We didn't. We did what we always do - set the clocks forward, then relaxed. We went to bed a little earlier, and woke up when our bodies told us to. (OK, so I got up earlier - I do have obligations outside the home.)
The only screaming was from my public-schooled grandson. Ironically, there was no school today.
The kids got up as usual, maybe a little later according to the clock, did their schoolwork after being prompted, and went outside to play.
Gotta love it.
Showing posts with label play. Show all posts
Showing posts with label play. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Changing the Workload
Mercedes just figured out that her workload needs to change. She'd been doing minimums - 2 pages of math, for instance - but has now moved into advanced enough math (long division) that she needs to spend a more substantial length of time in schoolwork. She's also starting to figure out that the earlier she can get her work done, the more time she has available to play in the afternoon.
She's reading at a more advanced level than I thought she would at her age (she's 9). Right now she's reading Twilight, which she reads for pleasure, and Heidi, and the Chronicles of Narnia. I suggested that she read anything by Lewis Carroll soon (and Jared, too) because of his made-up words. What a great help for phonics!
Jared - is catching up to his sister in mathematics. He's reading the Tale of Devereaux and loves it. I really enjoy hearing the pride in his voice as he reads to me.
We discussed the Mayflower Compact in history today, and did a Mad-Libs style Compact for our own family. The combination of 17th century language and 21st century vernacular sent the kids into peals of laughter. And they're finally getting the joke - "If April showers bring May flowers, what to May flowers bring? Pilgrims!"
She's reading at a more advanced level than I thought she would at her age (she's 9). Right now she's reading Twilight, which she reads for pleasure, and Heidi, and the Chronicles of Narnia. I suggested that she read anything by Lewis Carroll soon (and Jared, too) because of his made-up words. What a great help for phonics!
Jared - is catching up to his sister in mathematics. He's reading the Tale of Devereaux and loves it. I really enjoy hearing the pride in his voice as he reads to me.
We discussed the Mayflower Compact in history today, and did a Mad-Libs style Compact for our own family. The combination of 17th century language and 21st century vernacular sent the kids into peals of laughter. And they're finally getting the joke - "If April showers bring May flowers, what to May flowers bring? Pilgrims!"
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Different Methods of Homeschooling
Just as every family is different, every homeschooling family uses different methods with their children. There are rigid school-at-home-ers (wow, that's convoluted!), the eclectic homeschoolers, the unschoolers, and so forth. There's classical homeschoolers who use A Well Trained Mind or Charlotte Mason or A Thomas Jefferson Education as their curriculum. There are advocates of child-led education. I tend to use a mix.
My primary inspiration, and the book I go back to when I feel like I need to get "back on track" is A Well Trained Mind. I do not follow it strictly. For one thing, I am a very busy single mother - I basically have 2 jobs, one outside the home for a couple hours a day, and another that I mostly do at home. Either way, when I'm working, I'm WORKING. (The ex didn't understand it - part of the reason he's the ex. Bless his heart.) Because of all this, I have to schedule time to take an afternoon off to have a field trip with the kids, and I need my kids to be very independent workers. I just don't have time to molly-coddle them.
Also because I work all the dang time, I'm not able to "present lessons" the same way other classical homeschoolers are able to. History is the only "lesson" I'm able to present on a regular basis. (We use Story of the World right now.) I have the kids read classics that go with history, and write narrations about what they read, then correct spelling and grammar and have them re-write it correctly.
I outline for them what I expect them to do that day, and they are able to ask me questions about their assignments when I'm working my WAH job.
The wonderful part of it is that they learn quickly how to be truly self sufficient. Mercedes is a perfectionist by nature, but by learning to ask questions and daring to make mistakes, she's learning to learn.
Jared has learned to find the answers he needs in rather *ahem* unconventional ways - he's notorious for finding Mercedes' old workbooks and then copying them. Argh!
Because my youngest kids have never been to school, I haven't had to cope with the necessity of "de-schooling," or allowing time for them to decompress after being removed from public school. We do have times of burn out, for them and for me, when I feel like the best thing I can do is have them play as much as possible. We have dolls, dollhouses, K'nex, Legos, magnets - and that's a great time to do science experiments that are noisy and messy, like the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment.
If you're planning to begin homeschooling, start with the books listed above, as well as John Taylor Gatto's writings. And feel free to ask me questions!
My primary inspiration, and the book I go back to when I feel like I need to get "back on track" is A Well Trained Mind. I do not follow it strictly. For one thing, I am a very busy single mother - I basically have 2 jobs, one outside the home for a couple hours a day, and another that I mostly do at home. Either way, when I'm working, I'm WORKING. (The ex didn't understand it - part of the reason he's the ex. Bless his heart.) Because of all this, I have to schedule time to take an afternoon off to have a field trip with the kids, and I need my kids to be very independent workers. I just don't have time to molly-coddle them.
