Random

I have no specific topic in mind for this post, so feel free to ignore it. I think I'm mainly writing it just to help keep me awake. The kids are on break for the next 40 minutes, and I'm exhausted. If I don't do something, I'll be asleep before our afternoon school session. I had hubby pick up some Taco Bell last night (we haven't had any for months & I was too tired to cook). Mine tasted bad, and within 30 minutes I was in the bathroom. My body spent the next few hours expelling every bit of my dinner.

Today, my stomach is cramping, my back hurts, I'm exhausted despite the fact that I was asleep by 11pm (insanely early for me), and am just generally feeling miserable. However, I haven't vomited since last night & have kept down the scrambled eggs & toast I had for breakfast, which is good. So, writing this post is really just to stay awake, not to give an update, rant, or spout 'wisdom' about anything.

We've started a new project. It has its own page. We're tracking the locations in the books we read, not the non-fiction for school, but the read-alouds, historical fiction, the books for our reading challenge, and our personal reading. I also added a page for info about our holiday celebrations. I also moved the list of pages to the side.

I would love to go bed, right now. I could let the kids take the day off and sleep, but that's not the best idea. I dozed during the day one day last week (I've been fighting a sinus infection, too), and Jay burned his arm by overheating water for tea. I'd rather not have a repeat of that (or a similar experience), especially since we're still treating that burn (it was pretty bad). Plus, Dea needs to keep up on her work this week. She is doing some volunteer work today (and I think tomorrow) at the Dyslexia center my sister works at and has a birthday party for a friend next weekend. She has been told that she needs to keep up with her schoolwork or those things don't happen. There's also the fact that we are getting our taxes done today & I need to stay awake so I'm functioning when we go to the accountant.

Well, I think I'm done rambling. I'm going to ready for this afternoon's work with Jay.

Who are they to judge?

I regularly visit homeschool forums, ones that I'm not a member of, to read threads about curricula. I like to read other people's opinions of curricula & learn about what other's use. While at these forums, I often skim through other threads as well. I do that to try to get an idea of the kinds of people on the board, how they homeschool, their methods, views on education, etc. That way, I know how useful their opinions on curricula will be to me. Now, it's not unusual for me to come across threads that I find irritating. Recently, while looking into ideas for the up-coming year, before doing my last finalization, I came across some threads on forums & some posts on blogs judging anyone who uses a rigorous method or curriculum. Now, I know these people aren't talking about me, specifically, but I've had plenty of people make snide, rude, disrespectful comments about how we homeschool, because of our rigorous course of study. So, this resonates with me. I find it insulting to assume that anyone who uses a rigorous curriculum or method must be an overbearing control freak who is pushing their child, aiming for bragging rights, or taking away their childhood.

I would call our homeschool rigorous, yet relaxed. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but that's how I see it. I would say that our course of study is rigorous, yet our schedule is fairly relaxed. Ergo, rigorous, yet relaxed.

Yes, my kids learn foreign languages in elementary school. It's been scientifically proven that it is easier for a child to learn foreign languages prior to about age 12. If a child has been exposed to foreign languages at a young age, they will have an easier time learning languages throughout their life. I choose to take advantage of that and not make them wait until it is more difficult for them to learn languages.

Yes, my kids learn Latin. Just because it is considered a 'dead' language, that doesn't mean it is not useful. It helps with understanding English Grammar. It helps with vocabulary. It sets a foundation for the 'romance' languages. It is the language used for scientific names.

Yes, my kids are learning more than one language. Being multilingual can't do them any harm, but may open new opportunities down the road.

Yes, my kids are learning computer programming. They both requested it and look forward to it every week.

Yes, my kids are doing advanced work in many of their subjects. This is not because I push them. It is because I allow them to work at their own pace.

Yes, we spend more than 2 hours a day doing school. School usually runs from 4-6 hours a day. However, we never do more than they can handle and they both still have plenty of free time.

Yes, my daughter is likely going to graduate early. This is her goal.

Yes, my daughter is on the road to college. This is also her goal. I am simply making sure that she is prepared for whatever her future holds, be that community college, the ivy league, or straight to work.

