Wow, nearly a year since I posted?
I have to admit... I am fascinated by parents who home/unschool and manage to regularly blog. How do they do it? Is it just me? I blame facebook. I used to write at a pretty well-followed blog a few years back. I wrote there for nearly 3 years. And then I joined facebook, had a 4th kid, moved to a new place and.... nada. No more blogging for this gal. How I went from several paragraph blog posts to one-sentence status updates without really noticing is beyond me.
Now, as the children grow bigger and become more independent and I have fleeting moments of thoughtful solitude, I find that I have things to write about again. I hope to hang out here a little more often.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
To-do list
Some projects on our do-list, currently about 1.57 miles long:
Paper Mache Birds
Yarn Pictures
Four Seasons Tiles
Hand Scrunched Tissue Paper Trees
Painted and Embroidered Minis
Painted Paper Mache Puppets
Autumn Maple Leaf Crowns
Fairy Houses
Nature Collage
Halloween Papel Picado
Printable Sewing Cards
And on our to-cook-and-eat list:
Monster Cookies
Moroccan Lentil and Squash Stew
Guiness Cake
Paper Mache Birds
Yarn Pictures
Four Seasons Tiles
Hand Scrunched Tissue Paper Trees
Painted and Embroidered Minis
Painted Paper Mache Puppets
Autumn Maple Leaf Crowns
Fairy Houses
Nature Collage
Halloween Papel Picado
Printable Sewing Cards
And on our to-cook-and-eat list:
Monster Cookies
Moroccan Lentil and Squash Stew
Guiness Cake
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Library Strategies
I can't be the only one who hates taking her children to the library. Right?
Reasons:
They never want to go.
And then: they never want to leave.
The security guards stalk young children, inappropriately correct their behavior, and hush them if they dare to be enjoying themselves. IN THE CHILDREN'S SECTION. Serious jerks, they are.
The line is always a mile long. On average, it takes me 20 minutes to get through that line. With 4 restless children who either don't want to be there anyway, or don't want to leave yet.
If this doesn't spell disaster, I don't know what does.
Thank goodness for late libary hours that allow me to go alone, or with only Ava and/or Emma, and the library hold system. I walk in, grab my books off the hold shelf, and check out.
The library is truly the cornerstone of our homeschooling education. We could not learn effectively without it because we do not have the budget for buying lots of new (or even used) books. Chicago is a huge city, with dozens of libraries, and the hold system allows us to pull resources from every corner of the city without traveling more than .8 miles from our home.
Brilliant. As much as I complain about our library (and I do!), I could never live without it.
Reasons:
They never want to go.
And then: they never want to leave.
The security guards stalk young children, inappropriately correct their behavior, and hush them if they dare to be enjoying themselves. IN THE CHILDREN'S SECTION. Serious jerks, they are.
The line is always a mile long. On average, it takes me 20 minutes to get through that line. With 4 restless children who either don't want to be there anyway, or don't want to leave yet.
If this doesn't spell disaster, I don't know what does.
Thank goodness for late libary hours that allow me to go alone, or with only Ava and/or Emma, and the library hold system. I walk in, grab my books off the hold shelf, and check out.
The library is truly the cornerstone of our homeschooling education. We could not learn effectively without it because we do not have the budget for buying lots of new (or even used) books. Chicago is a huge city, with dozens of libraries, and the hold system allows us to pull resources from every corner of the city without traveling more than .8 miles from our home.
Brilliant. As much as I complain about our library (and I do!), I could never live without it.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Catherine the Great
At the beginning of this school year I asked Ava to flip throught the Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World and to let me know if any topics caught her interest.
First, let me say: I love this book. So much. It's huge. 761 pages. But in spite of it's weight, it's fairly concise in each subject. It's a great jumping off point for further discovery. It's objective and free of religious bias. And, importantly for young people, it has really lovely pictures.
In all of it's 761 pages (did I mention that it's huge?), Ava chose 3 topics that she would like to study. Catherine the Great of Russia. Astronauts and space travel. And Ancient Egypt and Clepatra.
I love it that she was drawn to famous women in history. My heart swellled a little. If I were more emotional, I may have shed a small tear of joy. (I did not.)
So, in addition to our book box selection previously discussed, we picked up a fairly short biography of Catherine the Great at the library. While I was in that stack, I also grabbed a copy of a biography of Anastasia Romanov.
She finished the book about Anastasia quickly and is working through the (longer, more in-depth) biography of Catherine a little more slowly. But the point of this post: picture study.