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| Hanging out learning about nature. |
I outline for them what I expect them to do that day, and they are able to ask me questions about their assignments when I'm working my WAH job.
The wonderful part of it is that they learn quickly how to be truly self sufficient. Mercedes is a perfectionist by nature, but by learning to ask questions and daring to make mistakes, she's learning to learn.
Jared has learned to find the answers he needs in rather *ahem* unconventional ways - he's notorious for finding Mercedes' old workbooks and then copying them. Argh!
Because my youngest kids have never been to school, I haven't had to cope with the necessity of "de-schooling," or allowing time for them to decompress after being removed from public school. We do have times of burn out, for them and for me, when I feel like the best thing I can do is have them play as much as possible. We have dolls, dollhouses, K'nex, Legos, magnets - and that's a great time to do science experiments that are noisy and messy, like the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment.
If you're planning to begin homeschooling, start with the books listed above, as well as John Taylor Gatto's writings. And feel free to ask me questions!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Reason number 40028 why I homeschool
There's nothing so rewarding as realizing what fun learning is for your kids. Jared lost his math book a few days ago (before Christmas, probably) and had been searching for it for weeks. He even suggested that Mercedes had hidden it to keep him from passing her up in math - and I wouldn't put it past her, either.
What joy it was to hear him shout, "Mom! I found my math book!" with triumph and excitement in his voice.
Jared loves math. It's what he works on first, and loves working on most. Other than building his Bionicles, Legos, or K'nex, of course. I love that he loves math, and that he doesn't have school to take the enjoyment of learning away from him. He goes at his own pace, keeps up with his peers easily, is developing an amazing work ethic, and quickly and easily understands concepts. He explained to me how to divide yesterday, and he hasn't even hit that part of math yet.
What joy it was to hear him shout, "Mom! I found my math book!" with triumph and excitement in his voice.
Jared loves math. It's what he works on first, and loves working on most. Other than building his Bionicles, Legos, or K'nex, of course. I love that he loves math, and that he doesn't have school to take the enjoyment of learning away from him. He goes at his own pace, keeps up with his peers easily, is developing an amazing work ethic, and quickly and easily understands concepts. He explained to me how to divide yesterday, and he hasn't even hit that part of math yet.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
I am soooo tired
Krista managed to get free wristbands for Jared for Spanish Fork's Fiesta Days. She took him down at about 9am for the parade, and I joined them in the afternoon, after an appointment. Poor kid - he was so tired he could not sleep!
Mercedes is having a big time with her grandpa and grandma. It kind of leaves me with not so much to talk about!
Mercedes is having a big time with her grandpa and grandma. It kind of leaves me with not so much to talk about!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
What times work best for your homeschool?
I'm up late with my kids again, helping them get their work done. We're still figuring out how to get all the things done that need to be done before bedtime every day. The kids have discovered the art of procrastination. And since I'm a single, homeschooling, working mother, I'm busy from sunrise to sunrise.
I know a lot of parents do school first thing in the morning. That's never worked well for us - partly because I'm NOT a morning person, and don't see the need to force that on my kids.
So we're experimenting with evening school. My thought was that they'd be physically tired at the end of the day and ready for some mental work.
As long as the TV is off, this seems to work OK. So far.
I'm hoping it will be like my routine of leaving the house clean before bed. And maybe they'll get tired of doing all the work at night and choose to do more in the morning. The goal is simply to get them to get their work done before they are allowed to go to bed.
I know a lot of parents do school first thing in the morning. That's never worked well for us - partly because I'm NOT a morning person, and don't see the need to force that on my kids.
So we're experimenting with evening school. My thought was that they'd be physically tired at the end of the day and ready for some mental work.
As long as the TV is off, this seems to work OK. So far.
I'm hoping it will be like my routine of leaving the house clean before bed. And maybe they'll get tired of doing all the work at night and choose to do more in the morning. The goal is simply to get them to get their work done before they are allowed to go to bed.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Bedtimes in the Summer
I don't know quite what to do in the summer time. The kids want to play until dark most days - and I really want to let them. But then they're tired and they don't want to get up in the mornings. Or they do get up at first light and I'm not ready to get up yet.
Winter is so much easier, because it is dark when it's bedtime, but I'd rather let them play and get worn out.
Winter is so much easier, because it is dark when it's bedtime, but I'd rather let them play and get worn out.
Friday, June 25, 2010
The Challenges of Being a Single, Homeschooling Mom
Right now, with working full time, and cleaning house, and generally living as a single, homeschooling mama, some of the formal part of the kids' education is going by the wayside. We still go to the library, and I encourage them to sit under a tree (now that it's FINALLY warm outside!) to read, and I help with math when they ask, but it's challenging to "do school" in a formal way at all.
