Our Classroom Today--March 15, 2011

For our Tuesday group this week, we had planned to have a holiday party. We have talked about having a party for Halloween, and Valentine's Day. But we never did either. St. Patrick's Day seemed like a good plan.

I pulled together all of the games and activities I have made for both Valentine's and St. Patrick's day, printed off what I needed, and took everything with.

But we didn't play them. Nor did we do any crafts. The kids had other ideas. And THAT is what is so great about this group, and about homeschooling. In other venues, the party would have been forced. The kids would have been obligated to sit and play the games we arranged, whether they liked them or not. They would have done the crafts, whether they liked it or not. But they didn't have to. They got to do what they wanted to do.



And what they wanted to do was perform plays and dances for us. They took turns picking the story (the Nutcracker, Snow White, and Thomas) and "directing" the play. They picked out costumes. They rehearsed. Then they performed.

That is what they wanted to do. That is what they did. No party, but a fabulous day!

A few of my "favorite" questions and statments

We have been homeschooling now for 2 1/2 years. I can't call myself a rookie anymore, but I certainly do not feel experienced! Homeschooling is an ever-changing, ever-evolving kind of thing. New challenges and new joys abound.

Often when I meet someone new or when I run into someone I haven't seen in a while, the topic comes up. Usually because I have kids in tow in the middle of what is termed a "school day." Kiddo has become very good at responding to the inquiries of why he isn't in school with a simple "I am homeschooled." The inquiries that follow, however, are always directed at me.

These are some of the more common questions I am asked. I try to answer without being offensive. Homeschooling is our choice. I respect that it is not for everyone.

"Isn't that a lot of work?" Well, yes and no. Yes, educating my children is a lot of work. But it is also a lot of play. I don't have to work on homework with them when they come home from school, completely exhausted, with no desire to do anything. I work with them when they are at their prime. I also get to see them learn. I get to witness the ah-ha moments. And I know when they are struggling and we need to take it slower or take a break from something all together. I am only teaching 2 kids. I don't have a classroom of 25. Yes, it is work, but it is a very different kind of work.

"How long will you homeschool?" I don't know of too many homeschoolers who can answer this one. My usual response is "As long as it works for us." The last time I was asked this question, just last week, the follow-up was, "Even through high school?" Well, yes, if it is still working for us, we will. There are so many resources out there these days for homeschoolers. I don't have to know everything to educate my child. There are co-ops, virtual classes and schools, comprehensive curricula, and tutors available should we need them. Honestly? I rarely look that far ahead. It is working for us now, and that is what matters.

"My kids would drive me nuts!" I totally understand that. Homeschooling is not for everyone. Honestly, there are days when my kids drive me nuts, too. There aren't many of them, though, and it is usually me, not them. I love hanging out with my kids. I love hearing their ideas and their stories and their discoveries. The good days outweigh the bad moments for me. But I TOTALLY understand that it wouldn't work for some people. Good thing it doesn't have to.

"Are there other homeschoolers to get together with?" Um, yes. Loads of them. Especially since we live in a major metropolitan area. Homeschooling gets a reputation, mainly among non-homeschoolers, for being isolating. I disagree. If anything, I feel more connected to my community now than I ever did before. I know far more of what is available out there than I did before I started homeschooling, and we take advantage of more.

There are also non-homeschoolers to get together with. We see our public school friends when they are off from school, after school, and on weekends. What's more, my kids interact with people of all ages. As this question was being asked of me this week, Kiddo was following my sister around while she worked. He was respectful, didn't get in the way, and was learning the whole time. There were not two people in the room who are the same age, either. 6 people, 6 different ages. That is the real world. I don't worry about whether or not my children are learning how to behave with other people. I know they are. I witness it every day.

If you are a homeschooler, you have likely heard all of these questions. Do you have standard answers? Are there others you find yourself answering repeatedly?

Weekly Wrap-up--March 11, 2011

This week started out in a rush, but calmed down as it went.

On Monday we spent the day playing with friends who had the day off from public school. It was well worth shelving school plans for the day!

Tuesday was Kutey's birthday! We started the day at The Works homeschool day making compasses. After that fun, we headed to our regular Tuesday group for lunch and play time. The kids performed the Nutcracker for us at the end of the day, a performance of their own creation. It was so fun!



We finally got to some regularly scheduled school work on Wednesday. Math, Explode the Code, and History were done. Most of that happened at the end of the day, however, after Kiddo was told he could not play Lego Harry Potter on the Wii because he had not done his school work. Work was done in record time, though, once that was the motivator.

Thursday was disrupted by my trip to the dentist. The kids got to spend some time with Aunt J. They even got to go visit her office, which they LOVE doing. We also toured around a new building on the campus where she works. I went to college there and I know several people who work there, so it was fun!

Friday Kiddo plowed through his school work so that he would be able to have lots of free time. He has finally figured out that if he just finishes his school work he will have the time he wants to have to play, build with LEGOS, or read.

Curriculum wise:

• We read Chapter 26 in Story of the World, Vol. 1. We moved to North and South America for the chapter, studying the Nazca and Olmec peoples.
• Science took a back burner this week. As much as I love R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey, I find I am having trouble motivating to do it. I think it is partly because I have to cover things completely out of order, which means more prep and preview for me to be sure there is not anything that has to be covered that we haven't covered in order to understand the material.
• Kiddo continues to move smoothly through Math. I have to make sure I am moving fast enough so he doesn't get bored! That is an adjustment for me.
• Kiddo is also breezing through Explode the Code. I continue to learn new things right alongside him. I never learned all the phonics rules when I was in school. Spelling makes so much more sense when you know the rules!
• Kutey has been mostly drawing and listening to stories this week. She has fully recovered from her illness, I just haven't gotten back into the swing of scheduling her activities.

We are linking up to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Click to see what others did this week!

Quidditch/dodge ball

My kids are playing some sort of quidditch/dodge ball combination game in my family room. I think it needs to be spring. SOON!

I cut open an apple

I cut open an apple for lunch, and found this:



Sprouting seeds!

Bunches of Birds

When we put out our bird feeder this fall, we were hopeful that it would mean more birds for us to watch. I was especially hopeful that it would mean that we would have better results for the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). While we had better results, it was not because of the bird feeder. In fact, we had only filled the feeder twice since we got it. We filled it right away, then we refilled it once, and again before the GBBC, though it really didn't need it. We just topped it off.

It wasn't until the last few weeks that we really started to see activity at the feeder. Yesterday was a big day. We saw: 8 sparrows (they kind of hang around all day, either at the feeder or in the bush nearby), 5 black-capped chickadees, 3 dark-eyed juncos, 2 cardinal (one male and one female). All in a short period of time. We need to refill the feeder again, because there have been so many lately!

Our Classroom Today--March 8, 2011

After our trip to The Works, we headed to our regular Tuesday group for the afternoon. My friend T (another friend, not the one from The Works), bought a new house recently and invited us all over. From the time we arrived to the time we left almost 5 hours later, the only time we really heard from the kids was when they were hungry!



I got to spend the time hanging out at the kitchen table, talking, laughing, generally forgetting all my troubles. I love this group. Love this group. Toward the end of the afternoon, we were informed by the kids that there was going to be a show. They spent time creating, choreographing, and rehearsing. When they were ready, we moms went up and and watched them perform their version of "The Nutcracker."

It was so cute. We laughed, they laughed. They did such a great job! And we directed none of it. They came to this completely on their own. They worked together, ironed out differences and changes of mind. Yet another example of why I love homeschooling: being able to allow kids the time and space they need to be able to figure out how to work together to create something great.