Children love to create art. Schools love to promote art programs. Both are good, great things. But children do not look at and study enough great art. My children love to visit the Art Institute. They love to look at portraits. And I try to find pretty pictures for them to look at when I can find some relevance to what we are studying. Since I don't like to slice up our studies into different subjects, we don't always do picture study, or art at all. But biographies and major events are good opportunities for incorporation.
So, here she is, our current picture study:
First, let me say: I love this book. So much. It's huge. 761 pages. But in spite of it's weight, it's fairly concise in each subject. It's a great jumping off point for further discovery. It's objective and free of religious bias. And, importantly for young people, it has really lovely pictures.
In all of it's 761 pages (did I mention that it's huge?), Ava chose 3 topics that she would like to study. Catherine the Great of Russia. Astronauts and space travel. And Ancient Egypt and Clepatra.
I love it that she was drawn to famous women in history. My heart swellled a little. If I were more emotional, I may have shed a small tear of joy. (I did not.)
So, in addition to our book box selection previously discussed, we picked up a fairly short biography of Catherine the Great at the library. While I was in that stack, I also grabbed a copy of a biography of Anastasia Romanov.
She finished the book about Anastasia quickly and is working through the (longer, more in-depth) biography of Catherine a little more slowly. But the point of this post: picture study.
Children love to create art. Schools love to promote art programs. Both are good, great things. But children do not look at and study enough great art. My children love to visit the Art Institute. They love to look at portraits. And I try to find pretty pictures for them to look at when I can find some relevance to what we are studying. Since I don't like to slice up our studies into different subjects, we don't always do picture study, or art at all. But biographies and major events are good opportunities for incorporation.
So, here she is, our current picture study:
Isn't she lovely? It's so rare to see such an empowered portrait of a woman.
The Earth Dragon Awakes
This is our first week, first book/unit study.
Title: The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 by Laurence Yep
Recommended reading age: 8-12
Ava says she would recommend this book to friend. "It's a really good book. It's about an earthquake and some kids trying to escape. There is lots of danger and excitement all around them."
To round out this work of fiction, we also read Earthquakes by Frankly N. Branley (from the Let's Read and Find Out Science series) and will be doing some experiments from Janice VanCleave's Earthquakes: Mind-boggling Experiments You Can Turn Into Science Fair Projects.
All books come from the public library. Sometimes I look for lesson plans on the internet for our books, but didn't find one that I liked for this one.
To be honest, if there is one thing we did not do enough of last year it was hands-on science. I just don't love it. Or even like it. I'll enjoy a good NOVA episode, or Discovery show about space, or nature hike as much as the next girl. But experiments? No thank you! So this year I have delegated. To dad. And instituted Science Saturdays. Father-daughter time and off the hook for science experiments for me? Win win!
We'll update on the success of the earthquake experiments.
I am still trying to perfect a way of incorporating Emma into lessons. I do not read aloud from the book draw book and don't intend to. I think I will just get a picture book that can be integrated in our larger theme. Next week, Ava is reading Framed and doing a geography lesson about Wales. Perhaps a Welsh fairy tale for Emma? Yes.
(Oh, and additionally, Ava wanted to read about Catherine the Great and the Dutchess Anastasia. Unschooling sometimes feels completely random!)
Title: The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 by Laurence Yep
Recommended reading age: 8-12
Ava says she would recommend this book to friend. "It's a really good book. It's about an earthquake and some kids trying to escape. There is lots of danger and excitement all around them."
To round out this work of fiction, we also read Earthquakes by Frankly N. Branley (from the Let's Read and Find Out Science series) and will be doing some experiments from Janice VanCleave's Earthquakes: Mind-boggling Experiments You Can Turn Into Science Fair Projects.
All books come from the public library. Sometimes I look for lesson plans on the internet for our books, but didn't find one that I liked for this one.
To be honest, if there is one thing we did not do enough of last year it was hands-on science. I just don't love it. Or even like it. I'll enjoy a good NOVA episode, or Discovery show about space, or nature hike as much as the next girl. But experiments? No thank you! So this year I have delegated. To dad. And instituted Science Saturdays. Father-daughter time and off the hook for science experiments for me? Win win!
We'll update on the success of the earthquake experiments.
I am still trying to perfect a way of incorporating Emma into lessons. I do not read aloud from the book draw book and don't intend to. I think I will just get a picture book that can be integrated in our larger theme. Next week, Ava is reading Framed and doing a geography lesson about Wales. Perhaps a Welsh fairy tale for Emma? Yes.
(Oh, and additionally, Ava wanted to read about Catherine the Great and the Dutchess Anastasia. Unschooling sometimes feels completely random!)
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Another school year begins...
