A Homeschool Story

Hopes, Dreams and Plans

2012-02-07T07:13:00.000-06:00

A rock star or skateboard hero, a famous writer, an artist or something else, a dad and a hairdresser. These are the careers my children plan for themselves for the future. The future though, is in a long time. When you are all grown up, or at least 18. I encourage the kids by seeking out real life experience in whatever they are interested in, when it truly grows to a passion, understanding all the while that it may most likely be a passing one.

When Lily was eleven, she wanted to be a vet. She asked, and our exotic animal vet allowed her to shadow her for a day. She learned about pet ducks who swallow fishing hooks and how a dog is neutered. She came home so full of enthusiasm from that day! The vet had treated her as a real assistant and explained everything as she did it. When Aragorn was into drawing, I sought out real artists to learn from. One was a first-year college art student, who ended up doing a fantastic job, even though his specialty would influence my nine-year-old in unexpected ways; he was a graffiti artist. To his credit, he did begin with "real" drawing lessons; how to draw the human body. The next teacher chose Aragorn after a free class at the library; he was a professional comic artist.That was a lot of fun for him, and he has continued in comic-type drawing to this day.

They are both interested in the justice system and how things work in court. I may be able to oblige them by letting them sit in the courtroom while I interpret later this week. That is definitely a "big kid" project, as they will need to sit still, observe and not speak for a few hours at a time.

Now that Alienor has taken up cosmetology, I oblige by holding still and having my hair done. She really wished me to post the following pic of her latest work. I am afraid my unruly hair was already coming loose by the time she shot the photo. I think I'll see if her favorite hair lady will let her hang out with her for half a day. Perhaps she'll master the fine art of extra bobby pins!

When Alienor Does Mama's Hair

2012-02-07T06:35:00.000-06:00

Snowless Winter and Adapting

2012-02-04T08:56:00.000-06:00

This is the oddest winter, as anyone living anywhere probably knows. It is snowing in temperate, coastal France this week and here in the Midwest, we have fog and sunshine and rain. Unseasonal? Unreasonable!

I worried in the beginning of the season...no snow? Warm weather? How would I cope? What would my winter be without the whiteness that brightens the brown landscape of December through April here? As time went on and we enjoyed more time outdoors without freezing our fingertips and noses off, the advantages of warmer weather were felt, even if I continued to glare at those who positively exalted in the absence of snow.

I have finally stopped glowering. I now relax, and make the choice to take each day as it comes. If it snows, we go sledding, enjoying the moment, because it will most likely be gone tomorrow. If it is 55 and sunny, my daily walk is pleasant, a trip to the skate park becomes urgent (for certain family members), and the garbage is much easier to take out.

In my region, we are so used to hardship in the winter; the shoveling and heating bills and cold toes, that we may have forgotten how to enjoy the simple things in life that come to us unbidden. A warm breeze on your face in January, the soft sound of rain in early February, the delightful sight of your neighbors out raking their leaves. Now that Candlemas has come and the light is growing stronger, the feeling of having been cheated out of winter could take over and make me nostalgic for the good old days; of 30 below temperatures and three feet of snow overnight. I could choose to worry excessively about global warming and ponder the dire fate awaiting us.

I will keep living in a green way and learning about our ecological crises. I have sufficiently mourned this year's snowfall. But I will also bask in the warm weather as I take my small dog for a walk through streets free of slush and snow and ice, and look to the coming spring.

Swap Package: Reception!!!

2012-02-02T16:34:00.000-06:00

Packages are so nice. I was as excited as a kid to open one up from New Zealand a little while ago and find...a gift from my friend, Marie. She sent me this little guy, along with photos of her creations. I am preparing a package for her in exchange, with knitted items and a couple of goodies. Thank you, Marie! Rainbow boy is already hanging in the spot Puck chose on a pale blue wall. Gorgeous! You can see her felted works of art on her blog: http://softearthart.blogspot.com/ or at her etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/softearthart?ref=seller_info

I set her post cards in my winter yard just for a second, so that she can compare seasons here and there. It is such a snowless, muddy sort of winter this year. I am sure the warm summer must be prettier down under. Or at least behaving the way the season is supposed to be behaving.

That's OK. Now I have a beautiful felted fairy boy to gaze on and cheer up my days until spring and beyond.

Marie's New Zealand Work; my winter grass

2012-02-02T16:02:00.000-06:00

Beautiful Rainbow Boy

2012-02-02T16:01:00.000-06:00

Anatomy with and without kids

2012-01-30T20:23:00.006-06:00

This morning, carrying a sleeping 4-year-old in a pitch dark room, I adroitly and narrowly avoided slicing open my toe on the sharp edges of a bed in an accidental, little two-step around the corner of it, without falling on my face. That was a whole lot of bones and muscles working together with a truckload of nerves telling them all exactly what to do, instantaneously. I was impressed with just what a body could do. I would be lying if I said that over the years of giving birth to five sweet babies I did not experience that wonder each time that this perfectly formed human had been formed within me. The toes, the eyes, the lungs, brain and heart of each of them worked, for real!

