hadn't started at that school yet). In religion class that morning, before I think my teacher could have even known the big news yet, Sister Helen was talking about the Church's teaching on education and parenting and mentioned that the Church's position was so strong on the parent's role that they even taught that parents could pull their children out of school and teach them themselves. Dang, I should have asked her if she had already heard the news or not. :)
Mostly, I wanted to try to catalogue some of the things I've learned about education and homeschooling over the course of these 25 years and many experiences and many conversations - starting with intense discussions on the potentials of homeschooling with my younger brother (In part we were critiquing our own present reality, but it was an extremely formative experience!) and going all the way up to a phone conversation on Friday with a mom just starting out with her oldest in kindergarten. I'll start with the things that clicked for me during those high school years. I'm sure some of them will seem silly. I've had a lot of "duh!" moments over that time, though perhaps because I have to deliberately think out each of these points, I'll actually remember them and they'll be useful to someone else too!
One of the first ones I remember figuring out in my head was a piece of the socialization question. I was thinking about the peculiarities of some of the homeschool families we had met and started falling into the mental trap of assuming that their quirks or whatever were related to the homeschooling. Then I realized (duh!) that people in schools have quirks, there are always students who work their way more or less (sometimes much more or less) smoothly than others in the schools. It's not about homeschooling, it's about the family!
That thing, "It's about the family!" was a big one that I've continued to stew on over the years. Even early on it was clear to me that that factor was much bigger than things like which curriculum you used, whether or not you used a formal homeschool program, etc. (The big "secret" of course, is that it's not even about whether you homeschool or not!)
Another thing I noticed from those years (though I didn't necessarily put it together until later on) was that attending a traditional grade school (quite a good one in fact) did not automatically make me a self-disciplined person. In fact, though it was beneficial in many ways (and I got a very decent education there), it tended to feed my laziness and I had a tendency to try to get by with the minimum. I was a good student and never got into any real trouble (well aside from a chewing out in front of the class in 5th grade for a messy spelling note book - one of the Sisters was pretty old school and was she ever mean!), but I did all of my homework at the ridiculously last possible moment and wasn't a particularly eager or enthusiastic student otherwise. Though my homeschool years were messy and chaotic in a number of ways (as are my children's at times, though not in quite the same ways), it was, in the end, a great gift to be given a great deal of responsibility for my own education - to actually start to make an attempt at real self-discipline (not that I've mastered that even now, far from it!). Having a formal structure and schedule put together by someone else for my benefit is, at least for me, much easier than holding myself accountable day in and day out.
...to be continued...
I want to always remember a few of the things that happened when we first got started. Especially those lovely, funny little things. One that stands out happened on the first day that my brother didn't return to school with me (the youngest hadn't started at that school yet). In religion class that morning, before I think my teacher could have even known the big news yet, Sister Helen was talking about the Church's teaching on education and parenting and mentioned that the Church's position was so strong on the parent's role that they even taught that parents could pull their children out of school and teach them themselves. Dang, I should have asked her if she had already heard the news or not. :)
Mostly, I wanted to try to catalogue some of the things I've learned about education and homeschooling over the course of these 25 years and many experiences and many conversations - starting with intense discussions on the potentials of homeschooling with my younger brother (In part we were critiquing our own present reality, but it was an extremely formative experience!) and going all the way up to a phone conversation on Friday with a mom just starting out with her oldest in kindergarten. I'll start with the things that clicked for me during those high school years. I'm sure some of them will seem silly. I've had a lot of "duh!" moments over that time, though perhaps because I have to deliberately think out each of these points, I'll actually remember them and they'll be useful to someone else too!
One of the first ones I remember figuring out in my head was a piece of the socialization question. I was thinking about the peculiarities of some of the homeschool families we had met and started falling into the mental trap of assuming that their quirks or whatever were related to the homeschooling. Then I realized (duh!) that people in schools have quirks, there are always students who work their way more or less (sometimes much more or less) smoothly than others in the schools. It's not about homeschooling, it's about the family!
That thing, "It's about the family!" was a big one that I've continued to stew on over the years. Even early on it was clear to me that that factor was much bigger than things like which curriculum you used, whether or not you used a formal homeschool program, etc. (The big "secret" of course, is that it's not even about whether you homeschool or not!)
Another thing I noticed from those years (though I didn't necessarily put it together until later on) was that attending a traditional grade school (quite a good one in fact) did not automatically make me a self-disciplined person. In fact, though it was beneficial in many ways (and I got a very decent education there), it tended to feed my laziness and I had a tendency to try to get by with the minimum. I was a good student and never got into any real trouble (well aside from a chewing out in front of the class in 5th grade for a messy spelling note book - one of the Sisters was pretty old school and was she ever mean!), but I did all of my homework at the ridiculously last possible moment and wasn't a particularly eager or enthusiastic student otherwise. Though my homeschool years were messy and chaotic in a number of ways (as are my children's at times, though not in quite the same ways), it was, in the end, a great gift to be given a great deal of responsibility for my own education - to actually start to make an attempt at real self-discipline (not that I've mastered that even now, far from it!). Having a formal structure and schedule put together by someone else for my benefit is, at least for me, much easier than holding myself accountable day in and day out.