I guess, being homeschoolers, we could start our school year whenever we wish. Or we could say that our school year doesn’t stop or start at all. And the latter would mostly be true. But when we see the children walking to the school across the street, when stores begin stocking up on cheap pencils and notebooks, when the temperature seems instantly cooler and breezier and the leaves crunchier… well, it seems like the time to proclaim, “Now we are in 4th grade!” This is the time of year that the girls new sports seasons begin, and having grown a year older, they might advance. And this is the time that homeschooling activities like girls scouts and nature exploring begin also. Park days and beach days are ending and camping opportunites become more scarce.
And so… our school year begins like everyone elses.
Though we mostly unschool, our math books have arrived. Our handwriting books are on the way and our grammar lessons will begin.
We don’t do these subjects everyday or very faithfully at all, but after a year, we are pleasantly surprised at what we accomplish.
I guess some unschoolers might say that we don’t unschool at all, but that would be semantics in my opinion. But, having read most of John Holt's philosophy, I don't think he'd be disappointed in our methods.
Our learning is child-led and interesting and communal and joyful and pretty democratic and that is what matters to us.
I am leaning more and and more towards calling ourselves Charlotte Mason learners because that seems to be the direction in which our family has been organically headed in the past year plus.
A new change for this year has been the creation of our book box. Ava decoupaged a shoe box (art!) and I placed several strips of paper in the box with age-appropriate book titles in it. Each week, or more or less often depending on the need, she pulls a strip out and we check out that book from there. The rest of our curriculum (to use the word lightly) is inspired by the chosen book.
She likes the anticipation of not knowing what book is in store for her and doesn’t argue with me about not wanting to read anything, or anything but Harry Potter.
This means that some weeks we will have no science, or no geopgraphy, or no history. But every week we will have a bit of something and over the course of the year, some of everything will have been learned and explored.
Emma follows along as we go, doing science and art and history projects as they come up, but usually without hearing or reading the book Ava has chosen. She is read other books and we continue in our reading lessons using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We are going slowly, as we feel like doing it, but she is learning a lot from it and takes a lot of pride in what she knows. Louise likes to sit in on the lessons, too, although I do not encourage her to practice writing her letters.
I will give each book it’s own post so that it will not get lost.
And if you’d like to read Ava’s book reports, follow her on Librarything.
And so… our school year begins like everyone elses.
Though we mostly unschool, our math books have arrived. Our handwriting books are on the way and our grammar lessons will begin.
We don’t do these subjects everyday or very faithfully at all, but after a year, we are pleasantly surprised at what we accomplish.
I guess some unschoolers might say that we don’t unschool at all, but that would be semantics in my opinion. But, having read most of John Holt's philosophy, I don't think he'd be disappointed in our methods.
Our learning is child-led and interesting and communal and joyful and pretty democratic and that is what matters to us.
I am leaning more and and more towards calling ourselves Charlotte Mason learners because that seems to be the direction in which our family has been organically headed in the past year plus.
A new change for this year has been the creation of our book box. Ava decoupaged a shoe box (art!) and I placed several strips of paper in the box with age-appropriate book titles in it. Each week, or more or less often depending on the need, she pulls a strip out and we check out that book from there. The rest of our curriculum (to use the word lightly) is inspired by the chosen book.
She likes the anticipation of not knowing what book is in store for her and doesn’t argue with me about not wanting to read anything, or anything but Harry Potter.
This means that some weeks we will have no science, or no geopgraphy, or no history. But every week we will have a bit of something and over the course of the year, some of everything will have been learned and explored.
Emma follows along as we go, doing science and art and history projects as they come up, but usually without hearing or reading the book Ava has chosen. She is read other books and we continue in our reading lessons using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We are going slowly, as we feel like doing it, but she is learning a lot from it and takes a lot of pride in what she knows. Louise likes to sit in on the lessons, too, although I do not encourage her to practice writing her letters.
I will give each book it’s own post so that it will not get lost.
And if you’d like to read Ava’s book reports, follow her on Librarything.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
No preschool for us.
Or, why I am resisting the serious temptation to send my 3 year old to preschool this fall.
She is wearing me down! Three is so hard. SO HARD. The random wailing with little to no communication as to why she she melting down. Outright defiance by coloring on every single wall in our (rented) house. Insistence that cannot do things that she certainly can do (and probably has done dozens, hundreds of times!) and insistence on doing things that she really can’t do (drain the noodles from the boiling water).
All. day. long.
It is starting to affect our ability to homeschool. Granted, we do not do much “school at home” but it is hard to do Ava’s reading lesson when Louise is kicking and screaming. We have had to push that lesson back to the evenings, after Dad gets home, which is not when I want to be doing reading lessons. (I know, I know: Me me me!)