I am homeschooling my children for educational reasons. I homeschool to give them the education they deserve. I do not homeschool for religious reasons, to shelter my kids, or to prevent bullying. I am homeschooling to give them a well-rounded, thorough education that will prepare them for adulthood. Given my reasons for homeschooling, I would be remiss if I didn't do my absolute best to provide them with an excellent education.

My kids have a lot of input in their schooling - materials, topics, types of work, and schedule. They work at their own pace. Their goals and future plans are regularly re-examined and incorporated into our schooling plans. They are working toward what they want out of their lives.

This is not a case of a control freak mom pushing her kids beyond what they can realistically handle. I make no apologies for the level of rigor in our studies. I feel no shame or grief about the amount of work they do or the difficulty of the work.They're exceptional kids. I'm simply supporting them - their needs, abilities, and interests - as best I can. I'm sure we aren't the only 'rigorous' homeschoolers in this position, either.

I'm so damn tired of people passing judgment on us for having a rigorous course of study. I'm tired of people thinking that they know what motivates us to do things the way we do. Very few people truly know, I mean really know, me. So, who are they to judge? The same goes for all these forum threads & blog posts trashing rigorous homeschoolers. If you don't truly know a person, know their mind, know their motivations, your judgments are shallow & uninformed.

Also, unless you personally know the family, you can't really determine just how rigorous their homeschooling is. I've seen some people who post about the 10+ subjects their kids are doing, and many people then think they are quite rigorous. When they gave more detail, though, some of those subjects were only focused on sporadically, and only 2 or 3 were daily subjects. They also said they only spent 15-20 minutes per subject per day. That isn't near as rigorous as it originally sounded. I've also seen others post that they only focus on 4-5 subjects per year, which many view as being quite relaxed. However, when they went into more detail, they said they spent 1-2 hours per day on each subject, and all subjects were daily. That sounds more rigorous to me than the first one.

So, before assuming that someone is controlling, overbearing, pushing their kids, taking away their kid's childhood, etc., please remember that every family's situation is different. Just because their course of study, curriculum, or schedule wouldn't work for your kids, it doesn't mean that it isn't what's best for their kids.

Week in Review Feb 11, 2012

Well, we've survived another week.

Dea is getting better at getting her work done. She's finished the required number of Math lessons. She has also done Grammar, Writing, and has worked in her Poetry class. She's been taking tons of notes for History & is almost ready to start her projects.

Jay got most of his work done, too. He didn't get any Spanish done, only did Native American flute practice 1 day, and hardly did anything for History. He had a hard week, though.

Math:
DD p.50 - 55, Key to Measurement bk 1 p.19 - 25, Khan Academy, fun Math games

Language Arts:
Spelling: AAS2 step 11 & 12
Grammar: EG2 day 133 - 137
Writing: online research for Giganotosaurus book
Vocab: Stegosaur, Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus, ideology, extraterrestrial, Velociraptor
Discussed Characterization: Protagonist/Antagonist, static/dynamic character, character traits portrayed by characters in books we've been reading

Music: Recorder practice 2 days, Native American flute 1 day

Art: didn't really do anything for Art this week

Logo: none

Foreign Language:
Latin: LFC A chap 11
ASL: ST vol 6 My Favorite Things
Spanish: none

Science:
read The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin, read & narrate Electricity: Turn it On!, read Electricity & Magnetism
did 5 experiments on Static Electricity, from the MSB Electricity kit - covering how static electricity is made, how to get rid of it, and what it can do

History:
read Every Day Life in Viking Times, read some Viking/Norse Mythology
wrote in Runes

Exploring Genres Week 5 & 6

Jay:
RuneWarriors

Dea:


Me:
She - didn't finish, just couldn't get into it
Congo
True at First Light

As Read-aloud:
The Mysterious Island - didn't finish, the kids couldn't stop fighting long enough to listen to it
The Sea Singer

Sorry, for got to post last week, so this is for 2 weeks.

Field Trip Pics

Here are some of the photos from our field trip last week. It's not all of them (I took a few hundred), but it should be enough to give an idea of how our trip was. I got many more pics at the natural history museum, because it was less crowded & there's not much hands-on stuff. The science museum, though, has a lot of hands-on activities & there were more people, so we were in constant motion going from one thing to the next, and there were always people in the way. Plus, the cameras were already acting up quite a bit by then (both our digital cameras died that day).