...to be continued...
Friday, September 11, 2009
Yet Another List
We're at our fullest capacity yet in our homeschool and run the gamut of K-12. We've got Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 12th grades running all at once (and sometimes all over the place!). I've been attempting to collect a list of the different curriculum and educational resources that we use (And like - at least so far.) for the sidebar of our learning notes blog, Age Quod Agis. It's really helpful for me to write it all down. I'm sure this is still incomplete, but it's a pretty good start (and a significant update to my very old list) and, I think, covers most of the big stuff.
- Architecture for Kids
- Art of Construction by Mario Salvadori
- Audible.com
- Bethlehem Books
- Blue Number Counting Book
- Bob Books
- Building Big with David Macaulay
- C.S. Lewis
- Cartoon Guide to Chemistry
- Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Catholic Heritage Curricula
- Catholic National Readers
- Catholic Textbook Project
- Cursive Connections
- Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum by Laura Berquist
- DK Math Made Easy Series
- Faith and Life Religion Series
- Footprints of God Series with Steve Ray
- Free Audio Books at LibriVox
- Friendly Defenders
- Fun Geography Sites
- G.K. Chesterton
- Henle Latin
- Homeschool Connections
- Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments
- ISI College Guide
- Jacobs' Algebra
- Jacobs' Geometry
- Learning Wrap-Ups
- Let's Read-and-Find-Out Science
- Life of Fred Math Series
- Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization
- Lyrical Life Science and Lyrical Earth Science
- Map Skills - Continental Press
- mater et magistra magazine
- Netflix
- Northern Rain Studio (Audio Dramas)
- Pope Benedict XVI Writings
- Princeton Review Guides
- Questions for the Thinker Series by Fran Rutherford
- Reading Your Way Through History
- Red Letter Alphabet Book
- Secrets of Lost Empires
- Shiller Math
- StartWrite
- Teaching Company Courses
- Thinkfun Games
- Vision Saint Stories
- William Shakespeare
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Happy Feast of the Nativity of Mary!
Today is our first day of school. We made it to Mass, celebrated with donuts, finished some basics (with an emphasis on Math) and are now listening to the Children's Homer thanks for Audible.com while the kids color or work quietly.
I was delighted to realize last night that I had managed to save up six credits at Audible. Last night we downloaded the Iliad and the Odyssey (went with the highly rated unabridged recordings), Padraic Colum's The Children's Homer and The Golden Fleece, Chesterton's Wisdom of Fr. Brown (the one Fr. Brown audio we were missing) and C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity.
Most of our group activities start next week, so we're easing our way in, but we are looking forward to Leonardo de Fillipis' one-man show on St. John Vianney on Thursday.
I was delighted to realize last night that I had managed to save up six credits at Audible. Last night we downloaded the Iliad and the Odyssey (went with the highly rated unabridged recordings), Padraic Colum's The Children's Homer and The Golden Fleece, Chesterton's Wisdom of Fr. Brown (the one Fr. Brown audio we were missing) and C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity.
Most of our group activities start next week, so we're easing our way in, but we are looking forward to Leonardo de Fillipis' one-man show on St. John Vianney on Thursday.
Monday, June 22, 2009
I Love How...
...Kate and Frank have figured out how to keep track of the Hail Marys for each decade of the Rosary on their fingers using Sign Language numbers - which means that they only need to use one hand. They can actually keep track of what decade they're on using their other hand. Thanks, Signing Time! :)
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Filling in the Dots...
So we were here yesterday, but we missed a lot of it since my 9 year old forgot her shoes! I thought we were "done for" which would have been very frustrating after trying to connect a bunch of people together for a group outing. Fortunately, after we gathered all of the families together, one of the moms, who lived nearby and had an older child at the house, suggested that we drive over to her house to borrow a pair of shoes. And so we did enjoy a little visit to Old World Wisconsin, with lots of friends (old and new) and here are a few fun pictures to prove it. :)
The water pump in the Danish area was a big hit with our group:
WATER! I love how Frank's determined little face is peeking out from between all the girls:
Two munchkins from our group working the water pump.
Megan's sweet little Catherine. We had another baby with our group too, but I didn't manage to get a picture of him.
The water pump in the Danish area was a big hit with our group:
WATER! I love how Frank's determined little face is peeking out from between all the girls:
Two munchkins from our group working the water pump.
Megan's sweet little Catherine. We had another baby with our group too, but I didn't manage to get a picture of him.
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