Some days are left almost entirely to play. The kids get up at the very crack of dawn. Now that school is out, their friends are out playing nearly at sunrise, so I shoo mine out to play too. Partly so I can get another few minutes of sleep. Partly so I can stagger to the shower and get ready for work without worrying about them every minute. Or having Mercedes study the way I do my hair and makeup. It's unnerving at 8am. (I am emphatically NOT a morning person. Mornings would be great if they just came in the afternoon.) Or having the kids at my elbow asking me if I want a fresh Diet Coke.
It's challenging sometimes to hear about 13 year olds headed off to college and wondering if I'm failing my kids because I'm determined to keep them home. I'm reviewing my goals for my kids and determining what reality looks like for us. It's not going to look the same as it does for my married friends where mama is the homemaker and the kids go to public school. It's not going to look the same as my married friends who homeschool their kids because daddy is there and makes a bunch of money so mama can stay home with the kids, either. No, in my family, everything falls on my shoulders.
There are things the kids need to learn for themselves. One is self discipline. No, you cannot go outside to play until your schoolwork is done, and that is written on the white board. Doing what you enjoy means getting through things you don't care for too much. Example: I like to cook. I hate to clean. But if I want to cook, I have to have a clean kitchen to do it in. So I have to clean the kitchen.
Another is routine. Habits will make you or break you. Get up, do your morning routine - and for my homeschooled kids, that should include reading, writing, 'rithmatic, and history. C'mon kidlets, that can be done in an hour or two! We're also working on routines of cleaning the house before bedtime. That was a lot easier in the winter, when they were in by 5 because it was dark. It's a bit more challenging now - but then again, they're OUT of the house all day, instead of making a mess inside. That's a plus!
Are there any other single parents (or not single!) who have some ideas on how to maximize the kids' education without sacrificing my health, or putting them in public schools? I'd love to know!
Some days are left almost entirely to play. The kids get up at the very crack of dawn. Now that school is out, their friends are out playing nearly at sunrise, so I shoo mine out to play too. Partly so I can get another few minutes of sleep. Partly so I can stagger to the shower and get ready for work without worrying about them every minute. Or having Mercedes study the way I do my hair and makeup. It's unnerving at 8am. (I am emphatically NOT a morning person. Mornings would be great if they just came in the afternoon.) Or having the kids at my elbow asking me if I want a fresh Diet Coke.
It's challenging sometimes to hear about 13 year olds headed off to college and wondering if I'm failing my kids because I'm determined to keep them home. I'm reviewing my goals for my kids and determining what reality looks like for us. It's not going to look the same as it does for my married friends where mama is the homemaker and the kids go to public school. It's not going to look the same as my married friends who homeschool their kids because daddy is there and makes a bunch of money so mama can stay home with the kids, either. No, in my family, everything falls on my shoulders.
There are things the kids need to learn for themselves. One is self discipline. No, you cannot go outside to play until your schoolwork is done, and that is written on the white board. Doing what you enjoy means getting through things you don't care for too much. Example: I like to cook. I hate to clean. But if I want to cook, I have to have a clean kitchen to do it in. So I have to clean the kitchen.
Another is routine. Habits will make you or break you. Get up, do your morning routine - and for my homeschooled kids, that should include reading, writing, 'rithmatic, and history. C'mon kidlets, that can be done in an hour or two! We're also working on routines of cleaning the house before bedtime. That was a lot easier in the winter, when they were in by 5 because it was dark. It's a bit more challenging now - but then again, they're OUT of the house all day, instead of making a mess inside. That's a plus!
Are there any other single parents (or not single!) who have some ideas on how to maximize the kids' education without sacrificing my health, or putting them in public schools? I'd love to know!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Saturday is a Special Day!
It should be the day we spend getting ready for Sunday, but the kids spent the day outside playing. I mean literally all day, even though it was wet and rainy all day. Mercedes woke me up to ask if she could play with her friends. It's nearly 8:30 pm and they're starting to come in from play. It's really been a solid 10 hours!
Jared came in when it started raining and told me where Mercedes was (at a friend's house), took a warm bath, refreshed himself, and found someone else to play with after the rain stopped.
It's almost a shame, really. They play so hard on Saturday because their friends are so heavily scheduled all week with school and lessons that they have no time to play. I hope things get better now that summer vacation is here. Kids need time to play.
Jared came in when it started raining and told me where Mercedes was (at a friend's house), took a warm bath, refreshed himself, and found someone else to play with after the rain stopped.
It's almost a shame, really. They play so hard on Saturday because their friends are so heavily scheduled all week with school and lessons that they have no time to play. I hope things get better now that summer vacation is here. Kids need time to play.
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