In a mood

I've been in a mood lately. It's kind of an anti-social mood. I just really have no desire, right now, for contact with other people, even online. I've barely visited my forums. When I do visit them, I only lurk, looking over recent conversations, but not finding any that I care to join. I don't even bother to sign in. I've been to G+ even less. I'm stopping by FB daily, but only to play some games & check on a few family members that have been posting updates (mainly about medical stuff going on with other family members). I haven't even been reading many of the blogs I read.

I'm not entirely certain what has caused this mood. I've always found dealing with people (in real life) to be rather exhausting. It takes a lot out of me to get through a family holiday or birthday celebration for a friend. Normally, online communication is much less exhausting, since I can end conversations faster, leave the site if someone is irritating me, etc. Lately, however, online is taking just as much out of me as if I were around all these people face to face. So, I'm being a bit of a hermit.

Busywork is NOT Universal!

One of the great things about homeschooling, is that we can streamline our children's education - keeping what we feel is important and/or useful and leaving out the busywork. However, what many people don't seem to understand is that busywork does not mean the same thing to everyone. What is busywork to one child is necessary for, or greatly enjoyed by, another. I've seen many people get offended by someone saying that 'X' is busywork, because 'X' is something they do a lot of & their kids enjoy or need. Just because 'X' is busywork for family A, that doesn't mean that it is also busywork for everyone else. Family B might find it quite useful.

So, what is busywork? Simply put, busywork is work that does not enhance or improve the person's learning experience and only takes up their time. In other words, anything that your child gets something out of, isn't busywork. If your child enjoys and learns from applying the knowledge they've learned about mummification, by mummifying something, it is time well spent, not busywork. If your child learns best with worksheets, they are not busywork. If your child needs lots of review, those extra pages of Math problems are not busywork.

Now, for us, excessive practice of concepts is busywork. My kids grasp & master concepts quickly. Once they master something, they don't need or want much review. So, we don't do extra pages of Math problems, unless they need it. I often have Jay do only part of a page of his Math, once he has proven mastery of the concepts covered. If he doesn't do a good job on the page, he has to redo the incorrect problems and do extra problems for the needed practice. As long as he's doing them properly, though, I see no reason to make him to unnecessary work. Dea only has to do the odd numbers on her Algebra assignments (it's a college text, so the lessons have anywhere from 70 - 130 problems).

Science experiments may be extras to some and busywork to others, but to us, they are an important part of the learning process. We do a lot of hands-on projects, especially in the lower grades, like making pyramids, making mummies, building longhouses, making dreamcatchers, building castles, etc. Now, some people might see that stuff as silly, stupid, busywork, etc. However, with my kinesthetic learners, that stuff is an opportunity for them to apply their knowledge, prove their comprehension/mastery of a subject/topic, and enjoy the learning process. We make models. We make posters. We create things. We design things. We take things apart to see how they work. We experiment with new ways to do things or new materials to use. We like to get involved, get our hands dirty. That's how they learn best. So, this stuff works for us.

Some people prefer worksheets. After reading about something, instead of building it, testing it, etc., they prefer to answer questions on a worksheet about it. To them, the stuff we do might be busywork.

Some people use penmanship programs, expecting their kids to do pages of penmanship workbooks daily. Some chose to work on penmanship through dictation & copywork. Others don't do anything formal for penmanship, because that kind of work would be busywork for their kids. That is not meant as a slight against those who choose to work on penmanship formally. It's simply a difference in style, preference, and needs.

Some use flashcards & drill Math facts. Others see rote memorization as busywork and choose more entertaining ways to help their children master Math.

It's not that one is superior to the other. It's not that one is right & the other wrong. It's nothing more than the fact that people are not all the same. We don't all have the same interests, tastes, or needs. We don't all learn the same things at the same pace. We are different. Therefore, when it comes to education, no method or material will work for everyone. There is no universal 'perfect' scope & sequence. There is no universal 'correct' method. There is no universal 'best' curriculum. Not even the meaning of 'busywork' is universal, because there are so many differences among us.

Remember, just because someone says something is busywork, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it or that it is useless/dumb/pointless/unnecessary/etc. It just means that it isn't useful to them.