I did not take anatomy in high school. I took anything but anatomy; theatre, French, orchestra, choir, creative writing. Then I got the heck out of the building as soon as I could to go scoop ice cream at the mall and make enough money for airfare to France (or anywhere else far from the dreary lands of home. I also considered South Africa, Germany, Japan and Australia, but was given my first pick.) Short-sighted? Perhaps, but things worked out, as they have a way of doing.

I am now happily sitting on my dilapidated family sofa in Iowa avidly studying anatomy. I came to this point in a round-about way, having avoided the topic for many years. I am finally interested enough and motivated enough to tackle this subject outside of school. The topic has a three-fold value: it is fascinating to me, I will know enough to answer my children's questions on the topic when we study it, and it will be of use in my job both now and later.

The Waldorf education chart suggests that anatomy be taught in 8th grade. I consulted with my daughter and bought her a copy of Gray's Anatomy Coloring Book.

She colored in the brain...and that was it. I picked up my own copy of the book because I thought the language was approachable. Like grabbing a book in the kid's section of the library on electricity or painting or Thomas Jefferson when you are curious, but not "The Hemingses of Monticello" or how to paint your own Mona Lisa curious. It also fed my creative/Waldorfy desire to use my colored pencils in a useful way.

We explored other sources of anatomy curriculum, books and online, but the motivation was lacking for Lily to take it and run with it. I felt the nagging "should haves" that hit homeschooling mothers every once in awhile. Like once a week or so. However, enough was going on that I let this go for the time being.

Now that I am enjoying the topic, I see that there might be a couple of sparks to light the flame from our family's life experiences. Our last two babies were born at home. The children managed to be there, even though I had sort of hoped they would sleep through the whole thing. There are a lot of questions that the study of anatomy can address, from the formation of a baby in utero to the expansion of the female pelvis to allow a baby to pass through (who would have thought that this whole baby would be able to fit in that tummy? or get out when he/she was finished?)

Then we had a broken bone this year as well; one complicated elbow mishap. Understanding just what was wrong and how it grew back together was a source of endless fascination.

Skeletons are my last card to play. Everyone loves a skeleton, down to little Puck. In fact, I think I could keep the rest of the littles quite contented playing with or drawing skeletons while I teach the older ones, or hit the books myself. Here is the book I am using for now, anyone have a good resource for a "scholastic" skeleton without causing a big hole in the budget?

Just Finished These Socks for DD

2012-01-20T20:29:00.000-06:00

10th Grade Shelf (note the number of library books; they're free!)

2012-01-18T13:01:00.000-06:00

Our "Homeschool Closet" Gets a Makeover

2012-01-18T12:58:00.001-06:00

A few photos of our closet dedicated to books and supplies useful to homeschooling. I have newly separated our chaos into a shelf per child. I love it. The pegboard, I can tell, is going to be an excellent medium for creativity. Who knew? I found it in the "garage organization" section of our local hardwood store, along with all of these cool, cheap accessories. Arthur had requested one for his room after reading the Berenstein Bears book on messy rooms.

I realized the thing I'd been hanging my feather dusters on for 10 years in that closet had a whole lot more scope for imagination. Alienor has already begun decorating the wall space around her shelf. Such prospects from a tiny hall closet. Maybe I should have at that space under the kitchen sink next...maybe not.

Puck's Preschool Shelf

2012-01-18T12:37:00.000-06:00

Peg-Board Creations: Basics Today, Fashion Tomorrow!

2012-01-18T12:36:00.000-06:00

The Re-Org

2012-01-18T12:35:00.000-06:00

Carrying On: Nakoa

2012-01-18T08:43:00.001-06:00

Many things happen in a life each day. Our world can be riveted by the news of a loved one's illness, death or financial disaster. All three of these have been in my world lately, but the two deaths are the hardest; little Nakoa, 3 years old, was the son and grandson of a family from my hometown. His family has been an example of success and generosity in a different lifestyle, (pioneer homeschoolers, for one), and they are also friends of friends. They have been in my thoughts and prayers these many days since the accident. Another friend lost her daughter's father yesterday; Michelle, I will hold you in my intentions as well. To my friends newly or long-term dealing with the suckiness and unfairness of cancer or RA; not a day goes by that I do not say a prayer for you.

Among this, life continues in our home, with extra candles lit and extra moments of prayer and silence. Lessons and learning happens, meals are prepared with love and eaten too quickly, chores are done. It has finally snowed and we sledded in it until the grass and mud crept through. The hardware store seems to be our favorite destination these days. Yesterday I spent 90 minutes there with Aragorn and Arthur, picking out piping, locating supplies (the screws took the longest, typical) and having boards sawed in half so they would fit in the car. I am not completely sure what Aragorn is up to, but I will post photos of it when he completes it. Arthur is making more "boffers" with pvc piping and insulation foam and duct tape. I am in love with pegboard. Photos will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, I have been doggedly and sometimes furiously, decluttering, sorting and reorganizing our living space. By that I mean closets, bedrooms, and playrooms. It feels fabulous to finally get down to the real "simplifying" I've meant to do in the past. We did some good work, but now I've taken it down to the bare bones, taken everything out, apart and thrown half of it away. Having a vision helped; a vision of what I wanted one bedroom to look like, one closet's function, and the rest followed. It is too easy to live in complacency, keeping to what we know, not acknowledging that there could be a better way, if only we took a minute to reflect and another few hours to do. I'd really better have a look at that cabinet where my spices lie in wait, ready to dive onto my head, can pegboard work for spice jars?