And what does this have to do with commercialization?
I had applied to graduate school for next fall and as a back-up plan I also sent in a million (or forty) applications to preschools and elementary schools for Ava, Emma, and Eleanor. We went through the ringer with gifted and classical school testing as well. Good times!
Yesterday I received a piece of mail that was clearly not a bill.
An acceptance letter! (If you are familiar with Chicago, or most urban schools I suppose, you know how huge this is.) From a preschool!
From DISNEY MAGNET SCHOOL!
That’s right. Chicago has not one, but two Disney-sponsored elementary schools.
First off, I have never been to this school. I do not want to give the impression that there are Tinker Bell murals on every wall and Mickey Mouse videos playing at lunch time. There probably is not. I have friends whose children go here and they love it. Not surprisingly, the rumor is that they have good theater and animation programs.
The point is this: corporate sponsorship (of any kind) for public schools. Really? Puke.
When corporations have more money to give to public schools than the public government does, we have problems. Problems that go way beyond education. Problems with proper funding of schools and problems with early brand loyalty for children.
I am lucky to have the option of homeschooling. Every year, I can make a choice to do this, or not. But homeschooling is not the answer to our national education problem. The majority of American children will never be homeschooled. Not today, not in 100 years. Our economic system wouldn’t allow it, even if parents wanted to do it. We will always have a large number of impoverished citizens who will not have the privilege of choosing between homeschooling or employment. We will always have an elite class of people who can buy the best education for their children so that they can continue working in their careers. And we will (hopefully) always have a middle class of people like myself. Some of whom choose to forgo a career and the expenses that go along with it for homeschooling and some of whom fight very, very hard for quality public education, even if it means accepting money from Walt Disney.
So, I will not be registering Eleanor at Disney Magnet School, not matter its reputation and no matter how tiring her mood swings can be.
And don’t even get me started on the not-food served for school lunches.
She is wearing me down! Three is so hard. SO HARD. The random wailing with little to no communication as to why she she melting down. Outright defiance by coloring on every single wall in our (rented) house. Insistence that cannot do things that she certainly can do (and probably has done dozens, hundreds of times!) and insistence on doing things that she really can’t do (drain the noodles from the boiling water).
All. day. long.
It is starting to affect our ability to homeschool. Granted, we do not do much “school at home” but it is hard to do Ava’s reading lesson when Louise is kicking and screaming. We have had to push that lesson back to the evenings, after Dad gets home, which is not when I want to be doing reading lessons. (I know, I know: Me me me!)
And what does this have to do with commercialization?
I had applied to graduate school for next fall and as a back-up plan I also sent in a million (or forty) applications to preschools and elementary schools for Ava, Emma, and Eleanor. We went through the ringer with gifted and classical school testing as well. Good times!
Yesterday I received a piece of mail that was clearly not a bill.
An acceptance letter! (If you are familiar with Chicago, or most urban schools I suppose, you know how huge this is.) From a preschool!
From DISNEY MAGNET SCHOOL!
That’s right. Chicago has not one, but two Disney-sponsored elementary schools.
First off, I have never been to this school. I do not want to give the impression that there are Tinker Bell murals on every wall and Mickey Mouse videos playing at lunch time. There probably is not. I have friends whose children go here and they love it. Not surprisingly, the rumor is that they have good theater and animation programs.
The point is this: corporate sponsorship (of any kind) for public schools. Really? Puke.
When corporations have more money to give to public schools than the public government does, we have problems. Problems that go way beyond education. Problems with proper funding of schools and problems with early brand loyalty for children.
I am lucky to have the option of homeschooling. Every year, I can make a choice to do this, or not. But homeschooling is not the answer to our national education problem. The majority of American children will never be homeschooled. Not today, not in 100 years. Our economic system wouldn’t allow it, even if parents wanted to do it. We will always have a large number of impoverished citizens who will not have the privilege of choosing between homeschooling or employment. We will always have an elite class of people who can buy the best education for their children so that they can continue working in their careers. And we will (hopefully) always have a middle class of people like myself. Some of whom choose to forgo a career and the expenses that go along with it for homeschooling and some of whom fight very, very hard for quality public education, even if it means accepting money from Walt Disney.
So, I will not be registering Eleanor at Disney Magnet School, not matter its reputation and no matter how tiring her mood swings can be.
And don’t even get me started on the not-food served for school lunches.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Oh, poor neglected blog!
In which I write a blog post about writing blog posts. Or not writing them, as the case may be.