Knitting Toys/Pets

2012-01-08T11:12:00.001-06:00

Thank you to my friend, Marlis, for the inspiration to knit toys again. It had been a long time, and I am hooked again on small, cute projects, like this one: http://www.justcraftyenough.com/2011/09/project-little-black-owl/ that I made for her, with joy! New Year's knitting resolutions: a crocheted blanket for my daughter (ha!) and more toys, knitted and maybe even crocheted. The first photo revealed a flaw in the beak that I snipped away for the next shot, felt is such forgiving stuff. We could take a page out of felt's attitude. It is durable, dependable, easy to work with and forgiving of faults.

Hibou

2012-01-08T11:06:00.000-06:00

Wise Creations

2012-01-08T11:04:00.000-06:00

Improving

2012-01-07T09:18:00.001-06:00

We all have parts of our lives that need improving. It is sometimes sort of like a support group meeting for addictive behavior; first order of business: "know thyself," or recognize what area needs some work. Then and only then can one make a commitment to improve.

My little girl has come back to homeschooling after a semester of school. She had a great time, made progress in many areas and still returned to the rhythm she loves, that of homeschooling. She is the first to acknowledge that though her brain works through math like a fish swims through water, and she loves reading as much as the other two, when it comes to writing, it is a delicate matter of hate and loathing. The thing is, I have seen her handwriting when she wishes it to be beautiful, she does just fine, the rascal. Yesterday we set about going from illegible to fine, in 2 painful steps; do and redo.

My two older children constantly work on their musical skills; piano and guitar. I am so proud of how they take this on themselves, pounding and strumming away for hours for the pleasure and to get it right. The younger two have a passion for getting their jumps on the trampoline just right, or building the perfect Lego machine. Hours pass like minutes in these pursuits. Sometimes they do not, like when they are cleaning their room or folding laundry, nevertheless, it all needs to get done. Both kinds of tasks give us a sense of accomplishment and having a day that was just a little better than the day before.

As for me, per the previous post, I am studying for certification in medical interpreting. I get by fine now and I am able to do my job adequately. However, I know how much more I will be able to understand, medically, what is happening with my patients and that I will be all the more able to help them understand in turn. I am motivated and desirous to learn more, enough to certify for medical interpretation, and beyond. My granny squares are looking pretty good too, as I plod through crochet 101!

Study Hall

2011-12-31T08:39:00.003-06:00

It is good, once in awhile, for a parent to get a sense of what their child is going through. I am pretty sure that adult acne was invented for this purpose.

We've been encouraging our older children to sit for the French baccalauréat, the high school exam that pretty much determines the rest of your life, amen, for a French high school student. How hard can it be? Every college student I'd ever met at university in France had passed it. There is a French lit section, so read some old books and get your written French up to snuff. Then there is the everything else section: math, science, history, geography, philosophy, find out where your "educational gaps" are, study a bit and you'll be fine. I know it is well beyond what the US demands of a high school graduate, but just because mothers induce labor on December 30 to have their babies qualify for school at 21/2, fathers might go into a rage if their child is made to repeat a year and French children never have to do chores, because their whole life is about passing "le bac", doesn't mean it is unattainable in any way.

The shoe is suddenly on the other foot. I love my work, especially in the medical field, and to go further, certification is the next step to take. It will test my knowledge, help me find areas that need improving and force me to work on those "gaps." It will be a paper attestation of my abilities and expertise as well.

I picked up an anatomy and physiology textbook, a nice, easy to read and understand book; "Barron's E-Z Anatomy and Physiology," that I am using in conjunction with the "Gray's Anatomy Coloring Book." Both of these are also great resources for high school students of anatomy and physiology. I knew this would involve other topics as well; code of ethics, confidentiality, patient advocacy, medical terminology, etc. Today I was finally able to access the website for the certification process. What I found there did not surprise me, but it did strike terror into my heart. I need to know a lot. I think I know quite a bit, but I don't think I can breeze by on experience and obtained knowledge. I will need to...study, for hours, days, weeks and months. I will need to find time in my life to buckle down and hit the books. Whether or not I believe the information to be useful, necessary, correct even or, (heaven forgive my selfish spirit), interesting, I will need to learn it by heart in order to succeed at this particular exam. Well, nothing teaches quite so well as example, but let me empathize with my children and students everywhere for a moment; I'm feeling the heat too!

Lily Likes This One

2011-12-24T14:36:00.000-06:00

Looking for the Perfect Christmas Tree

2011-12-24T14:35:00.000-06:00

Found It!

2011-12-24T14:34:00.001-06:00

Our Tree Home and Up

2011-12-24T14:32:00.001-06:00

Advent Spiral

2011-12-24T14:32:00.000-06:00

St.Nicholas Visits

2011-12-24T14:30:00.000-06:00