Believe it or not, I used to be a blogaholic! I had a fairly popular blog about feminism and mothering and I blogged nearly every day. But now…not so much, huh? I am sure it doesn’t help that I have created a homeschooling blog where I feel I can only talk about homeschooling. And although some people (mostly non-homeschoolers) might think that my children must consume every ounce of my time and energy since they are home all of the time, this simply is not true. I have a lot of thoughts and ideas and interests. And I am going to use this space to share them. So there, Internet.
So, enough about my children! What am I doing?
I am knitting a teal sweater for Irene from Debbie Bliss’s Junior Knits. This is my first sweater and it will require some seaming, but I will conquer this project! I may be crying and swearing by the time it is wearable, and it may be a size too small for her before the sweater is completed, but it will get done.
I am dreaming, really seriously deeply dreaming about my spring garden. Every time I park in front of my house, I do a little brainstorming for the front yard flower garden. Note to self: ask landlord to hang flower boxes!
I have been running. Actual, regular, trying-to-get-faster-and-build-endurance running. I am running an 8K on Sunday and I cannot wait. It will hurt, but it will be fantastic. Next step: Chicago marathon?
I have also been sewing. I suck at sewing. But I will get better! If I stick with squares and rectangles, sewing loves me. When I stock up on patterns at Joann’s and attempt a summer dress for Emma, sewing does not love me. I have also been giving embroidery a try.
We are trying a new diet for our kitty: raw food. Tonight he ate an egg and then he cuddled with me for an hour. I think he likes it. And in other pet news, we are seeking landlord permission for some backyard hens. Our fingers and toes are crossed.
And most exciting, I am in training to become a birth doula and LLL leader. Extra money doing what I love and being able to homeschool? Yes, please!
Phew! That feels better!
Believe it or not, I used to be a blogaholic! I had a fairly popular blog about feminism and mothering and I blogged nearly every day. But now…not so much, huh? I am sure it doesn’t help that I have created a homeschooling blog where I feel I can only talk about homeschooling. And although some people (mostly non-homeschoolers) might think that my children must consume every ounce of my time and energy since they are home all of the time, this simply is not true. I have a lot of thoughts and ideas and interests. And I am going to use this space to share them. So there, Internet.
So, enough about my children! What am I doing?
I am knitting a teal sweater for Irene from Debbie Bliss’s Junior Knits. This is my first sweater and it will require some seaming, but I will conquer this project! I may be crying and swearing by the time it is wearable, and it may be a size too small for her before the sweater is completed, but it will get done.
I am dreaming, really seriously deeply dreaming about my spring garden. Every time I park in front of my house, I do a little brainstorming for the front yard flower garden. Note to self: ask landlord to hang flower boxes!
I have been running. Actual, regular, trying-to-get-faster-and-build-endurance running. I am running an 8K on Sunday and I cannot wait. It will hurt, but it will be fantastic. Next step: Chicago marathon?
I have also been sewing. I suck at sewing. But I will get better! If I stick with squares and rectangles, sewing loves me. When I stock up on patterns at Joann’s and attempt a summer dress for Emma, sewing does not love me. I have also been giving embroidery a try.
We are trying a new diet for our kitty: raw food. Tonight he ate an egg and then he cuddled with me for an hour. I think he likes it. And in other pet news, we are seeking landlord permission for some backyard hens. Our fingers and toes are crossed.
And most exciting, I am in training to become a birth doula and LLL leader. Extra money doing what I love and being able to homeschool? Yes, please!
Phew! That feels better!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Civil War Unit Study
Books:
Yankee Blue or Rebel Gray? The Civil War Adventures of Sam Shaw (National Geographic)
The Battle of Gettysburg by Neil Johnson
Those Courageous Women of the Civil War by Karen Zeinert
Photo by Brady: A Picture of the Civil War by Jennifer Armstrong
Letters from the Battlefront: The Civil War by Virginia Schomp
The Gettysburg Address (Cornerstones of Freedom) by Kenneth Richards
A Picture Book of Robert E. Lee
Websites:
America Civil War
Civil War Battles By State
The Civil War For Kids
And of course, a trip to the Chicago History Museum.
Yankee Blue or Rebel Gray? The Civil War Adventures of Sam Shaw (National Geographic)
The Battle of Gettysburg by Neil Johnson
Those Courageous Women of the Civil War by Karen Zeinert
Photo by Brady: A Picture of the Civil War by Jennifer Armstrong
Letters from the Battlefront: The Civil War by Virginia Schomp
The Gettysburg Address (Cornerstones of Freedom) by Kenneth Richards
A Picture Book of Robert E. Lee
Websites:
America Civil War
Civil War Battles By State
The Civil War For Kids
And of course, a trip to the Chicago History Museum.
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